Malaysia

BY S. RAMAGURU
KUALA LUMPUR: Former national coach Paul Lissek’s contract with the National Sports Council (NSC) ends on Monday. But his departure, although only for six months, could spell trouble for the Malaysian national team.

Lissek has taken up a coaching job with the Tianjin Province in China for a six-month period. He will coach the team for the All-China Games in October.

But it is the fact that Lissek will be assisting the Chinese national team as well that is worrying.

The Chinese national team, coached by South Korean Kim Sang-ryul, will be hosting the World Cup qualifiers next year and Malaysia will be competing in the tournament.

Lissek has an in-depth knowledge of the Malaysian hockey team and Sang-ryul is bound to 'prise' some information from the German.

Sang-ryul is a long-time friend and admirer of the German and was also responsible for Lissek taking up the job with the provincial team.

Lissek said his contract with the Chinese team was only until October and “I will be back here to sign another contract with the NSC to handle their development plans”.

“I do not know what will happen in six months’ time. But I will certainly come back and discuss a new deal with the NSC. Whether I get it or not is another matter,” he said.

Despite taking up the China job, Lissek will remain as a consultant with the National Juniors and help them in the Junior World Cup in June.

The 57-year-old German is a highly-respected coach in the international arena and took up the national coaching job with Malaysia in 2001.

Prior to coaching Malaysia, he enjoyed a successful stint with the German national team. He led their Juniors to three Junior World Cup titles and the senior team to the 1992 Olympic gold medal and four Champions Trophy titles.

In 1998, he coached Malaysia for three months, leading the country to a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games.

In 2002, he led the Malaysian national team to a bronze medal in the Busan Asian Games.

But things turned sour in March last year when Malaysia did not make the cut for the Athens Olympics after failing to secure a top six placing in the Madrid Olympic qualifiers.

The NSC dropped Lissek as the national coach and made him a development coach under their Tunas Cemerlang programme.

Lissek leaves for China on Monday.

Rate This Article

Select Here  5 Stars  (Best Rating)   4 Stars   3 Stars   2 Stars   1 Star  (Worst Rating)

Your opinion counts.
Rate this article or enter your comments below.