Bandar Seri Begawan: Kwon Oh-son of Korea Republic has been tasked to lead the Brunei Darussalam team at the upcoming AFC Solidarity Cup Malaysia 2016, taking over the helm from interim national head coach Mike Wong.
The 57-year-old Seoul native is no stranger to the national set-up, having led the U-21 team to the claim their first Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy in 2012, and the senior side during the AFF (ASEAN Football Federation) Cup 2012 qualifiers in Myanmar where they came close to reaching the finals.
Kwon was head coach for Seoul Metropolitan City FC for 13 years and was also a Member of the Korea Football Association Technical Committee. He spent his playing days with Seoul City FC and represented the national team from 1980 to 1983.
“I’m basically just swapping places with Kwon,” said Singaporean Wong, who had to pass the helm to Kwon to attend to pressing duties elsewhere.
“He has been here and knows the boys. We needed a coach who knows the boys, which is important, and he knows the international exposure that we have.”
“He is the best candidate at the present moment. The players going are more or less the same (as the team at the recently concluded AFF Cup 2016 qualifiers which Wong coached), with two of them unable to play due to exams.”
The South Korean coach had his first training sessions with the team on Tuesday.
Brunei are placed in Group A and will kick off the AFC Solidarity Cup with a match against Timor Leste on November 2, before playing Nepal on November 8.
