Almost a week ago the national U-23 team defeated Vietnam 1-0 in the finals of the SEA Games men's football tournament. The win, courtesy of an own goal, ended a 20 year wait for Malaysia to become champions.
A lot is being said about the victory and probably the whole football fraternity are either claiming credit or claiming to be a part of the celebration. People walking along the corridors of Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) are smiling and in a joyful mood. For them, Santa was in Vientiane last Thursday.
The win caused people to react in different ways, some even saying that with this win, Malaysia's ranking will improve! Here I would like to just put some facts before us so that we do not get carried away and, in the process, cause soccer to further decline.
The first fact, of course is that the team won the gold medal and obviously the have to be congratulated on that. The second, is that this is a South East Asian tournament and by winning, our team has proven to be of that level. Let's remember that.
The third fact is, the result would be different if the same teams play again next month. Therefore, the Malaysian team peaked at that time while the others are not far behind, or many be in front.
This is a U-23 tournament, and the rankings would not be effected.
However, the reality is that, this win should inspire the people in power to move ahead with proper planning and making the necessary drastic changes, especially in the mentality of officials in football.
This win should be seen as an encouragement to change, not a victory to talk about for too long. FAM has to make an study of the performance of the national U-23 team and the players and see if they can become strong contenders at Asian level. Do we have a system to see our footballers succeed at Asian level? We have to stop lying to ourselves.
Lets accept this fact, SEA Games level is nothing to shout about. It can become a wonderful thing if the sleeping machinery is awakened. The next tournaments on the list are pre-Asian Cup and of the course the Asian Games.
Let's hope FAM will see the need to think "out of the box" and make sure that soccer continues to enjoy fans support.
And, let's not forget, soon Laos, Vietnam and Thailand and possibly Singapore would be top contenders in Asia. Why? Because they have shed their old image and now are willing to change for the sake of football. Politics will have to move aside.
In 18 months time, the next SEA Games will be held in Indonesia. Do we have a team to defend the gold medal? As expected, the U-23 were upgraded to national team. What tournaments will they play in?
If we want to go above the South East Asian level, we need to have a high profile foreign coach, at least for now. The coach should lead the team and oversee the development of other age group teams.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Travel problems..........again
The victorious national football team's return from Laos this Friday afternoon was delayed due to a technical problem in the Hercules C-130 Royal Malaysian Armed Forces (RMAF) aircraft.
RMAF Public Relations Officer Major Kamarulzaman Ali said a replacement aircraft to bring back the players, had already left the Subang RMAF base at 8pm, Friday.
"RMAF has sent an aircraft to replace the one that faced a technical problem and the players are expected to arrive at 6.30am Saturday," he told Bernama when contacted here.
The National squad that won the gold medal after beating Vietnam 1-0 Thursday, was supposed to arrive at the RMAF base in Subang this afternoon.
The team encountered travel problems on the day they were supposed to leave for Laos. Apparently their chartered flight did not get the clearance to land in Laos. But that matter was resolved and they took off a day later.
RMAF Public Relations Officer Major Kamarulzaman Ali said a replacement aircraft to bring back the players, had already left the Subang RMAF base at 8pm, Friday.
"RMAF has sent an aircraft to replace the one that faced a technical problem and the players are expected to arrive at 6.30am Saturday," he told Bernama when contacted here.
The National squad that won the gold medal after beating Vietnam 1-0 Thursday, was supposed to arrive at the RMAF base in Subang this afternoon.
The team encountered travel problems on the day they were supposed to leave for Laos. Apparently their chartered flight did not get the clearance to land in Laos. But that matter was resolved and they took off a day later.
The never ending circus
The Malaysian contingent will be back soon from Laos and naturally the "good news" would be trumpetted to cover the true picture.
The talk would be of the gold medal tally which exceeded the conservatively-minumum target set by some people and also of football team's success in winning the gold medal after a 20 year wait.
Soon the seasonal post-office in Jalan Hang Jebat will close for a while and the "grand post-master" prepares the plot for the Asian Games, in Guangzhou, China.
The political talk has already started with a suggestion that the prize money for SEA Games winners be revised. While I am not questioning the need for a reward system, but common sense would tell us that reward for victory at this low level should be in the form of oppurtunities to have better trainning and exposure.
But, there are many questions that need to be answered. They have not been amswered before and I believe it may never be answered for a long time, untill people realise their desire to get free trips in exchanges for votes, has destroyed sports.
The first question which many have asked is how come there are so many non performing Category A athletes in Laos and other games before this. How were they selected? Did anyone query the figures and statistics used by the National Associations (NSAs)?
