What does two obscure and relatively unknown countries such as Liechtenstein and Gabon have in common and in context with Malaysia?
Well, for one they are ranked much higher than Malaysia in the latest (October 2013) installment of the FIFA World rankings.
Frankly, I do not know the intricate mechanics that FIFA uses to decide the ranking but what I do know is that one has to win to earn points which go towards the rankings, the one area which we have not been able to pull off consistently.
A quick check indicates that Gabon is located in the West Coast of Central Africa with a population of slight more than 1.5 million, while Liechtenstein is a landlocked alpine country situated in central Europe bordered by Switzerland and Austria. Estimated population, 35,000 (according to Wikipedia).
Ok, enough of geography and let’s get back to the rather pressing issue at hand, the standard of football or rather the lack of it which has been on the decline and for want of a better word, is currently at rock bottom.
Malaysia occupies the 160th position while the likes of Myanmar (149), Vietnam (151) and Belize (145) to mention a few countries, which were not even in the radar when Malaysia qualified for the 1980 Olympics are placed much higher.
Never mind that we boycotted that particular Olympic Games, the fact remains that we humbled South Korea to book a spot.
The glory days
I’m not even going to dwell on the past performances; it has been well documented and written to death, been plagiarised and re-plagiarised (is there even such a word I wonder).
There have been plenty of good memories but this particular stellar performance by the Malaysian squad still remains vivid in my memory.
“Super Mock gunned down Arsenal” screamed the back page headlines in the then, The Straits Times (now New Straits Times) the following morning.
That was in 1975, where my all-time favourite, the late Mokhtar Dahari humbled the mighty Gunners with two goals.
The visitors were simply stunned and I doubt the euphoria that all Malaysian football felt on that glorious night will ever be felt again. Not in my lifetime anyway.
Fast forward 2013, our boys failed to get the better of Qatar and were unceremoniously dumped from the Asia Cup 2015.
In the aftermath of it coach K. Rajagobal was given the boot, well not exactly as his contract will not be renewed and they are currently scouting for a new national coach.
As for Rajagobal, a diminutive former national player, in all fairness managed to achieve some stunning results, winning the AFF Suzuki Cup for the first time in decades.
The success may not be the same as qualifying for the Olympics but hey we take what little that we can.
The win by Malaysia was enough for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to declare a public holiday.
This is what we have come to. No thanks to the lackadaisical attitude of the management of Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and office bearers, some of whom who have stubbornly held on despite an overwhelming chorus of criticism and the direction it is currently heading.
Back then we had some of the best administrators in the FAM, namely Kwok Kin Keong followed by Paul Murugesu and Paul Mony Samuel, who literally ate, slept and breathed football without expecting neither financial rewards nor honorific titles.
That is dedication and their unselfish attitude was what kept the rest on their toes and the performance up there where they rightly belonged.
They were race, religious and colour blind and had the balls to call a spade a spade.
There were no two ways about it. Only the best gets to play. No prima donnas nothing what so ever.
The manager and the coach decided on the best 11 based on their current performance, fitness and only those who were also mentally prepared on match day.
We had some of the best coaches but still could not emulate the success of the yesteryears, why? We can bring in the best coach, say Pep Guardiola or even my favourite, the flamboyant, Jose “the special one” Mourinho.
Do any of you fans truly believe that they will be able to lift the standard of Malaysian football? Or say qualify for the Olympics? I don’t think so.
Youth development
It all starts with the grassroots development. Do we have a comprehensive programme for youth development?
Growing up we had ample space to kick a football around but where are they? Gobbled up by greedy developers and equally corrupt politicians and state administrators who aid and abet these greedy people.
Instead of allocation spaces for recreation, every square inch is utilised to build their concrete jungle thus depriving youths the space.
Be that as it may, sports ministers for long were aware of this situation and none were able to correct this situation, added to that we have the match fixing scrooge which seem to be a malignant cancer which is slowly and surely eating away at what is left of the standard of football and if it continues will resulting in a certain death.
