The national football team's coach, Istvan Urbanyi, has stated that the question he is asked most frequently is regarding fitness, and that fitness is something achieved by playing matches.
Under the guidance of Urbanyi, the national team is currently undergoing preparations to get ready for the Diamond Jubilee International Tournament, which begins in the Maldives next Monday.
As they head into the tournament, his biggest worry is the injury to national captain Samooh Ali. Additionally, experienced defender Mohamed Irfan has also sustained an injury. With the two main defenders injured, Urbanyi has to make alternative plans on how to fill those positions.
"Irfan (Irey) and Samooh (Samu) are not here at the moment. They are still injured. And those two players are the two main central defenders when starting a match. Therefore, fielding others in place of those players is a big challenge on the surface. For that reason, we will bring some changes here and there," Urbanyi said in an interview given to PSM.
With a shortage of central defenders in the Maldives, Urbanyi faces challenges in finding other players of that caliber.
He stated that the two players got injured because they were heavily overloaded. Samooh had also played in the tournament held in N. Kendhikulhudhoo, within the team fielded by Maziya.
Urbanyi said that the national team's training sessions commenced after that tournament.
To prepare for other tournaments, the national team previously went on foreign training camps. However, this time, the preparations are being carried out while staying in the Maldives. In training camps abroad, opportunities are available to play matches against clubs of the host nation.
He said that the question he is asked most frequently is about fitness. Urbanyi stated that he has a clear answer to that question. He noted that the lack of matches prior to the tournament to maintain fitness levels is a concern.
"I know that one of the questions asked most frequently is the question about fitness. Everyone asks me about the level of fitness. My answer is very simple. Fitness is something that comes by playing matches," Urbanyi said.
"That (the lack of matches) is something I am concerned about, and also something I have doubts about (regarding fitness). Without playing competitive matches, how are we going to play those matches (of the Diamond Jubilee to gain fitness)? There are only two days between each match. Squad rotation is also very vital."
He said that in the match played against Timor-Leste on March 31, the average age of the Maldivian team was 32 years. However, with the young players added now, the average age of the squad has been lowered to 25.
Urbanyi said that it will be interesting to watch the performance of the Maldivian team with the senior players and young players together.
"As I said before, it has players over 30 years and players under 20 years. Therefore, yes... this will be a very interesting and fun thing to watch," he said.
In the first match of the tournament on Monday afternoon, Pakistan and Bangladesh will compete against each other. In its first match that night, the Maldives will come out against Afghanistan. Bangladesh fielded its under-23 team for the tournament.