And, will National Sports Council (NSC) continue to pay for the expenses even when the selection process is "loose"?
NSC officials when contacted, admitted they do not have the figures of how many of the Category A athletes/ teams are not up to the mark but they too pointed out that Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM)'s selection has always been "loose"
If that is the case, why pay for the many "loosely selected" contingents? Who are the managers going with the teams? Do they know anything about the sport concerned? One can point the finger at NSAs but the fingers points back to the selectors and the party that bears the costs.
The Category B was introduced to open the door for potential and young athletes to gain exposure in these meets. Why are national athletes who fail to qualify given a Category B status? Who are you trying to please?
And, the big question would be why are there so many officials in Laos? There is the official officials list, there is a technical officials list, then there is the non official officials lists and some mysterious appearances by some.
There are many types of passes - A, B, C and E, babysitter passes and passes for babysitters and personal and exchangeable passes and so on. I am not going to as how walker Yuan Yu Fang got to Laos.
We all know of some people who go around blowing their trumpets and claiming "I am the most transparent person in the world". Maybe now is the time to see how transparent can "the most transparent person be."
Anyway, after being in sports for almost three decades, I do not expect any truths anymore. I just write with the hope that one day things would change and this "I scratch your back you vote for me" would be stopped once and for all.
I just hope the NSC would play a more argessive role and not a follower's role. Say no to nonsense. Malaysian sports needs a guardian. There are none now.
The talk would be of the gold medal tally which exceeded the conservatively-minumum target set by some people and also of football team's success in winning the gold medal after a 20 year wait.
Soon the seasonal post-office in Jalan Hang Jebat will close for a while and the "grand post-master" prepares the plot for the Asian Games, in Guangzhou, China.
The political talk has already started with a suggestion that the prize money for SEA Games winners be revised. While I am not questioning the need for a reward system, but common sense would tell us that reward for victory at this low level should be in the form of oppurtunities to have better trainning and exposure.
But, there are many questions that need to be answered. They have not been amswered before and I believe it may never be answered for a long time, untill people realise their desire to get free trips in exchanges for votes, has destroyed sports.
The first question which many have asked is how come there are so many non performing Category A athletes in Laos and other games before this. How were they selected? Did anyone query the figures and statistics used by the National Associations (NSAs)?
And, will National Sports Council (NSC) continue to pay for the expenses even when the selection process is "loose"?
NSC officials when contacted, admitted they do not have the figures of how many of the Category A athletes/ teams are not up to the mark but they too pointed out that Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM)'s selection has always been "loose"
If that is the case, why pay for the many "loosely selected" contingents? Who are the managers going with the teams? Do they know anything about the sport concerned? One can point the finger at NSAs but the fingers points back to the selectors and the party that bears the costs.
The Category B was introduced to open the door for potential and young athletes to gain exposure in these meets. Why are national athletes who fail to qualify given a Category B status? Who are you trying to please?
And, the big question would be why are there so many officials in Laos? There is the official officials list, there is a technical officials list, then there is the non official officials lists and some mysterious appearances by some.
There are many types of passes - A, B, C and E, babysitter passes and passes for babysitters and personal and exchangeable passes and so on. I am not going to as how walker Yuan Yu Fang got to Laos.
We all know of some people who go around blowing their trumpets and claiming "I am the most transparent person in the world". Maybe now is the time to see how transparent can "the most transparent person be."
Anyway, after being in sports for almost three decades, I do not expect any truths anymore. I just write with the hope that one day things would change and this "I scratch your back you vote for me" would be stopped once and for all.
I just hope the NSC would play a more argessive role and not a follower's role. Say no to nonsense. Malaysian sports needs a guardian. There are none now.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Own goal ends 20 year drought
It took an own goal from a Vietnam defender to end Malaysia's 20-year gold drought in the SEA Games football tournament at the Main Stadium in Vientiane, Thursday night. Malaysia won 1-0.
With just seven minutes remaining on the clock and Vietnam piling on the pressure as they look to complete the double in football, the Malaysians launched an attack that ended disastrously for the favourites.
Midfielder Safiq Rahim, who has been a menace all night long, crashed in a cross from the left but in his haste to clear the ball, defender Mai Xuan Hop delivered it into his own net.
It was a cruel way for the final to be decided but we've seen worse in football these days. Just ask the Irish who lost out to a slippery sleight of hand from Thierry Henry.
Xuan Hop could only look to the gods in disbelief while his goalkeeper, the lanky Bai Tran Truong screamed in vain as the Malaysians reeled away in delight for the well-deserved lead.