So in comes the knight in shining armour by the name of Khairy Jamaluddin, the newly minted sports minister.
Try as he may but he is up against a brick wall called FAM and their minions who pull strings there just so they feel important.
Khairy, I was told, loves the game. Apparently the man also plays decent football and his only aim is to bring the level of football to the next level.
Khairy has tried everything in his capacity, cajoling, advising and to the extent of even appealing but to no avail. The moment he started criticising all hell broke loose.
Khairy’s task
First to come to FAM’s defence was Jamal Nasir, a former national coach and a council member of FAM.
This is what Khairy was quoted by Utusan Malaysia as saying:
“I commented on FAM because I want our (standard of) football to move forward. Can’t the minister of sports say anything about it?”
When pushed further, a livid Khairy advised Jamal to literally mind his own business and this was what he had to say:
“He Jamal is not the leader of FAM and should not get involved. This is between a minister and the FAM”.
Another unlikely person who has nothing whatsoever to do with football nor sports who came to the defence of Jamal and FAM was none other than songstress Siti Nurhaliza who advised Khairy to be more tactful and not “biadap” towards the elders.
Well Khairy, I’m sure you are aware of it and may have been advised countless time about what you are up against.
Keep chipping away at the brick wall called FAM as it is incumbent upon you to purge out whatever needs to be purged out so that Malaysian football can attain some kind of respect and dignity in the next few years.
Nobody said it is going to be a walk in the park and something that can be achieved overnight. All we are asking of you is to take FAM head on and do what you must for all Malaysian football fans.
You have a duty and do not waver, do whatever you have to do to stop the rot and hopefully, say in a decade from now, we may have a decent team which perform to their expectations.
That will be your legacy.As to Siti (one of my favourite local singers), FAM is currently looking for a capable replacement for Rajagobal.
Maybe you should offer yourself. Who knows you may even outdo Rajagobal and all coaches before him.
Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/11/29/khairy-up-against-fam-brick-wall/
R Guna is a freelance sports writer
Well, for one they are ranked much higher than Malaysia in the latest (October 2013) installment of the FIFA World rankings.
Frankly, I do not know the intricate mechanics that FIFA uses to decide the ranking but what I do know is that one has to win to earn points which go towards the rankings, the one area which we have not been able to pull off consistently.
A quick check indicates that Gabon is located in the West Coast of Central Africa with a population of slight more than 1.5 million, while Liechtenstein is a landlocked alpine country situated in central Europe bordered by Switzerland and Austria. Estimated population, 35,000 (according to Wikipedia).
Ok, enough of geography and let’s get back to the rather pressing issue at hand, the standard of football or rather the lack of it which has been on the decline and for want of a better word, is currently at rock bottom.
Malaysia occupies the 160th position while the likes of Myanmar (149), Vietnam (151) and Belize (145) to mention a few countries, which were not even in the radar when Malaysia qualified for the 1980 Olympics are placed much higher.
Never mind that we boycotted that particular Olympic Games, the fact remains that we humbled South Korea to book a spot.
The glory days
I’m not even going to dwell on the past performances; it has been well documented and written to death, been plagiarised and re-plagiarised (is there even such a word I wonder).
There have been plenty of good memories but this particular stellar performance by the Malaysian squad still remains vivid in my memory.
“Super Mock gunned down Arsenal” screamed the back page headlines in the then, The Straits Times (now New Straits Times) the following morning.
That was in 1975, where my all-time favourite, the late Mokhtar Dahari humbled the mighty Gunners with two goals.
The visitors were simply stunned and I doubt the euphoria that all Malaysian football felt on that glorious night will ever be felt again. Not in my lifetime anyway.
Fast forward 2013, our boys failed to get the better of Qatar and were unceremoniously dumped from the Asia Cup 2015.
In the aftermath of it coach K. Rajagobal was given the boot, well not exactly as his contract will not be renewed and they are currently scouting for a new national coach.
