Long considered a sick man in Asia, Southeast Asian football has been unable to get rid of the tag despite making great efforts in the past decade.
No country from the region has ever won a title at the Asian level, and Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia seem highly unlikely to change that any time soon.
Peter Butler – a former midfielder at English club West Ham who has coaching experience in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia -- said Southeast Asia is the “little boy” of Asia.
“They need better infrastructure and qualified managers.
“Japan and South Korea have pulled far ahead of them.”
Thailand’s coach Steve Darby also stressed the vital role of infrastructure in developing football.
Alfred Riedl, Vietnam’s former coach and currently head of the Indonesian team, said youth training plays the most important role but many nations in the region have failed to do it.
“They are not patient to wait for 10 years for a generation of young players to mature,” he added. “The period is longer than the office terms of football officials who need instant results.”
Cambodia’s Australian-born coach Scott O’Donnell pointed to another aspect of the problem: “Southeast Asian teams seem to focus on competing with one another and not on longer-term plans to catch up with the world.”
