KUALA LUMPUR: Goalkeepers guru coach, Martijn Drijver, held his final session with the Malaysian goalkeepers before sending them off to the Asian Games with a double thumbs up.
The Dutchman, who is no stranger to men's senior goalkeepers Hafizuddin Othman and Zaini Mat Deris' form, was impressed with their commitment and progress.
He has visited them briefly for many years to fine-tune their training sessions, as well as juniors and women's goalkeepers in the country, and went home impressed.
Drijver has been training keepers around the world for over 30 years.
"It's not without reason that he is known as the Goalie Guru," exclaimed his Drijver Goalie Academy website.
National goalkeepers coach S. Kumar said: "I have been with the senior team's goalkeepers for the past two years, since coach Arul (Selvaraj) took over the team. Hafizuddin and Zaini grew up from shaky to confident goalkeepers primed for the Asian Games challenge.
"And even Martijn was impressed with how much Hafizuddin and Zaini has improved inside two years."
Kumar missed the Tokyo Olympics after Japan held Malaysia 6-6 and then won the shootout 3-1 at the 2018 Jakarta Games. He was between the posts in Jakarta, and retired after that. Now he wants to take his proteges to the Paris Olympics instead.
"The last ball must be stopped at all costs by a goalkeeper, and the pressure is tremendous. Nobody but goalkeepers know what it feels like to stand between the posts and defend their country.
"That is why a personal approach was taken to motivate and install confidence in both the goalkeepers so that any given time, any of them can be relied upon when called up during a match."
Malaysia will play Thailand, Oman and Indonesia as "warm-ups" at the Asian Games before meeting South Korea and China in the semi-finals.
Kumar will use both Hafizuddin and Zaini for the first three matches to get their tournament rhythm going.
"The plan is to use both the goalkeepers equally during the Thailand, Oman and Indonesia matches to get them ready for stronger teams later on in the tournament.
"It is never easy to sit on the bench (second goalkeeper) and wait for your chance to impress, but I have two goalkeepers who I can rely on equally and will use them during strategic times," said Kumar.
Hafizuddin is the No. 1, but Zaini showed during the Chennai Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) that he has steady hands and an alert mind as well.
"I used Zaini for full matches against Japan and China and half a match against South Korea at the ACT, and he never disappointed his teammates. So, even though he is tagged as the No 2, but is reliable whenever I need him," said Kumar.
The target is to win gold and qualify for the Paris Olympics after 24 years in the cold, and the two guardians will play a crucial role for 60 minutes every match as well as if it comes to shootout at the knock-out stages.