As for Rajagobal, a diminutive former national player, in all fairness managed to achieve some stunning results, winning the AFF Suzuki Cup for the first time in decades.
The success may not be the same as qualifying for the Olympics but hey we take what little that we can.
The win by Malaysia was enough for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to declare a public holiday.
This is what we have come to. No thanks to the lackadaisical attitude of the management of Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and office bearers, some of whom who have stubbornly held on despite an overwhelming chorus of criticism and the direction it is currently heading.
Back then we had some of the best administrators in the FAM, namely Kwok Kin Keong followed by Paul Murugesu and Paul Mony Samuel, who literally ate, slept and breathed football without expecting neither financial rewards nor honorific titles.
That is dedication and their unselfish attitude was what kept the rest on their toes and the performance up there where they rightly belonged.
They were race, religious and colour blind and had the balls to call a spade a spade.
There were no two ways about it. Only the best gets to play. No prima donnas nothing what so ever.
The manager and the coach decided on the best 11 based on their current performance, fitness and only those who were also mentally prepared on match day.
We had some of the best coaches but still could not emulate the success of the yesteryears, why? We can bring in the best coach, say Pep Guardiola or even my favourite, the flamboyant, Jose “the special one” Mourinho.
Do any of you fans truly believe that they will be able to lift the standard of Malaysian football? Or say qualify for the Olympics? I don’t think so.
Youth development
It all starts with the grassroots development. Do we have a comprehensive programme for youth development?
Growing up we had ample space to kick a football around but where are they? Gobbled up by greedy developers and equally corrupt politicians and state administrators who aid and abet these greedy people.
Instead of allocation spaces for recreation, every square inch is utilised to build their concrete jungle thus depriving youths the space.
Be that as it may, sports ministers for long were aware of this situation and none were able to correct this situation, added to that we have the match fixing scrooge which seem to be a malignant cancer which is slowly and surely eating away at what is left of the standard of football and if it continues will resulting in a certain death.
So in comes the knight in shining armour by the name of Khairy Jamaluddin, the newly minted sports minister.
Try as he may but he is up against a brick wall called FAM and their minions who pull strings there just so they feel important.
Khairy, I was told, loves the game. Apparently the man also plays decent football and his only aim is to bring the level of football to the next level.
Khairy has tried everything in his capacity, cajoling, advising and to the extent of even appealing but to no avail. The moment he started criticising all hell broke loose.
Khairy’s task
First to come to FAM’s defence was Jamal Nasir, a former national coach and a council member of FAM.
This is what Khairy was quoted by Utusan Malaysia as saying:
“I commented on FAM because I want our (standard of) football to move forward. Can’t the minister of sports say anything about it?”
When pushed further, a livid Khairy advised Jamal to literally mind his own business and this was what he had to say:
“He Jamal is not the leader of FAM and should not get involved. This is between a minister and the FAM”.
Another unlikely person who has nothing whatsoever to do with football nor sports who came to the defence of Jamal and FAM was none other than songstress Siti Nurhaliza who advised Khairy to be more tactful and not “biadap” towards the elders.
Well Khairy, I’m sure you are aware of it and may have been advised countless time about what you are up against.
Keep chipping away at the brick wall called FAM as it is incumbent upon you to purge out whatever needs to be purged out so that Malaysian football can attain some kind of respect and dignity in the next few years.
Nobody said it is going to be a walk in the park and something that can be achieved overnight. All we are asking of you is to take FAM head on and do what you must for all Malaysian football fans.
You have a duty and do not waver, do whatever you have to do to stop the rot and hopefully, say in a decade from now, we may have a decent team which perform to their expectations.
That will be your legacy.As to Siti (one of my favourite local singers), FAM is currently looking for a capable replacement for Rajagobal.
Maybe you should offer yourself. Who knows you may even outdo Rajagobal and all coaches before him.
Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/11/29/khairy-up-against-fam-brick-wall/
R Guna is a freelance sports writer
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