Despite 50 days away, Timorese relish 'mission'

Timor-Leste forward Mouzinho has been away from his country for more than 50 days and has not been home for almost 100, but he was full of purpose and joy while talking to The Straits Times through a translator on Saturday.

The 19-year-old said: "I do miss my family, but we have a mission here in Singapore."

His Under-23 team were based in a centralised location in Timor-Leste's capital Dili since Sept 6, before flying to Singapore on Oct 21, where most of them and their backroom staff have been based since.

Their first undertaking was the Under-23 Asian Cup qualifiers, where they acquitted themselves well by holding the Young Lions to a 2-2 draw and beating the Philippines 1-0 to finish third behind South Korea and Singapore.

After that campaign, only six players returned home, while 17 stayed on with eight officials to prepare for the ongoing AFF Suzuki Cup. They were then joined by another six senior players.

Timor-Leste coach Fabio Maciel explained: "There are limited flights per month between the two countries, so it was difficult to return and come back here."

So well before the other eight visiting teams arrived, they were already in the tournament's bubble, shuttling only between Hotel Royal and training grounds at Jalan Besar and Bukit Gombak.

Maciel, a 44-year-old Brazilian, said: "The hotel is good, and the food is good. We are thankful for our federation for financing our stay here and the Football Association of Singapore for their support."

Mouzinho, the youngest of six siblings whose home town is the city of Maliana, 149km south-west of Dili, had no problems too, despite breaking his previous record of being away from home for a month.

The forward added: "The last time was also because of football, and we have had a few overseas trips, so this is not an unfamiliar situation. I do miss playing with my two elder brothers and having cassava, but other than that, everything is good here.

"I communicate with my family via WhatsApp and I still have many friends here. We cannot go out, but we pass time in our rooms by watching videos, singing and dancing. And we still can train and play football, which makes us happy."

They have had a rough time at this Asean Football Federation (AFF) Championship, however, losing to Thailand, Myanmar (both 2-0) and the Philippines (7-0) before they round up their Group A campaign against hosts Singapore at the National Stadium tomorrow.

Regardless of the result, Timor-Leste will be eliminated and will fly home on Thursday.

"The Suzuki Cup is a higher level, but there were moments where we showed we can compete, and we will keep trying to improve," said Mouzinho.

Maciel backed his young players to return with a vengeance in future editions. He said: "We have so many teenage players like Mouzinho and Paulo Gali who have the potential to become top players not just in Asean but also Asia, and it is my job as coach and father figure to build them.

"Our domestic league is not so strong, so we need to find opportunities for them overseas. They will only get better playing in stronger teams. With more quality playing time, I believe we can make it to the semi-finals of the AFF U-22 Youth Championship, SEA Games and Suzuki Cup next year."