Malaysian coach Norizan Bakar would do well to tell his players the tale of Cinderella, the battler who toughed it out and eventually became the belle of the ball.
It’s a particularly relevant analogy given that former Malaysian national team coach Allan Harris famously sniped, “The players didn’t even know which shoes to wear for different pitch conditions.”
You see, Bakar’s men are generally considered a national embarrassment. In August last year, FIFA ranked Malaysia at 148 in the world. This damning figure served to ram home the abject state of the game there, sparking a furious bout of finger-pointing across the country.
Malaysian football even became a parliamentary issue and calls were made for the Football Association (FAM) to be disbanded. Sound familiar? Aussie football was in similar straits – although not as lowly ranked – in 2004 until government sponsored intervention, a tonne of dollars and expert management resulted in a transformation of the game.
Hoping for some Aussie magic to rub off, FAM sent their side to Australia for a three week training camp in May as preparation for the Cup. And FAM has also lined up hit-outs in June with fellow tournament finalists Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman.
Now ranked 154 in the world and 27 in Asia – behind Palestine and Tajikistan – the golden opportunity of Asian Cup football could be Malaysia’s Waterloo – no doubt the AFC had this in mind when choosing Kuala Lumpur as a Cup co-host.
But the side’s form continues to disappoint. Regional rival Singapore has bragging rights over its neighbour after edging them out in the ASEAN Championships semi-finals in January, the first time Malaysia had missed the final in a decade. And Malaysia’s 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign ended with them not winning a single game. The nadir was losing to lowly Hong Kong.
And it won’t get any easier. Malaysia has been handed the draw from hell in Group C. They will hope that striker Indra Putra Mahayuddin – who tested positive for marijuana last year – can kick-start their campaign alongside young forwards Zaquan Adha Radzak and Azlan Ismail.
The glory days of Malaysian football, when names like Mokhtar Dahari and Soh Chin Aun were running rampant across Asia, seem a distant memory. But in 2007, if ever a country needed a nation-rousing campaign to jump-start football and bring back the fans, it’s Malaysia.
FourFourTwo verdict
Will struggle to get out of the group.
You see, Bakar’s men are generally considered a national embarrassment. In August last year, FIFA ranked Malaysia at 148 in the world. This damning figure served to ram home the abject state of the game there, sparking a furious bout of finger-pointing across the country.
Malaysian football even became a parliamentary issue and calls were made for the Football Association (FAM) to be disbanded. Sound familiar? Aussie football was in similar straits – although not as lowly ranked – in 2004 until government sponsored intervention, a tonne of dollars and expert management resulted in a transformation of the game.
Hoping for some Aussie magic to rub off, FAM sent their side to Australia for a three week training camp in May as preparation for the Cup. And FAM has also lined up hit-outs in June with fellow tournament finalists Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman.
Now ranked 154 in the world and 27 in Asia – behind Palestine and Tajikistan – the golden opportunity of Asian Cup football could be Malaysia’s Waterloo – no doubt the AFC had this in mind when choosing Kuala Lumpur as a Cup co-host.
But the side’s form continues to disappoint. Regional rival Singapore has bragging rights over its neighbour after edging them out in the ASEAN Championships semi-finals in January, the first time Malaysia had missed the final in a decade. And Malaysia’s 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign ended with them not winning a single game. The nadir was losing to lowly Hong Kong.
And it won’t get any easier. Malaysia has been handed the draw from hell in Group C. They will hope that striker Indra Putra Mahayuddin – who tested positive for marijuana last year – can kick-start their campaign alongside young forwards Zaquan Adha Radzak and Azlan Ismail.
The glory days of Malaysian football, when names like Mokhtar Dahari and Soh Chin Aun were running rampant across Asia, seem a distant memory. But in 2007, if ever a country needed a nation-rousing campaign to jump-start football and bring back the fans, it’s Malaysia.
FourFourTwo verdict
Will struggle to get out of the group.
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