I've always been a massive fan of football. Fantasy football, championship manager, winning eleven, futsals, football team, mamak Saturday night football, etc. etc, yes I'm attached to it. What can I say, the English league evolved around me during my primary days. Even my eldest brother; as he was studying in Manchester, would from time to time visited us and we would never miss on playing International Superstar Soccer on the Super Nintendo console. He would also mention on and on about upcoming youth players in the English Premier League.
Basically what I’m trying to bring up here is that there's a lot of us adore the game. Most of us are big fans of the four big teams in the EPL. I love the atmosphere when it comes to watching big matches. And of course the debates, the disagreements, the loyalties on each others team; I just love all that. What bums me out is that how I wish we were routing for our own local clubs instead. Don't you just envy those in the stadiums rather than watching at Mamaks? Well I can’t blame you guys. We are currently ranked 161st. Malaysia’s national team performances for the past 15 years have fallen like a house of cards.
Malaysia's biggest achievement in football was becoming the bronze medalist in 1962 Asian Games held in Jakarta after defeating South Vietnam 4-1. Malaysia qualified for 1972 Olympics in Munich, conquering Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Philippines en route. Two years later, Malaysia won their second bronze medal in 1974 Asian Games after defeating North Korea 2-1. The team continued its glory after qualifying twice in a row for the AFC Asian Cup in 1976 and 1980.This era saw the rise of a generation of now legendary players, led from the front by the thunderous striker Mokhtar Dahari, centreback pairing of Santokh Singh and Soh Chin Aun which were deemed one of the best centreback pairs in Asia in the 70s and R. Arumugam, affectionately known as "Spiderman" for his agility, in goal.
In 1994 Malaysian football was embroiled in one of the biggest bribery scandals in the country. Many star players like Matlan Marjan were involved the corruption scandal that destroyed the credibility of Malaysian football. High-profile players who survived, such as Azman Adnan and Khairul Azman Mohamed continued to inspire cult followings, but the game had been badly hit. The 2000s saw the arrival of Muhamad Khalid Jamlus, a trialist with Eintracht Frankfurt), Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli, once signed to RC Strasbourg and Indra Putra Mahayuddin, among others, but for all their European connections, still failed to generate a mainstream interest in national football. The decline of the Malaysian national team comes in tandem with the decline of its domestic leagues. With the dearth of mainstream interest and starvation of funds, Malaysian football today is miles away from its glorious days of the 1970s and 1980s.
My suggestion is we should change our mind sets to Latin football instead of adapting English football. Maybe we should send players to Latin countries and have more broadcast on the Spanish or Brazilian league. There are many talented players in Malaysia but still our game plays are mostly base on long balls, crosses and tactical. It is beautiful to watch, I can't deny that but it is possible to play against bigger opponents physically. Maradonna, Pele, David Villa, Robinho, Messi and more others are all more or less our size. And to say that we don't have the stamina or we consume inappropriate diets; I doubt that. I'm certain that Nicole David and Rashid Sidek had lots of Nasi Lemak and Ayam masak merah.
One of my goals in life is to watch the World Cup in the stadium. One of my dreams is to watch Malaysia play for the World Cup; then again that’s too much to ask… haha... or at least in the AFC or the Olympics. I’ll assure you that I'll be one of the 1st to purchase the tickets if the impossible happens. Hopefully it will in my lifetime. Cheers =>
Basically what I’m trying to bring up here is that there's a lot of us adore the game. Most of us are big fans of the four big teams in the EPL. I love the atmosphere when it comes to watching big matches. And of course the debates, the disagreements, the loyalties on each others team; I just love all that. What bums me out is that how I wish we were routing for our own local clubs instead. Don't you just envy those in the stadiums rather than watching at Mamaks? Well I can’t blame you guys. We are currently ranked 161st. Malaysia’s national team performances for the past 15 years have fallen like a house of cards.
Malaysia's biggest achievement in football was becoming the bronze medalist in 1962 Asian Games held in Jakarta after defeating South Vietnam 4-1. Malaysia qualified for 1972 Olympics in Munich, conquering Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Philippines en route. Two years later, Malaysia won their second bronze medal in 1974 Asian Games after defeating North Korea 2-1. The team continued its glory after qualifying twice in a row for the AFC Asian Cup in 1976 and 1980.This era saw the rise of a generation of now legendary players, led from the front by the thunderous striker Mokhtar Dahari, centreback pairing of Santokh Singh and Soh Chin Aun which were deemed one of the best centreback pairs in Asia in the 70s and R. Arumugam, affectionately known as "Spiderman" for his agility, in goal.
In 1994 Malaysian football was embroiled in one of the biggest bribery scandals in the country. Many star players like Matlan Marjan were involved the corruption scandal that destroyed the credibility of Malaysian football. High-profile players who survived, such as Azman Adnan and Khairul Azman Mohamed continued to inspire cult followings, but the game had been badly hit. The 2000s saw the arrival of Muhamad Khalid Jamlus, a trialist with Eintracht Frankfurt), Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli, once signed to RC Strasbourg and Indra Putra Mahayuddin, among others, but for all their European connections, still failed to generate a mainstream interest in national football. The decline of the Malaysian national team comes in tandem with the decline of its domestic leagues. With the dearth of mainstream interest and starvation of funds, Malaysian football today is miles away from its glorious days of the 1970s and 1980s.
My suggestion is we should change our mind sets to Latin football instead of adapting English football. Maybe we should send players to Latin countries and have more broadcast on the Spanish or Brazilian league. There are many talented players in Malaysia but still our game plays are mostly base on long balls, crosses and tactical. It is beautiful to watch, I can't deny that but it is possible to play against bigger opponents physically. Maradonna, Pele, David Villa, Robinho, Messi and more others are all more or less our size. And to say that we don't have the stamina or we consume inappropriate diets; I doubt that. I'm certain that Nicole David and Rashid Sidek had lots of Nasi Lemak and Ayam masak merah.
One of my goals in life is to watch the World Cup in the stadium. One of my dreams is to watch Malaysia play for the World Cup; then again that’s too much to ask… haha... or at least in the AFC or the Olympics. I’ll assure you that I'll be one of the 1st to purchase the tickets if the impossible happens. Hopefully it will in my lifetime. Cheers =>
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