The Man with the Plan: Michael Weiss on taking Mongolia to the next level
Bangkok: From Rwanda to the Philippines, Michael Weiss has become accustomed to taking underdogs to new heights.
His most recent appointment as head coach of Mongolia is the latest episode in a career that started in modest surroundings as a high school coach in Japan before progressing to a job in the J League with Kyoto Purple Sanga.
The German then joined the Chinese youth set-up - where he played a key role in the discovery and development of Gao Lin among others - and then took charge of national teams.
Weiss is now hoping that he can do for the Mongolians what he did for Rwanda and the Philippines in overseeing a jump in the FIFA rankings and making them more competitive.
On the evidence of Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Southeast Asian heavyweights Thailand in their opening 2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualifying match, Weiss looks on course to emulate or surpass his previous achievements.
Q: How did it feel on a personal level to take a point from Thailand and where does the result rank in Mongolian football history?
A: You can maybe categorise Asian football in four or five different levels. I would say that Thailand is a little bit below the top, top level of, for example, Iran, Japan, South Korea, or Australia. Below, Thailand has made significant steps, whereas Mongolia is at the very bottom.
If you put that into perspective, I’d say it’s a sensation - an amazing result. But I said to the players that, while it was fantastic and they did a super job, it’s history and we have to focus on the next game.
Q: What do you aim to do to help develop football in the country?
A: I pushed the federation to get AFC tournaments in Mongolia. They tried really hard and this year in September we have the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers there and Australia are coming along with Vietnam and Cambodia.
Then, in November, we have Singapore, Thailand and Japan coming for the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers. This is a massive thing and fantastic for the country.
The focus now is to identify the players who will play for the U-19 side. In the team that played against Thailand, there were four or five players who are 17-18 years old competing against older players who play regularly in the Thai League, training in superb conditions with top foreigners and top coaches and facilities.
Q: How is the domestic league having an impact on football in Mongolia?
A: The league is still semi-professional. The coaching is getting better but there is still some way to go and one part of my assignment is to coach the coaches.
There are one or two clubs who focus very much on youth development and there are two or three foreign coaches who are doing a good job.
I can only hope that business people are looking into buying clubs and investing money. I hope that with the success here, we can have an impact.
Q: What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Mongolian players?
A: On Wednesday, you could see that the players were quite resilient. They have a certain physical strength - they are not physically big but they can compete.
They learn quickly and are hard-working and willing to adapt. They are not too frivolous and are not too obsessed with social media, like other footballers. They are very down-to-earth.
Q: How does working with Mongolia compare to your time with the Philippines?
A: It is totally different. In the Philippines, it was a private businessman who was financing the national team, deciding who would be coach and deciding on the salaries of players, paying for plane tickets and overseas camps.
He was very passionate about it and he did an amazing job with the Philippines. I came in when they first got to the semi-finals of the AFF Championship and I was there for three years to build and oversaw big improvements.
Mongolia has a long way to go still. You don’t have the quality players, but in the Philippines, you have half Filipinos, born in Germany, England or America and so many of them that you could make five national teams.
But what is fantastic in Mongolia is that everyone lives in one city [the capital Ulaanbaatar] and everything is centralised. If you can manage to have the team together often, you will always have an advantage.
Q: What would represent success for you in your time with the country?
A: My target is development and to build structures, to build a training centre, to build a good gym, to have facilities where you can train, to have academies for younger age groups and, of course, for the national team to reach the second round of qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
In 2019, we have the qualifiers for the 2022 finals involving the 12 lowest ranked teams in the region playing against each other. Last time, we lost against Timor Leste and next time maybe we will play Afghanistan or Chinese Taipei, Guam or Macau. I want to be ready at that time.
Photos: Lagardère Sports, Vachira Kalong?
Source: the-afc.com
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