Everton Record-Breaker Begins New Joint-Role With National Team

It is not unusual to see footballers jetting off to every corner of the globe during the summer break.

For Everton Under-16s Coach Jose Baxter, his post-season trip to Malaysia has very much been about work, not leisure.

Baxter, an Everton Academy graduate and youngest player to have featured for the Men's Senior Team in a league match, has just started an exciting new role with the Malaysian national team as an assistant coach to Peter Cklamovski, himself a former assistant to Ange Postecoglou during Australia’s 2015 Asian Cup triumph.

Baxter, who will work in a joint-role for Malaysia alongside his ongoing duties at Finch Farm, has flown out to south-east Asia for his first international camp, spending the first week in Johor and the next two in Kuala Lumpur.

The squad is now training ahead of an important Asian Cup Group F qualifier against Vietnam at the National Stadium Bukit Jalil on Tuesday.

Speaking to evertonfc.com from Malaysia’s training camp in Kuala Lumpur, Baxter revealed his new international role arose through a very popular Blues icon.

“It came about through Tim Cahill!” said Baxter, who played with Cahill for the Blues under David Moyes. “Tim knows Peter, the Head Coach, really well and had success with him in the Asian Cup when Peter was assistant to Ange Postecoglou.

“They wanted a third coach to help the national team, Tim spoke to me and found I fitted the category.

“I had a few conversations with Peter which went really well, so they reached out to Everton, arranged everything around when I could leave for the camp, and it worked out really well.

“I always want to be around the best because I’m a firm believer that iron sharpens iron. You always do your background checks on managers and Postecoglou was one I really liked, and Peter was a big part of their success with Australia. He’s gone on to have big success in Asia with the likes of FC Tokyo.

“I’m someone who likes to come out of my comfort zone. I don’t want to grow old in the same environment. In order to do that, you need to go and venture out because there’s a whole world outside of Liverpool.

“It’s been great so far. The learning I’ve had already from being here just for two weeks has been exceptional, just with the manager, getting to work with international players, it’s been brilliant so far. Being around the elite environment, around national players, has been incredible.

“Peter has fantastic staff around him. Matt Smith (Assistant Coach), John Crawley (Goalkeeping Coach), Craig Duncan (Head of High Performance), they’ve all been really welcoming. You’ve got Aidil Zafuan as a coach, someone who has been a player and won more than 100 caps for Malaysia, who gives you a real insight into the squad, and the Technical Director Tan Cheng Hoe.

“The Crown Prince of Johor, Tunku Ismail Idris, who Tim works with as an advisor, has an amazing vision for Malaysian football. He and his family want to build a legacy in the sport and they’re having a really good go of it. The national team will only move forward with that.

“I have to thank the Crown Prince, Peter and Tim, as well as Gareth Prosser (Academy Director) and Carl Darlington (Head Of Academy Coaching) at Everton, for this opportunity. I’m very grateful to everyone involved for supporting me in terms of my development.”

Baxter – who made his Everton senior debut in 2008 aged 16 years and 191 days – will fly back to Merseyside on Wednesday following the Vietnam game and continue his work with the Club's Academy before the next qualifiers take place in October. Acknowledging the challenges of a joint-role, Baxter is excited by the potential benefits it will bring for himself, Everton and Malaysia.

“Everton is my job so that’s the focus in terms of the [daily] job in hand,” said Baxter. “These international camps will come around and there will be times where I’ve got to be away for weeks at a time.

“But it’s about building those relationships, and good relationships help all parties. I can bring good practices back to Finch Farm, or Everton may want to come out on a tour over here.

“There’s real exposure available on both sides. Once you envision the bigger picture and see what they’re creating out here, it’s pretty special.”

Malaysia, currently 131st in the FIFA world rankings, warmed up for the visit of Vietnam with back-to-back friendlies against Cape Verde, currently 59 places above them, something Baxter says will stand the squad in good stead ahead of Tuesday’s qualifier.

“When you get here, the first thing you notice is the boys have quality, but they have a great deal of respect,” he said.

“You can see how much they want to learn and ask questions.

“There’s no ego between any of them and they’re so respectful.

“Against Cape Verde, we were up against better opposition, much higher up in the rankings, to see where the lads are at.

“We did really well in and out of possession. We know we have bits to work on but in the short space of time we’ve had them, the lads have been brilliant.

“We’re really excited now going into the qualifier against Vietnam.”