For Malaysia, the dream of gold and money must have instantly filled the heads of the young Tigers who were never expected to even make it to the semi-finals after a sputtering start in the first round.
Still, they knew they were on the verge of providing Malaysia with their most glorious moment in football for two decades and quickly took up their places to defend the goal.
Vietnam refused to give up and with the referee generously adding on six minutes, the fight was clearly on for the gold.
The strikers charged furiously forward and two minutes into extra time, Vietnam should have equalised when striker Mai Tien Thanh was provided with a golden opportunity after evading marker Mohd Sabre Mat Abu.
In all honesty, it was easier to score the chance than to blow it but that's just what Mai Tien Thanh did.
Tranh Dinh Dong picked out Tien Thanh from the left and sent in a near-perfect cross to his compatriot at the top of the six-yard box.
The 15,000 Vietnamese fans were utterly dismayed when Tien Thanh, who just needed to stab the ball in, blasted into oblivion. That shot also ended Vietnam's hopes of landing their first ever SEA Games gold.
Vietnam were aiming to pick up their second biggest silverware in as many years after sensationally wresting the AFF Suzuki Cup in Hanoi last year.
And they were also chasing the men’s football gold to complete their grand double following the victory by the women’s team just the day before.
For Malaysia, the gold medal tonight marked an end of 20-years of despair and pain for millions of fans in the country who last saw gold in the 1989 Games held in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia then beat Singapore 3-1 in the final while the last time Malaysia claimed the SEA Games gold away from home was in the 1979 Jakarta Games.
In the meantime, in the battle for the bronze medal, Singapore defeated hosts Laos 3-1. The goals were scored by Mohd Khairulnizam Mohd Kamal (23rd), Mohd Fazli Ayob (53rd) and Mohd Fadhil Noh (87th) while Lamnao Singto scored for the hosts in the 89th minute. -AFF.
With just seven minutes remaining on the clock and Vietnam piling on the pressure as they look to complete the double in football, the Malaysians launched an attack that ended disastrously for the favourites.
Midfielder Safiq Rahim, who has been a menace all night long, crashed in a cross from the left but in his haste to clear the ball, defender Mai Xuan Hop delivered it into his own net.
It was a cruel way for the final to be decided but we've seen worse in football these days. Just ask the Irish who lost out to a slippery sleight of hand from Thierry Henry.
Xuan Hop could only look to the gods in disbelief while his goalkeeper, the lanky Bai Tran Truong screamed in vain as the Malaysians reeled away in delight for the well-deserved lead.
For Malaysia, the dream of gold and money must have instantly filled the heads of the young Tigers who were never expected to even make it to the semi-finals after a sputtering start in the first round.
Still, they knew they were on the verge of providing Malaysia with their most glorious moment in football for two decades and quickly took up their places to defend the goal.
Vietnam refused to give up and with the referee generously adding on six minutes, the fight was clearly on for the gold.
The strikers charged furiously forward and two minutes into extra time, Vietnam should have equalised when striker Mai Tien Thanh was provided with a golden opportunity after evading marker Mohd Sabre Mat Abu.
In all honesty, it was easier to score the chance than to blow it but that's just what Mai Tien Thanh did.
Tranh Dinh Dong picked out Tien Thanh from the left and sent in a near-perfect cross to his compatriot at the top of the six-yard box.
The 15,000 Vietnamese fans were utterly dismayed when Tien Thanh, who just needed to stab the ball in, blasted into oblivion. That shot also ended Vietnam's hopes of landing their first ever SEA Games gold.
Vietnam were aiming to pick up their second biggest silverware in as many years after sensationally wresting the AFF Suzuki Cup in Hanoi last year.
And they were also chasing the men’s football gold to complete their grand double following the victory by the women’s team just the day before.
For Malaysia, the gold medal tonight marked an end of 20-years of despair and pain for millions of fans in the country who last saw gold in the 1989 Games held in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia then beat Singapore 3-1 in the final while the last time Malaysia claimed the SEA Games gold away from home was in the 1979 Jakarta Games.
In the meantime, in the battle for the bronze medal, Singapore defeated hosts Laos 3-1. The goals were scored by Mohd Khairulnizam Mohd Kamal (23rd), Mohd Fazli Ayob (53rd) and Mohd Fadhil Noh (87th) while Lamnao Singto scored for the hosts in the 89th minute. -AFF.
Indonesia fighting for third place
Indonesia leapfrogged Malaysia and pulled even with Singapore as it moved up to third in the Southeast Asian Games medal tally after bagging seven gold medals, nine silvers and 12 bronzes.
