A 2-1 victory was not enough for Indonesia to grasp the AFF Suzuki Cup trophy on Wednesday, leaving room for Malaysia to make history instead.

After a month of high hopes and expectations, the Red-and-White squad, buttressed by a crowd of almost 80,000 fans, managed to narrow the gap in a peaceful second-leg final match at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta.

Despite losing to Indonesia on Wednesday, Malaysia won the coveted trophy, after trumping Indonesia 3-0 in the first-leg final at Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

It was the fourth time Indonesia has finished as a runner-up for the AFF Cup. Neither team had won the championship before Wednesday.

Firman Utina Indonesian team captain Firman Utina consoled disappointed fans after he was awarded the match’s Most Valuable Player trophy.

“I didn’t think I would be awarded the MVP,” said Firman, who missed a penalty shot during Wednesday’s match.

Indonesia head coach Alfred Riedl congratulated the Malaysians for their historic win.

“For me, the first half was the best game of the whole tournament,” the Austrian told reporters at a post-match press conference.

Riedl said the Indonesian squad managed to avoid repeating the mistakes it made in the first-leg match.
“In the second half today, the team showed their hard work — especially after [being down] 1-0.

“They did well to equalize and added another goal afterwards,” he said.

Riedl concluded by thanking his players for their hard work  and discipline, praising Firman for his leadership during the game.

“We won the game, even though we weren’t lucky enough to win the tournament,” he added.

Despite their defeat, Wednesday’s result was enough for Malaysia to be crowned the new Southeast Asian champion.

Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) chairman Nurdin Halid said that the organization would retain Riedl as head coach. “We will keep him,” he said after the match.

Nurdin said that PSSI would also keep its promise to give players cash bonuses. “We will be discussing a figure,” he said.

Malaysia head coach Rajagobal  Khrisnasamy said he had expected the Indonesians to play aggressively in the early minutes of the game.

“We did our best. We scored in the second half. Overall, we deserved to win the tournament,” he said.

Rajagobal said his squad’s confidence rose when they eliminated defending champion Vietnam in the semifinal round.

“At that time I thought we could win against Indonesia, which is a also a good team,” he said.

After finishing the tournament, top scorer Safee Sali, with five goals during the competition, said he saw a chance to play in Indonesian leagues.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who watched the match with his entourage, praised the national team, dubbed the Garuda.

“The President appreciated our national team’s fighting and thanked team members and the coaches for the hard work,” presidential spokesman Julian Pasha said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Vice President Boediono said Indonesia was simply unlucky.

“Good luck has yet to be with us tonight despite several good chances our players had,” Boediono said while watching the match at his official residence with his staff, security guards and several journalists, Antara reported.

Safee Sali Facing high expectations from Indonesian soccer fans to create a miracle in the second-leg final, the national team started off on the offensive.

The team produced at least four shots in less than 10 minutes, thanks to midfielders Arif Suyono and Muhammad Ridwan, whose shots  were tackled superbly by Malaysian goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi.

Indonesia was awarded a penalty shot in the 18th minute but Firman’s kick to the right of the goal was easily countered by Khairul.

Indonesia maintained its offensive, pressing Malaysia with at least seven chances to score.

However, poor shots stymied hopes of a needed 4-0 victory to sieze the AFF Cup.

The first half ended 0-0.

Ten minutes into the second half, Malaysian Safee shocked Indonesia by scoring a goal.

Indonesia, sensing defeat, tried to reverse the situation with several scoring opportunities.

Indonesian midfielder Muhammad Nasuha scored an equalizer in the 75th minute.

Midfielder Muhammad Ridwan added another goal in injury time, allowing Indonesia to retake the lead  2-1.

Striker Bambang Pamungkas, who replaced Irfan Bachdim, had a chance to shoot from a free-kick during injury time but to no avail.

The score remained 2-1 until referee Peter Green of Australia blew the final whistle.