Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Male: Team spirit and hard work are qualities coach Darren Stewart hopes will go a long way towards helping his Maldives team pick up a positive result when they kick off the next phase of their 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifying campaign against Palestine on Tuesday.
The Maldives, who have also been drawn in Group D with Oman and Bhutan, have never qualified for the finals of the continental championship and face a Palestinian side that made their debut at the AFC Asian Cup in Australia two years ago with the coach fully aware of the challenge at hand.
“I’m sick of watching their games because I’ve been watching them for three months and every game I watch there’s three or four different players in there,” says Stewart, who took over as head coach in July last year.
“I have the latest line-up from the Yemen game last week and I think there’s only three players that I’ve been looking at for the last three months. They’ve been changing their squad so much and they have a lot of good players playing abroad and they have a lot of variety to choose from.
“If they can make that many changes every time then it’s a credit to them and the boys who play in Europe.
“We’re under no illusions, we’re not playing any minnows. We’re playing a powerhouse team who are all bigger than me. It’s a massive challenge but I believe in my boys and that they can put on a good show. They’re a good team.”
After more than a decade working in Singapore’s S-League, Stewart admits he came into the job with little knowledge of the game in the Maldives, but feels that may have worked to his advantage.
“I came here without any knowledge of Maldives football, so I came here with a clear open mind football wise and I started from ground zero,” he says. “I didn’t ask about the previous coaches or which players are good or who is a problem, I just went and watched every game and selected a team on who I thought could play.
“A lot of people said I left out certain players who were always in the national team, but that was the beauty of me not knowing who was who previously. My assistant coach helped me out, but at the end of the day I’m the one who will get the sack if we don’t do well.”
The Maldives are playing in the third round of qualifying after progressing through the AFC Asian Cup playoffs last year, with Stewart taking over as head coach from New Zealand’s Ricki Herbert to steer the team past Laos in the final game to earn a spot in the final phase of qualifying for the 2019 finals in the United Arab Emirates.
Under Herbert the Maldives had been handed a 4-0 aggregate defeat by Yemen before a 5-1 win over two legs against Laos in Stewart’s first games in charge ensured the Indian Ocean islanders progressed to the third round.
“I was very proud that we qualified for this phase last year and I was chuffed that they picked me to lead them through this round,” says the former Socceroos defender.
“But I’m a realist and it’s going to be very hard and Oman and Palestine are two big countries in the west of Asia and they’re going to be very difficult to beat, and that’s not underestimating Bhutan.
“If we can get a good result at home on Tuesday against Palestine then I think we can qualify. The way the boys are responding to training, the team spirit, the team ethic, I haven’t seen anything like it and I’ve been working in Asia since 1993.
“I’ve never been involved with a bunch of lads as a player or as a coach that has the desire that these boys have got. That doesn’t mean we will win games, but as a coach that’s all you can ask for. Tactics and all of that, the opposition and everything don’t matter if the boys aren’t up for it, to play for their country, their team and each other then it doesn’t matter what tactics you use or who you’re playing, you’ve got no hope.”