KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 — After Celine Chuang made a name for herself in Germany last July, another national female youth footballer, Berlin Leong, has begun climbing up the ranks in Spain.
Berlin, whose real name is Leong Xin Yang, 19, put Malaysia in the spotlight recently when she began playing for C F Pozuelo’s second women’s squad in Spain.
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) in a statement on its Facebook page yesterday said Berlin’s journey in Spain started when she was offered an opportunity to play with C F Pozuelo’s youth team in August 2019.
Berlin, meanwhile, described the opportunity to play for her new club as a very valuable experience.
“The training here is a little different, because it covers the tactical as well as physical aspects in one session. I have had no problem adjusting though, as I consider the coaches and teammates here as my family,” she said.
Although she had to return to Malaysia in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Berlin said it did not prevent her from improving her performance and increasing her dedication, so much so she was given the opportunity to line up for C F Pozuelo’s second senior women’s squad when she returned to Spain in November.
Berlin also dreams of playing with C F Pozuelo’s senior women’s squad one day, besides wanting to continue to contribute to the national women’s squad in international competitions in the future.
“It’s a great honor for myself, but I believe that there is a lot more I need to learn and improve on.
“In conjunction with International Women’s Day on March 8, my hope is to see the country’s (Malaysian) women’s football reach the highest level, and to be able to compete with the giants,” she said.
Meanwhile, FAM in the statement, said it always prayed for Berlin’s success in Spain, and hoped that she would continue to excel in her endeavours.
Berlin came into the limelight after she first featured for her club in the match against Real Madrid’s second women’s squad on December 13, and made it into the starting line-up against Olimpico de Madrid a week later.
She had previously played for the national women’s youth team at the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Women’s Under-19 Championship Qualifiers in 2018, and the Japan-Asean Youth Sports Exchange, which was part of the 2018 Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (Jenesys) programme.
— Bernama
