FAM : Where do we go from here?

In 1972, the Malaysian national football team qualified for the Olympics. They won against USA 3-0 but lost against Germany and Morocco.

In 1976, Malaysia beat Arsenal 2-0. Allahyarham Mokhtar Dahari scoring twice.

In 1980, they again qualified for the olympics but due to a boycott, they didn't go to Moscow.

1989, the league turned semi pro. Few years later it evolved into a professional league, and football became an official job for some Malaysians.

In the 1990s, Malaysian football retracted into its turtle shell and the downward spiral extends to this day.

The dark age of Malaysian football.

If the development of football is measured by its league status (professional, semi-pro, amateur), then why is the quality regressing over the years?

Never has been football been this shameful for Malaysians. Across the causeway down south, our neighbours must be rejoicing, reveling the downfall of a team who used to be the superpowers of Asian football. Now, if you tell an Englishman that Singapore is going to qualify for the world cup, then they would say, "Probably". A similar statement about Malaysia would be replied with a smirky smile or that regular English expression, "that's bollocks!".

There is never a mentioning of Malaysian football, without the citation of Allahyarham Mokhtar Dahari, Soh Chin Aun (tauke), Santokh Singh and R.Arumugam in the same breath. What a long breath you have there! Japan and Korea used to pee in their short shorts (ahh, those ol skool shorts) before facing the roar of the Tiger.

Now we are the tigress.

It seemed that Malaysia was united at that time. Now, as one blogger implied, we have a full Melayu team with 2 Indians in the roster. What went wrong?

There are 2 factors contributing to the downfall. The mentality plays a major part. Footballers in the glory days put Malaysia first before the money. They held their heads up high, knowing that representing the country was an immeasurable opportunity more meaningful than any material gifts.

Packed above its maximum capacity (because those days there were no seats, people crammed up the stadium to its bits), the roars and cheers of Malaysians in the 70s and 80s ring around the Merdeka stadium ; a choir of beautiful noise. The Malaysia team plays real football at that time, with an organized system, like an orchestra playing a Beethoven symphony. Merdeka stadium anticipates. The jubilance of the crowd is an ecstacy which drives the footballers on and on. To score goals after goals. To entertain. Mind you, they are not 'professional' footballers.

Of course, i wasn't there so i guess that was how it looked like.

Someone should really look into developing football from grassroots level. In the right way, that is. I still remember watching a piece of news few years back about the Malaysian under-12 team that finished in a respectable position at the Danone world junior cup or something in France. We finished above England! They need to have the same footballing education that the famous football schools offer. Learn from the Dutch. The Ajax Amsterdam and PSV Eindhoven academies have been producing talented footballers for such a long time.

Then there's my favourite part. The politicking issue. Get rid of both Khairy Jamaluddin and Sultan Ahmad Shah from FAM. Bring fresh new faces who have concrete ideas for the good of Malaysian football.

Futsal will be competed at Volgames 09. There's much expectation this time around. Being the home team has its advantages, but i hope our team can handle the pressure. We have a decent team with a mixture of core players and some new faces.

In Volgames 05, MMA finished as champions after winning 2-1 against our team in the final. Jufitri and Asrul scored for them. Sadly i can't remember who scored for Volgo. I happen to know both of the MMA guys (Jufitri is from Alor Star and Asrul was my senior at Langkawi).

Kursk are probably the favourites, and they have been the champions for the past 2 years. Deservedly so, too. I watched them in Moscow 2 years back when they trounced us 5-0 in the final and they were simply superb. We were left dazed and confused and wondered what hit us on our way back home to Volgograd.

Will Kursk continue to be kings? Or will they be dethroned from the top by Volgograd? Or do you favour history to repeat itself, with MMA again winning on Volgo soil?

Come the 26th of April, the kings of football will be crowned. Catch futsal at the Main Stadium at Manesh Sports Complex.

PS : Been a bit busy. Blah. Check out my other blog.