Found this article in The STAR dated sometime in July. He sure got some points there........
Matter of pride
Malaysia played to form and did not disappoint critics that labeled the national team as certified cannon fodder. The apathy that has ruined our game and the growth of football in the other Asian Cup co-hosting nations says it all.
By NANTHA KUMAR
ANY DISCOURSE on Malaysian football will involve the trading of every conceivable limping joke – “running” does not apply here for obvious reasons – stocked up for at least the last 10 years. The most petrifying aspect of it all is that the gags have blurred into facts.
The solitary hope of seeing Malaysia in a major international tournament rests with the nation's eagerness and ability to host it – as is the case with the AFC Asian Cup 2007 – and it is a reality that the only professional football here is of that beamed in from European football leagues.
The President of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has claimed that he had brought in millions in funding during his nearly 30-year reign but omitted to mention that his presidency eerily coincided with the decline of Malaysian football. The President's assertion, however, neatly summed up the narrow mentality and cultural bankruptcy that pervades Malaysian sports – it is all and always about the money. Allied to our unique bodoh sombong psyche – clueless but yet contemptuous – that is embedded in almost every layer of Malaysian life, it makes for a destructive union.
In short, our football mirrors our values. Sloganeering and posturing are above substance and purpose and it would be pointless to demand our footballers to invest their heart and soul into their play – as they belatedly did in the defeat to Iran – when there is no danger of them leaving the comfort zone that they occupy. When our players cruise into the training ground in their swanky cars and pontificate presumptuously of playing in Europe – as one of them ludicrously declared before the Asian Cup – the self-perpetuated notion that they have “arrived” would not be out of place.
This is the truth: none of the current batch of players in the national team would hack it in the national leagues of Vietnam,
Indonesia or Thailand. It is not that we are bereft of talented players or coaches: 20-year-old Titus James Palani has been in France since he was 12 to pursue his ambition of becoming an outstanding professional while former international Lim Teong Kim is scheduled to return home as one of the two coaches of Bayern Munich's Under-19 side which will compete in the Champions Youth Cup next month.
Both individuals have prospered not because of but in spite of the festering football environment here. This is a nation in which the duty of talent spotting has been abdicated to reality television episodes and when a team consisting of amateurs sourced from the programme and merged with semi-professionals are good enough to compete in the Malaysian league, what does it say about our football?
This is not to knock the popular television show – which is projected to roll out a similar version in Indonesia – but that is another way of looking at the football quagmire and ask: how serious are we about the development of football?
Not as much as our Asian Cup co-hosts. Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia have a larger pool of footballers to select from by virtue of the size of their population. All three nations share comparable physical, economic, social and cultural characteristics with Malaysia and have lagged – with the exception of Indonesia – behind us three decades ago.
Unlike Malaysia, however, all three do not have the range of facilities and funding available here where, unfortunately, international standards are confined to structures and not players.
Vietnam are the model after which Malaysia should emulate. The spirited manner in which they shocked holders Japan into conceding a goal before succumbing to the inevitable defeat was an example of the benefits of sustained growth in football and faith. While their team, comprising U-23 players are deficient in tactical maturity (an asset that will be gained after a number of years) – they do not fall short of aggression and self-belief. Beneath this observation is a concerted effort by the Vietnam football authorities and government to embrace the modern game that had left them behind during and after the Vietnam War.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC)'s Vision Vietnam project and FIFA's Goal Project – both personally supervised by AFC President Mohamed bin Hammam – has connected experts in coaching, medicine, football administration and match officialdom plus marketing with the Vietnam Football Federation. The rewards are there to be seen: Vietnam participated in the AFC Under-20 Championship 2006 – beating Malaysia in their group – and are the only South East Asian nation in next month's final qualifying rounds for the Beijing Olympics 2008.
Indonesia are also beneficiaries of the Vision Asia scheme. A year ago, the AFC – on the advice and assistance of the Football Association of Indonesia – identified Bandung and Yogjakarta as the centres that will foster an improved batch of footballers to eventually succeed the proud heroes of Asian Cup 2007. In the last tournament, Indonesia finished third in a group that also featured finalists China and semi-finalists Bahrain. Three years ago, Indonesia were thumped 3-1 by Bahrain; this year, it their turn to repay in kind with a 2-1 win in the Group D opener.
Thailand shares the same problems as their co-hosts. Dwindling interest in the domestic game, disorganisation and distrust of the football league and the low fortunes of the national team have all merged to create a diversion to televised European club competitions. The wild fame of the Premier League suggests that the interest in the game lies dormant and the Football Association of Thailand are earnest in building on a spate of commendable performances of the national team.
Thailand were the runners-up in the Asean Football Championship 2007 (previously known as the Tiger Cup), they made it to the last eight of the Doha Asian Games 2006 and have been the SEA Games gold medalists since 1993 in a remarkable seven-year dominance.
The establishment of the National Football Training Centre last year – with the help of football's world governing body FIFA – is also a positive step in further growing the sports and providing an avenue for youngsters and coaches to be urbanised.
It is no longer smart or relevant to knock the FAM – the President's missionary zeal to stubbornly stay on and battle gallantly to raise domestic standards is not exactly laudable.
But when his first act is to convene a task force consisting individuals who are not blessed with robust clear-sightedness and a glimmer reflective self-righteousness, it strains the limit of the laughable. We should leave the FAM to their own devise, with this single request: please extend the inquest to about a month from now to cover another debacle-in-waiting – the Merdeka Tournament.
Copyright © 1995-2007 Star Publications (Malaysia)
By the way : where is TITUS JAMES PALANI now ???
