KUALA LUMPUR: The appointment of Pau Marti Vicente as Harimau Malaya's caretaker coach has surprised many, given his lack of experience handling a national team.
Following the resignation of Kim Pan Gon, Vicente, who holds a UEFA professional license and has served as assistant coach for Barcelona's youth teams, as well as Adelaide United and Kitchee SC, has been entrusted with preparing the national team for international assignments.
He previously served as Pan Gon's assistant.
Football observer Sadek Mustaffa voiced concerns over the FA of Malaysia's (FAM) decision, citing the recent disappointment with another untested coach, Juan Torres Garrido, at the Under-23 Asian Cup in Qatar in April.
"FAM has no contingency plans and this could be detrimental for the national team," said Mustaffa, a senior lecturer in Sports Science and Recreation at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).
"Vicente needs to hit the ground running, and winning his first match as caretaker coach at the Merdeka Tournament from Sept 2-10 could set the tone for his career.
"Pan Gon showed his tactical abilities in the 3-3 draw with South Korea in the Asian Cup. His man management skills made him well-liked among his players.
"The South Korean also had good communication with clubs to secure the release of their players for centralised training and tournaments.
"Although Vicente comes with a good recommendation from Pan Gon, he has big shoes to fill. He could be a good trainer, but being a head coach is not easy, as there are so many aspects to handle."
Sadek added: "Vicente needs to win over the approval of the fans and gain support from clubs for the release of their players.
"He also needs a plan to get the best out of his trainees. I believe a seasoned coach is needed to handle all these internal and external pressures."
Commenting on Pan Gon's departure, Sadek said the South Korean coach had done his best and seemed to be not the same since returning from the Doha Asian Cup in January.
"Pan Gon is leaving Malaysia with a good CV. Harimau Malaya's ranking improved to No. 130 under him. I feel he could have thought that he reached the glass ceiling with Malaysia, so he left for other challenges," he added.