Six-time champions Phnom Penh Crown today open the new Metfone
C-League season and launch their defence of the title, which they won in
a nail-biting penalty shootout against NagaWorld last December.
The 2016 season opener will kick off at 6pm against Cambodian Tiger at the RSN Stadium this evening.
This will be the first serious competitive test for Crown’s newly
appointed head coach Oriol Mohedano of Spain, who took over earlier in
the year from Sam Schweingruber, who recorded his second successive
league triumph before stepping aside in the wake of a motorcycle
accident two months ago.
Following his full recovery and successful rehabilitation in
Switzerland, Schweingruber has now been elevated to the position of team
manager at the club.
The champions have had weeks of pre-season preparation, with a 1-1
draw with Boeung Ket Angkor in a charity friendly earlier this month. A
solid result against one of the title favourites.
A considerable number of player transfers have been completed among
the major clubs this season, but two standouts from Crown’s perspective
are defender Odion Obaidin and striker Bisan George, both of whom have
chosen to ply their trade elsewhere in the region.
Crown have brought in talented George Kelechi from Asia Europe United
to bolster their strikeforce, and they are better placed than most
teams to find a suitable AFC player to make up the four-player foreign
component allowed by the league.
This could prove a difficult task for most of the other teams, who
may have difficulty finding the mandatory number of AFC players.
The Tigers have bitter memories of their previous encounter with
Crown, having been squarely beaten 6-2 on aggregate in the two-leg
semi-final playoffs, though the team’s overall performance was a marked
improvement on the previous year.
The Tigers have lost the services of their 19-goal hero Privat Mbarga
to NagaWorld this season. They hope 25-year-old Japanese import Tomoki
Muramatsu will be good enough to fill his shoes.
Naga out to go one better
Two previous Hun Sen Cup winners who have struggled to make their
mark in the league will lock horns at the Olympic Stadium at 3.30pm on
Saturday.
Against all odds and expectations, National Police won the Cup in
2014, and they have been aiming to build on that momentum since but have
so far failed to break into the top echelons of the league.
The fortunes of Ministry of National Defence have been similar, with
the Armymen’s most notable success since then being victory in the cup
nearly six years ago.
Regarded as one of the most robust outfits in the league, they have
often blown hot and cold, mixing up form with some brilliant wins, like
the one against Crown last season, and some inexplicable defeats.
The most exciting element for the Army outfit this season will be the
presence of North Korean raider Choe Myong-ho, who has already shown
his might in a friendly.
The unkindest cut of all for NagaWorld coach Meas Channa in his first
season was the loss of both the Hun Sen Cup and the league at the final
hurdle.
As a player, Channa was part of NagaWorld’s last league triumph in
2009, a feat he almost achieved as coach when his side lost on penalties
to Crown.
The two-time champions have gone in for some strong rebuilding of the
side, though Guinean striker Barry Lelouma has left the side to try his
luck in Thailand.
Dream season for Vathanaka
NagaWorld have roped in Cameroonian forward Privat Mbarga and
Nigerian Rasheed Omokafe, with Anderson Zogbe of Ivory Coast returning
to the side. Former Svay Rieng midfielder Tum Saray and Boeung Ket’s
Sok Pheng will also be in the Naga roster, along with South Korean Park
Yong-jun.
NagaWorld will begin their quest for the title against Western Phnom
Penh in a twilight fixture at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday.
Hun Sen Cup holders Svay Rieng will start the season hoping to
replicate their league win in 2013, albeit in a new identity as Preah
Khan Reach Svay Rieng.
They will host CMAC in their opening game at the Provincial Stadium, beginning at 6pm on Sunday.
The final game of the extended weekend will involve Toyota Mekong
Club Championship finalists Boeung Ket Angkor and Asia Europe United at
the Olympic Stadium.
After a spotless league phase, Boeung Ket stumbled badly in the
semi-final play-offs against NagaWorld. Runners-up twice after their
maiden triumph in 2012, Boeung Ket will be keen to regain the league
supremacy.
Chan Vathanaka had a dream season having amassed around 60 goals in
all competitions during the year and 37 in the league itself to take the
Golden Boot award.
Joining the Boeung Ket frontline this season will be Teab Vathanak, who has left NagaWorld.
From=phnompenhpost
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