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Soccer Friday: How Struggling Malaysia could learn from UAE, Australia
Never did defeat feel so much like a moral victory for Malaysia as they narrowly lost to the United Arab Emirates in Tuesday nightâs AFC 2018 World Cup qualifier, their final international match of the year
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ever did defeat feel so much like a moral victory for Malaysia as they narrowly lost to the United Arab Emirates in Tuesday night's AFC 2018 World Cup qualifier, their final international match of the year.
UAE finished third in January's AFC Asian Cup, knocking out defending champions Japan on the way to the semifinals. In September, Omar Abdulrahman and the Emiratis ran rings around the Malaysians in a record 10-0 hammering in Abu Dhabi.
Tuesday's more respectable 2-1 loss unfolded on the same Shah Alam Stadium pitch where angry fans fired flares in September, causing a subsequent World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia to be abandoned. As a result, the home match against UAE was played behind locked doors.
With misty rain and no spectators, there was a surreal atmosphere as Malaysia's penultimate World Cup qualifier was played out in the massive 80,000 capacity arena.
UAE took more than 20 minutes to take the lead through an Abdulrahman wonder strike before Ahmed Khalil ' second top scorer at the Asian Cup ' doubled the advantage soon after half-time. But Baddrol Bakhtiar's headed goal on the hour mark from a Safiq Rahim free-kick turned the qualifier into a contest.
Malaysia had a last minute chance to equalize when captain Safiq swung in a dangerous corner before it was headed away by the UAE defense.
Missing fans, including the volatile Ultras Malaya, the match had more of a training ground feel to it, which undoubtedly helped the jittery home side.
'Fearful Malaysia,' rang out the pre-match headlines after Ong Kim Swee's men had returned to Kuala Lumpur from a second 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Palestine at the end of last week.
'The national team are having anxiety issues,' wrote the New Straits Times as if referring to a schizophrenic patient.
The headlines were more optimistic the morning after the dogged display against UAE. 'One helluva fight,' boasted the Star. 'No disgrace this time,' chimed in the New Straits Times.
The Malaysians were able to earn back a modicum of respect after presenting a compact resistance to the free-flowing UAE, complemented by some tough tackling and energetic closing down. It was no surprise that some of the home team suffered cramps towards the end as they often chased shadows, giving up more than 70 per cent possession.
Yet, despite the improvements, one still feels that the next embarrassing defeat or crisis for Malaysia is just around the corner. Their next qualifier in March is against Saudi Arabia, who put 10 unanswered goals past Timor-Leste in their qualifier in Dili on Tuesday night.
No doubt the arrival of a new national coach ' someone like ex-Manchester United assistant boss Rene Meulensteen or Belgian junior maestro Luc Eymael, both of whom are reportedly among the 50 applicants ' will be heralded as a new dawn for the Malaysian side. The appointments of the senior and under-23 positions are due before the end of next month.
But one man won't change much. The fact is that Malaysia needs to follow the example of the likes of Japan, Australia and even UAE in putting a uniform structure in place. That would mean that all Malaysian teams ' from age group sides to the national squad ' play under the same system and with an identical philosophy.
This week, Australia marked the 10-year anniversary of their qualification in Sydney for the 2006 World Cup, which is rightfully seen a major breakthrough. But, more importantly, it was a decade ago that the Aussies put plans in place to ensure that a possession-based 4-3-3 formation was played across the board.
In the last 10 years, Australia has appeared in three World Cups, won the 2015 Asian Cup and the AFC Champions League (through the Western Sydney Wanderers in 2014) and developed a robust A-League. And, yet the country has a smaller population than Malaysia (an estimated 24 million compared to 31 million) and soccer is dwarfed by the popularity of at least three other major sports.
The UAE have enjoyed success at even more rapid rate than Australia.
After their glory years of the 1990s when they qualified for Italia 90 and finished second at the 1996 Asian Cup, they fell upon dark times. They failed to score a goal in the 2011 Asian Cup and their FIFA ranking fell to a worst ever 138th.
But the appointment in early 2012 of Mahdi Ali as senior coach turned their fortunes around. Working with many of the same players he managed at youth levels, Mahdi guided the senior team to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics and win the 2013 Gulf Cup before their 2015 Asian Cup success. More importantly, he helped put structures in place to ensure uniformity across the board.
Given Malaysia's annus horribillis ' a 10-0 thrashing, three 6-0 defeats and sanctions from FIFA for crowd trouble ' it may seem almost impossible to turn things around, even in a country where football will always be the number one sport.
But, one step at a time, Harimau Malaya can build on the wreckage of 2015.
But don't expect the new coach to be a miracle worker. He is merely the interior decorator of a house that must first have strong foundations in place: a universal Malaysian football philosophy, including a more integrated junior structure, a thriving Malaysia Super League, and, of course, national players who can consistently reproduce the same commitment they showed on an unnaturally quiet Tuesday evening in Shah Alam.
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Jason Dasey is senior editor of ESPN FC, Indonesia's most popular English language soccer website with a new SE Asia edition and a daily Indonesian language TV show on NET. Twitter: @JasonDasey
