Taiwan has named Vom Ca-nhum (王家中) as manager of the men’s national soccer team, with the hope that his overseas experience will benefit the side in upcoming international matches as fans clamor for improved performances after last year’s disastrous results.
Vom, a former Taiwan youth coach, has been picked to lead Taiwan in the three remaining 2022 World Cup qualifiers, soccer officials announced on Thursday.
Vom replaces Englishman Louis Lancaster, who was sacked in December last year.
As one of the few in Taiwan with an AFC Pro A coaching license and with his many years coaching the nation’s youth teams, Vom is qualified for the job, officials said.
“Taking on this important job as national team manager means a lot to me,” Vom told reporters. “It is a great honor, but also a great responsibility. My first objective is to prepare the team for the World Cup qualifier against Nepal next month and the other matches in June, in which I want the players to show improvement and see results for all of their effort.”
“It will be a tough test, but I will lead the players to meet the challenges,” Vom added.
“As we are facing the Wuhan virus situation, so many things are yet undecided regarding away-site training and organizing friendlies with other countries,” he said.
The 55-year-old Vom, who in 2018 was briefly the team’s caretaker coach, was born to a Taiwanese father and East Timorese mother, and spent his childhood in East Timor, according to his bio from Taiwan’s soccer association.
War and upheaval brought the family to Taiwan, where Vom attended high school in Taipei’s Neihu District and excelled at soccer. He later moved to Kaohsiung to play.
As a top youth player, Vom said he dreamed of playing professionally in Europe, and he did try out for Crystal Palace, as well as clubs in Hong Kong and the Jeonnam Dragons pro club in South Korea.
Eventually returning to coach in Taiwan, Vom has had much success with youth and amateur teams, even leading a New Taipei City grade school to win a national title.
Vom was later selected to lead the national under-14, under-16 and under-19 teams, which built his skills at preparing youth players and organizing trips to foreign countries for Asia Football Confederation tournaments and qualifiers.
Last year, Vom made history as the first Taiwanese to coach a professional soccer club in China.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early on Tuesday struck out 11 in five shutout innings to match a franchise record during his MLB debut against the Oakland Athletics. “Pretty sick performance,” teammate Romy Gonzalez said. “It was fun to watch.” The only other Red Sox starter to rack up 11 strikeouts in his first career game was Don Aase versus the Milwaukee Brewers on July 26, 1977. “It was amazing, just to go out there and have that first opportunity,” Early said after getting the win in a 6-0 victory. “A long day of travel yesterday and just getting to the field, seeing
ELEVEN STRIKEOUTS: Blake Snell allowed two singles and two walks against the Rockies as he ended a personal three-game skid with his first win since Aug. 16 Blake Snell on Wednesday struck out a season-high 11 in six innings, while Mookie Betts hit a grand slam in the eighth as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-0 for their fourth straight win. Helped by their third series sweep of the Rockies this MLB season, the Dodgers increased their National League West lead to three games over the San Diego Padres, who lost 2-1 at home to the Cincinnati Reds. Betts went four for five with five RBIs, capped by his seventh career slam on a 3-0 pitch from reliever Anthony Molina to make it 8-0. Andy Pages and
‘DEVASTATED’: Argentina’s win was a reversal of their 28-24 defeat last week, with Australian forward Fraser McReight adding that ‘we did the same thing last week’ Argentina flyhalf Santiago Carreras punished an undisciplined Australia with 23 points off the tee as the Pumas held on grimly for a 28-26 win in Sydney yesterday to breathe new life into their Rugby Championship campaign. A try-fest beckoned in afternoon sunshine at Sydney Football Stadium, but Argentina needed only one through captain Julian Montoya, with Carreras doing the damage with seven penalties and a conversion in front of a sell-out crowd. A week after letting a 14-point lead slip in a 28-24 defeat to Australia in Townsville, Argentina saw most of a 21-point advantage erased in the final quarter as the
China’s state-run People’s Daily newspaper on Monday published an essay about Chinese basketball it said was written by LeBron James, but a representative for the NBA star said on Thursday that the article was based on a series of interviews. The paper, better known as the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, had said James authored the essay, “Basketball is a Bridge that Connects Us,” a tribute to Chinese players and fans of the sport written in the first person. “LeBron James Pens an Article in the People’s Daily,” read a post published on the newspaper’s official WeChat account. On Thursday, a representative
RSS