Matter of pride
Malaysia played to form and did not disappoint critics that labeled the national team as certified cannon fodder. The apathy that has ruined our game and the growth of football in the other Asian Cup co-hosting nations says it all.
By NANTHA KUMAR
ANY DISCOURSE on Malaysian football will involve the trading of every conceivable limping joke – “running” does not apply here for obvious reasons – stocked up for at least the last 10 years. The most petrifying aspect of it all is that the gags have blurred into facts.
The solitary hope of seeing Malaysia in a major international tournament rests with the nation's eagerness and ability to host it – as is the case with the AFC Asian Cup 2007 – and it is a reality that the only professional football here is of that beamed in from European football leagues.
The President of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has claimed that he had brought in millions in funding during his nearly 30-year reign but omitted to mention that his presidency eerily coincided with the decline of Malaysian football. The President's assertion, however, neatly summed up the narrow mentality and cultural bankruptcy that pervades Malaysian sports – it is all and always about the money. Allied to our unique bodoh sombong psyche – clueless but yet contemptuous – that is embedded in almost every layer of Malaysian life, it makes for a destructive union.
In short, our football mirrors our values. Sloganeering and posturing are above substance and purpose and it would be pointless to demand our footballers to invest their heart and soul into their play – as they belatedly did in the defeat to Iran – when there is no danger of them leaving the comfort zone that they occupy. When our players cruise into the training ground in their swanky cars and pontificate presumptuously of playing in Europe – as one of them ludicrously declared before the Asian Cup – the self-perpetuated notion that they have “arrived” would not be out of place.
This is the truth: none of the current batch of players in the national team would hack it in the national leagues of Vietnam,
Indonesia or Thailand. It is not that we are bereft of talented players or coaches: 20-year-old Titus James Palani has been in France since he was 12 to pursue his ambition of becoming an outstanding professional while former international Lim Teong Kim is scheduled to return home as one of the two coaches of Bayern Munich's Under-19 side which will compete in the Champions Youth Cup next month.
Both individuals have prospered not because of but in spite of the festering football environment here. This is a nation in which the duty of talent spotting has been abdicated to reality television episodes and when a team consisting of amateurs sourced from the programme and merged with semi-professionals are good enough to compete in the Malaysian league, what does it say about our football?
This is not to knock the popular television show – which is projected to roll out a similar version in Indonesia – but that is another way of looking at the football quagmire and ask: how serious are we about the development of football?
Not as much as our Asian Cup co-hosts. Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia have a larger pool of footballers to select from by virtue of the size of their population. All three nations share comparable physical, economic, social and cultural characteristics with Malaysia and have lagged – with the exception of Indonesia – behind us three decades ago.
Unlike Malaysia, however, all three do not have the range of facilities and funding available here where, unfortunately, international standards are confined to structures and not players.
Vietnam are the model after which Malaysia should emulate. The spirited manner in which they shocked holders Japan into conceding a goal before succumbing to the inevitable defeat was an example of the benefits of sustained growth in football and faith. While their team, comprising U-23 players are deficient in tactical maturity (an asset that will be gained after a number of years) – they do not fall short of aggression and self-belief. Beneath this observation is a concerted effort by the Vietnam football authorities and government to embrace the modern game that had left them behind during and after the Vietnam War.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC)'s Vision Vietnam project and FIFA's Goal Project – both personally supervised by AFC President Mohamed bin Hammam – has connected experts in coaching, medicine, football administration and match officialdom plus marketing with the Vietnam Football Federation. The rewards are there to be seen: Vietnam participated in the AFC Under-20 Championship 2006 – beating Malaysia in their group – and are the only South East Asian nation in next month's final qualifying rounds for the Beijing Olympics 2008.
Indonesia are also beneficiaries of the Vision Asia scheme. A year ago, the AFC – on the advice and assistance of the Football Association of Indonesia – identified Bandung and Yogjakarta as the centres that will foster an improved batch of footballers to eventually succeed the proud heroes of Asian Cup 2007. In the last tournament, Indonesia finished third in a group that also featured finalists China and semi-finalists Bahrain. Three years ago, Indonesia were thumped 3-1 by Bahrain; this year, it their turn to repay in kind with a 2-1 win in the Group D opener.
Thailand shares the same problems as their co-hosts. Dwindling interest in the domestic game, disorganisation and distrust of the football league and the low fortunes of the national team have all merged to create a diversion to televised European club competitions. The wild fame of the Premier League suggests that the interest in the game lies dormant and the Football Association of Thailand are earnest in building on a spate of commendable performances of the national team.
Thailand were the runners-up in the Asean Football Championship 2007 (previously known as the Tiger Cup), they made it to the last eight of the Doha Asian Games 2006 and have been the SEA Games gold medalists since 1993 in a remarkable seven-year dominance.
The establishment of the National Football Training Centre last year – with the help of football's world governing body FIFA – is also a positive step in further growing the sports and providing an avenue for youngsters and coaches to be urbanised.
It is no longer smart or relevant to knock the FAM – the President's missionary zeal to stubbornly stay on and battle gallantly to raise domestic standards is not exactly laudable.
But when his first act is to convene a task force consisting individuals who are not blessed with robust clear-sightedness and a glimmer reflective self-righteousness, it strains the limit of the laughable. We should leave the FAM to their own devise, with this single request: please extend the inquest to about a month from now to cover another debacle-in-waiting – the Merdeka Tournament.
Copyright © 1995-2007 Star Publications (Malaysia)
By the way : where is TITUS JAMES PALANI now ???
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