U22 Brunei - the team of football 'rich kids'
(Baonghean.vn) - Since the 2011 SEA Games, the "young master" team U22 Brunei has not had a single draw, they have lost 24 consecutive matches and only scored 7 goals. So at the 30th SEA Games, just scoring 1 goal against U22 Vietnam is considered "a big deal".
Brunei has always been known as one of the most prosperous and wealthy countries in Southeast Asia. However, Brunei football is not developed because few players pursue a professional football career. Of the 20 players who came to the Philippines to attend the 30th SEA Games, most of them have their main income unrelated to football.
24 losses
In the 2020 U23 Asian qualifiers, at My Dinh Stadium, the Brunei U23 team only held the ball 20%. Their attack was so weak that they did not even get a single corner kick (Vietnam U23 had 14) and could not make a single decent shot. In the match against Thailand U23, they only held the ball 28%, losing 8-0. The final match against Indonesia U23 was considered the best match of this young team, the young Brunei players held the ball 38%, had 2 shots and scored 1 goal against Indonesia, although they still lost 1-2.
The 4-4-2 formation is a tactic that coach Aminuddin Jumat often uses. The forward line includes 1 player over 22 years old, striker Adi Said and Brunei football prodigy Hakeme Yazid Said. This 16-year-old player is the pride of the richest football team in Southeast Asia. Recently, Yazid Said became the 2nd youngest player in history to score in the Singapore Premier League, at 16 years and 175 days.
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| Faiq Bolkiah is the grandson of the Sultan of Brunei, one of the richest men in the world. Photo AFC |
Another player over 22 years old added to U22 Brunei is midfielder Nur Ikhmal Damit, 26 years old, currently playing forIndera SC atBrunei. This midfielder is valued at 50 thousand euros, is considered strong in ball-fighting ability thanks to his tall body and tireless movement.
Surprisingly, playing as a left winger, Faiq Bolkiah, the Crown Prince of Brunei, is the one who organizes the team's attacks. This 21-year-old player is currently playing for the Leicester City youth team and is the captain of the Brunei U22 team. In the past 5 years, this player has been sent to England to play for the Chelsea youth team and then Leicester City. In the 2020 U23 Asian qualifiers, discovering this interesting thing, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia sent people to stop this richest player in Southeast Asia, as if Brunei was silent.
In general, with the long, high style of play, allowing the two midfielders to race and cross the ball into the 16.5m area of the Brunei players, the regional teams did not have to worry. Even the young players of Thailand and Vietnam pressed and held the ball passer tightly, not allowing the Brunei players to launch an attack.
Mission must win
The defenders only focused on clearing the ball to the front line, making it almost impossible for Brunei players to connect. That is also the reason why the ball only lingered around the home field of this team. This weakness was carefully studied by Mr. Park and his team when preparing tactics.
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| “Wonderboy” Yazid Said is the pride of the richest football team in Southeast Asia. Photo: AFC |
Certainly, playing on artificial turf is very easy to get injured. It will be difficult to have a successful match if U22 Vietnam wins the match but has injuries or cards. Some people even think that the match result must be 5-0 or more to be considered successful.
