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Thursday, November 24, 2011

Malaysian 'fans' expect too much

pic taken from ecofrenone.files.wordpress.com

So it's already well reported that Malaysia lost in the Olympic Qualifiers group match last night.

Read here and here for that. Simply put, fatigue played a role too.

However, some fans are just waiting to criticise the team for this and that - mind you these are fans who had just jumped onto the bandwagon, and before the SEA Games probably only knew Safee Sali and Khairul Fahmi Che Mat.

Had a conversation with one yesterday. One who watched the entire match, while I only saw bits of it due to other commitments.

Anyway this one is for you!

I was told Malaysia played badly, couldn't string passes together, couldn't hold the ball at all... in short a disappointment. All this I was told in comparison to how they played against Indonesia at the SEA Games final.

When i tried to explained things, there wasn't a healthy debate. Instead, I was told I couldn't talk because I didn't see the full game. Well now I have. Ready? - anyway my side remains unchanged.

Don't get me wrong please, I'm not defending Ong Kim Swee or Harimau Malaya. Just stating facts and opinion.

First of all we shouldn't be expecting instant success - to which i was told at least we should be able to pass the ball well. Granted Harimau Malaya do not have the best of passing.

Since Malaysia won the Asean Cup last year, interest in the national team has been peaking. Sadly, people want the Tigers to suddenly have fluid moves and be entertaining. Cannot la!

Against Indonesia, it was a regional battle. It is a much easier battle compared to Syria. We have moved from competing in SEA to the Asian stage. We cannot be expecting too much. Progress has to be step by step.

Btw FIFA World Rankings put Syria at 115 while Malaysia is at 151. Ok that's for senior sides but at least it can serve as an indicator.

The boys were tired. You can't play your best barely 48hours after playing a final that went into extra time and then penalties. Even European clubs and nations don't do that. But yet you expect Malaysia to play the same level in both matches, and against stronger opponents?

Okay one last thing. Since you at the very least expect the same type of passing? Think of this - when Manchested United played Chelsea they dominated the match with excellent passing. Yet when they played Barcelona in the Champions League final, I hate to admit this but they were totally outclassed, couldn't get their passes right, etc.

Same difference!

Yet, even with all the above said words I doubt it will be accepted by some. Well I'm not interested in a debate anymore. Have said what I wanted to say.

2 comments:

  1. yeah..truth hurts..i dare to say,currently,we r jaguh kampung..we can do well in asean region,but not in asia..especially against japan n those arabs..u know,ppl expect so much,but dont even realise that..did the even watch the liga super?watch it,n u know where we at..i can say most player in malaysia stll in semi pro level..y?watch englsh fa cup,teams from league1,league 2 and even lower!(lots of part time player) played lot better..but dont get me wrong,im not here to bash malaysia football..but we hav to b realistic,step by step..world cup in 2014?sure our FAM president must b drunk!for now,we r jaguh kampong,but future looks bright with new talent n if we can produce more like Nazmi,the future gonna b brighter -qym

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  2. Quite remarkable that we managed to hold Syria to only 2 goals! The boys were tired, the Arabs were stronger, both technically & physically and lets face it, Malaysian athletes, with the exceptions of my girl Nicole, give far too much respect to non-South East Asian opponents. All things considered, we did quite well. Now its time to capitalize on this upward swing, avoid politicizing, cut down a little on the media coverage of their past (limited) successes and focus on the next big game or tourney. Go Tigers!

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