GERMAN forward Thomas Muller hails Lim Teong Kim as the coach responsible for his success in football.
The 54-year-old Malayisan was part of Bayern Munich’s youth coaching set-up between 2000 and 2012.
Muller, along with former German captain Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Toni Kroos were among those under the tutelage of Teong Kim, who started off as Bayern’s under-12 coach in 2000.
“I learnt very much from him. He has a great eye for tactics and to take the right positions on the pitch,” Muller told Singapore Straits Times recently.
“He was one of the first coaches I learnt football from, so I enjoyed it very much.”
Muller, 27, has scored 37 goals in 85 international matches and was a member of Germany’s 2014 World Cup winning side.
Teong Kim could not be reached for comment as the former international is currently in Germany for a football symposium.
In an interview with Timesport on Jan 13, 2010, Teong Kim described Muller as a hardworking player.
“I worked with Muller when I was coaching Bayern’s Under-13 and Under-14 teams.
“Muller was not as gifted as some of his teammates then, but he made it big because of his dedication to training and matches,” said Teong Kim, five months before Muller made his World Cup debut in South Africa in 2010.
Teong Kim was assistant coach of Bayern’s Under-19 team before he returned to Malaysia to become the project director of the National Football Development Programme (NFDP) in August 2013.
Under his guidance, the team under NFDP, have attained successes in several international club-level invitational youth tournaments.
Teong Kim was redesignated as director of the national academy in Gambang early this year.
He will be in charge of the national youth squad for the AFC Under-16 qualifiers on Sept 16-29.
Malaysia are in Group J with Japan, Singapore and Guam in Jakarta.
Regardless of the results in Jakarta, Malaysia will still qualify for the AFC Under-16 Championships on Sept 20-Oct 7 next year as the hosts.
NFDP chief executive officer Safirul Azli Abi Bakar said the qualifiers are still important in the team’s buildup for the tournament proper.
“The team still need to do well as it will help the players gain confidence,” said Safirul.