Having languished in the middle of the table for much of the Games after targeting a third-place finish, Indonesia won seven gold medals, nine silver and 12 bronze on Wednesday. It must finish strong in the final two days in order to hold off Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines for third place.
Indonesia has 32 golds, 37 silvers and 60 bronzes, and it holds the tiebreaker over Singapore (32-23-33) with more silver medals. Malaysia (29-36-51) and the Philippines (29-24-41) are fifth.
A late run of gold medals on Wednesday allowed Vietnam (61-55-47) to pull level with Thailand (61-68-79) atop the table.
Suryo Agung Wibowo (picture) lived up to his title of SEA Games sprint king, winning the men’s 200-meter dash in 20.85 seconds to add to his SEA Games record-setting performance in the 100 meters.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Worawi ready to step down
Worawi Makudi, president of the FA of Thailand, said that he is ready to step down from his post if the majority voice would like him to go following the U23 team's disastrous exit in men's football of the 25th SEA Games."This failure's the most disappointment to all Thais. We'd high expectation before the tournament that we would win the gold for ninth successive time. But, the competition in the Games is not easy as anyone thought. All other teams wanted to beat us,” said Worawi (picture).
"I'd tried to remind the players that every second in the game is critical. We needed to keep our focus until the end. It's a costly experience for us.
"Regarding on the call from some group who wanted me to resign, I'm a kind of person who wasn't attached to the position. So, I'm willing to consider myself if the majority of fans want me to leave or deem that I'm not suitable for the job.”
Thailand’s reign as eight consecutive champions of the SEA Games came crashing down last week when the team conceded a 2-1 loss to Malaysia in a crucial game of Group A which saw their exit from the tournament.
It was the first time in 36 years that the Thais had failed to reach the semi-finals stage.
Following the loss in Laos, the Thai team is now preparing for the 2011 Asian Cup qualifiers next month.
"Initially, we would have a training camp after the Games as several members of the team played for the Under23 side in Laos,” he added.
"Now, we've to move forward our training programme. Tomorrow, (national coach Bryan) Robson would return to the country, so the preparation might start right away. I'm still confident we could score at least four points from the remaining two Cup qualifiers.”- AFF.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Cycling: NSC please take over
It was a disastrous outing for cycling at the Laos SEA Games and the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) should admit failure and surrender the road development programme to the National Sports Council (NSC).
Not only the team failed to win any gold medals, but the games showed that neighbouring countries like Vietnam and Thailand have already developed a team of young and fast riders that look set to challenge the best in the continent for the next few years, including at the Asian Games in Guangzhou.
The target was two golds but the team came back with only two bronze and a silver from women cyclist, Noor Azian Alias. Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia were the strong successful teams while the Phillippines did not participate because of some internal problems in the federation.
By right, the OlympicCouncil of Malaysia (OCM) should come out and say that because of this failure the road team cannot go to Guangzhou. But that would not happen because OCM is all about staying in office and all support is needed, even though it will destroy the sport.
In fact, OCM might even allow the team to go through "other doors" like results of trials held somewhere and of course there is the Category B thing, which should be stopped once and for all. (I will write about that later)
After the 1998 Commonwealth Games, former NSC Director General, Datuk Wira Mazlan Ahmad put the track development under the government agencies' wings and left the road programme in the hands of the national body.
The move has become a success story for cycling who now have internationally renowned track riders like Azizulhasni Awang and Rizal Tisin.
But what was left in the hands of MNCF failed miserably. The Le Tour de Langkawi has failed to inspire the development of domestic road cyclist and many are surprised that the local riders cannot do well even though the races are on our own territory, which the riders should be familiar with and by now should have mastered them.
Since 1998, MNCF would come to NSC for funds to send the road teams for tournaments and other stints and the NSC mostly helps out. But, the helping period is over, and now the NSC should take over and develop the road racing team, which is totally dependent on government funding.
And, obviously, the MNCF leadership must take responsibility and step down. Now is the best time to do so and in the best interest of sports move aside and let others take cycling to greater heights.
The reasons for failure is obviously the lack of proper coaching and preparation besides lack of any serious efforts to identify and trainlope potential riders for the future.
Based on the UCI registered code, Vietnamese riders are between 20 to 22 years old while Indonesia has the oldest riders with Malaysian riders slightly younger.
Bui Minh Thuy (Vie), the winner of 160.3km Massed Start Race and his compatriot Mai Nguyen Hung showed speed and strength in the race and older riders could not match them. Malaysia's Mohd Zamri Saleh only managed a bronze while 24 year old Annuar Manan came in 16th, almost 15 minutes behind.
