The latest goings-on from Glory’s Malaysia Tour…
Day Two
Glory’s first full day in Sarawak was always likely to be a tough one – and so it proved.
Following a morning strength session at the splendidly-appointed Gym Box fitness centre, the players spent the afternoon training at Stadium Negeri, the venue for Saturday night’s tour opener against Sarawak FA.
Another post-lunch downpour may have lowered the temperature, but it only added to the already high humidity and the squad certainly felt it as they were put through their paces on a spongy, energy-sapping surface.
‘Play to create’ was the catch-cry from an animated Tony Popovic as he oversaw a high-intensity session that featured plenty of short, sharp ball drills as well as some 11 v 11 work.
As for the surroundings, Stadium Negeri is a venue of contrasts.
The steep, sweeping terraces and running track are reminiscent of Eastern European stadia, but the jungle and mountain views from the top of the towering stands are unmistakably Asian.
Somewhere between 5 and 10,000 fans are expected to attend Saturday night’s game and it will be fascinating to see what atmosphere they can create in what is a largely uncovered ground.
But it wasn’t just the players working a double shift on Day Two.
Key staff members Hayden Foxe, Danny Milosevic, Toby Horak and Luciano Trani all took to the stage to address more than 140 delegates at the Sarawak International Football Symposium.
They covered a number of topics between them, including high-intensity performance and analysis, goalkeeper development and injury prevention and were extremely well received by an audience drawn from Sarawak, the rest of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
#SarawakGlory
#OneGlory
