December 19 – The 10th edition of the ASEAN Football Championship, known as the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup, comes to its climax on Saturday as Malaysia meet Thailand in Kuala Lumpur in the second leg of the final, looking to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg.
The biennial tournament, in which the group matches were hosted by Vietnam and Singapore, has also included the national teams of Philippines and Indonesia and qualifiers Myanmar and Laos.
Over 50,000 supporters packed the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok for the first leg and 90,000 are expected at Bukit Jalil National Stadium for the return leg despite the Thai ‘War Elephants’ being in firm control of the tie.
Malaysian coach Dollah Salleh said, “It is not easy to play against Thailand. We will have to give 200 per cent to stop Zico taking the Cup to Thailand and we must take advantage of playing on home ground.”
Meanwhile, Thailand coach Kiatisuk “Zico” Senamuang admitted that: “For sure we will play more safe in Kuala Lumpur.”
“Tomorrow we want to see beautiful game. Even though we have the advantage from 1st leg, tomorrow will not be easy for us. Both teams have a chance to win. It’s going to be a big crowd and going to be a fantastic game. We want to bring the cup back to Thailand.”
Suzuki Motor Corporation is the title sponsor this year’s ASEAN Football Championship for the fourth successive occasion which Toshihiro Suzuki, Representative Director and Executive Vice President, Global Marketing, Suzuki Motor Corporation describes as embodying “the same excitement and passion as Suzuki’s ‘Way of Life!’ global slogan.”
According to Suzuki: “This great competition is the biggest football event in the ASEAN region and allows Suzuki to heighten our brand awareness and convey our passion for making the best products for fans around the world.”
South-East Asian countries may be somewhat disappointed Australia decided not to participate, in favour of the East Asian Championship, but those watching the final will be hoping the game is played in the spirit of fair play, after some trouble with fan violence in earlier games and the use of lasers to put off opposition players.
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