Malaysia's other road riders are age-ing and lose out on speed, again due mostly to lack of proper coaching and preparation. Ahmad Pallani Ali, Zamri Saleh and Razif Mohd Salleh are all 26 years old while Ng Yong Li is 24.
Indonesia's older rider were more successful than our riders. Ryan Ariehaan (30 years old) won the gold medal in the 40km Individual Time Trial while his older teammate, veteran Tonton Susanto (36) won the silver. Another Vietnamese, Mai Cong Hieu took the bronze.
The sad story of road cycling in Malaysia is that the riders have not proven themselves since the LTdl started in 1996. The MNCF is thinking of putting up more than one team for the tour but what good is that if even with one team, we have failed miserably.
One silver and two bronze from eight events - that is failure and if you cannot accept and admit it, than we are heading for bigger problems in the future.
I hope the MNCF leadership would do the right thing and let NSC take over the road programmes and they (the leadership) themselves give way to new leaders to lead the sport. For so long you have been going on trips even though your own state does not even have one rider in the national team.
No need to talk about national team, some don't even have one rider. But, they want to go as Team Managers and officials to as many meets as possible. Now is the time to change.
Not only the team failed to win any gold medals, but the games showed that neighbouring countries like Vietnam and Thailand have already developed a team of young and fast riders that look set to challenge the best in the continent for the next few years, including at the Asian Games in Guangzhou.
The target was two golds but the team came back with only two bronze and a silver from women cyclist, Noor Azian Alias. Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia were the strong successful teams while the Phillippines did not participate because of some internal problems in the federation.
By right, the OlympicCouncil of Malaysia (OCM) should come out and say that because of this failure the road team cannot go to Guangzhou. But that would not happen because OCM is all about staying in office and all support is needed, even though it will destroy the sport.
In fact, OCM might even allow the team to go through "other doors" like results of trials held somewhere and of course there is the Category B thing, which should be stopped once and for all. (I will write about that later)
After the 1998 Commonwealth Games, former NSC Director General, Datuk Wira Mazlan Ahmad put the track development under the government agencies' wings and left the road programme in the hands of the national body.
The move has become a success story for cycling who now have internationally renowned track riders like Azizulhasni Awang and Rizal Tisin.
But what was left in the hands of MNCF failed miserably. The Le Tour de Langkawi has failed to inspire the development of domestic road cyclist and many are surprised that the local riders cannot do well even though the races are on our own territory, which the riders should be familiar with and by now should have mastered them.
Since 1998, MNCF would come to NSC for funds to send the road teams for tournaments and other stints and the NSC mostly helps out. But, the helping period is over, and now the NSC should take over and develop the road racing team, which is totally dependent on government funding.
And, obviously, the MNCF leadership must take responsibility and step down. Now is the best time to do so and in the best interest of sports move aside and let others take cycling to greater heights.
The reasons for failure is obviously the lack of proper coaching and preparation besides lack of any serious efforts to identify and trainlope potential riders for the future.
Based on the UCI registered code, Vietnamese riders are between 20 to 22 years old while Indonesia has the oldest riders with Malaysian riders slightly younger.
Bui Minh Thuy (Vie), the winner of 160.3km Massed Start Race and his compatriot Mai Nguyen Hung showed speed and strength in the race and older riders could not match them. Malaysia's Mohd Zamri Saleh only managed a bronze while 24 year old Annuar Manan came in 16th, almost 15 minutes behind.
Malaysia's other road riders are age-ing and lose out on speed, again due mostly to lack of proper coaching and preparation. Ahmad Pallani Ali, Zamri Saleh and Razif Mohd Salleh are all 26 years old while Ng Yong Li is 24.
Indonesia's older rider were more successful than our riders. Ryan Ariehaan (30 years old) won the gold medal in the 40km Individual Time Trial while his older teammate, veteran Tonton Susanto (36) won the silver. Another Vietnamese, Mai Cong Hieu took the bronze.
The sad story of road cycling in Malaysia is that the riders have not proven themselves since the LTdl started in 1996. The MNCF is thinking of putting up more than one team for the tour but what good is that if even with one team, we have failed miserably.
One silver and two bronze from eight events - that is failure and if you cannot accept and admit it, than we are heading for bigger problems in the future.
I hope the MNCF leadership would do the right thing and let NSC take over the road programmes and they (the leadership) themselves give way to new leaders to lead the sport. For so long you have been going on trips even though your own state does not even have one rider in the national team.
No need to talk about national team, some don't even have one rider. But, they want to go as Team Managers and officials to as many meets as possible. Now is the time to change.
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