Fifa World Cup - Time to give Malaysian team a sporting chance

Scandal robs interest in local soccer

JUST imagine this conversation taking place in a cafe. “We are going to win the World Cup! No question about it,” says Football Fan One.

“You cannot talk about 1966 forever. With our strength in penalties, we will take it,” says Football Fan Two.
But says Football Fan Three, “Our squad is not as strong as when we won the last World Cup. I don’t really fancy our chances this time.”

Chances are you might have overheard or even been involved in such a conversation. Football fans will recognise the “we” in the conversation as England, Germany and Italy respectively.

Golden team: The Malaysian football team redeemed itself when it beat Vietnam 1-0 to win the Sea Games gold medal after 20 years. — S.S.KANESAN/ The Star

 

An outside observer might think that the trio involved in the conversation were born in London, Berlin or Rome – but in fact, these people are from Gunung Rapat, Banting and Besut, 100% born and bred Malaysians.

“I find it amusing when people say “we” when talking about teams located thousand of miles away from where they were born,” says Kenny Lee*.

A Liverpool fan, Lee admits that he is guilty of the same when talking about his favourite team. But he realises that he should be following the local football scene instead.

Many local football fans affiliate themselves with foreign teams, especially those from the English Premier League, and some are hard-core supporters of these teams.

Now, with the 2010 FIFA World Cup around the corner, many are proclaiming themselves to be Brazilians, Italians, Germans, Argentinians or Spaniards.

Many Malaysians can rattle off the starting eleven of a famous team, but ask them to name the starting 11 of the Malaysian team and many would struggle to name a single player.

When the Malaysian team played two friendly football matches against Manchester United earlier last year, the red of the English team outnumbered the yellow of the national team among fans at the stadium.

This prompted J.D. of Red FM’s Breakfast Show to come out with a public service announcement urging Malaysians to support their local football team.

“Although people were wearing the MU jersey, they were supporting Malaysia, and this was a cool experience,” he says.

He was encouraged by Malaysia’s performance against Manchester United and said he would support the team if they gave their all in every game.

J.D, says he always reads news of his state team, Perak, and watches a game when he has the opportunity.
As for Lee, he follows the progress of the national team. He was happy that Malaysia won the SEA Games gold medal in Laos last year after 20 years.

He watched almost every game live and made it a point to go out and watch the final.
“Very few people were watching the game. If it were a Liverpool vs Man United game, the whole place would have been packed,” he says.

Lee says that he does not follow the local leagues as much today compared to the early 90s, citing the lack of quality on display as the reason.

The national team hit its peak in the 1960s and 70s, and the older generation always talks about how the players of this era played with their heart and soul. One always mentions Mokhtar Dahari, Santokh Singh, Soh Chin Aun and R. Arumugam, and the national team qualifying for the 1972 and 1980 Olympic Games as the heights of Malaysian football.

Local soccer experts say many Malaysians lost interest in local football after the bribery scandal in 1994/95, and attention was diverted to the European leagues.

Datuk M. Jegathesan, the Olympic Council of Malaysia deputy president, believes people adopt teams for a sense of belonging. He points out the recent Thomas Cup finals where Malaysians packed the stadium to watch their heroes play.

“There was a great frenzy and tickets were sold out. A winning team captures the imagination of people,” he says.

That is the reason why people support the more successful clubs.
“If you watch only for the technicalities, there are no emotions. But if they pick a team, there is a surge of adrenaline. That 90 minutes distracts them from their other cares in life,” he says.

He points out that the various local cup finals still attract a fair bit of on-off support.
“There just isn’t enough to sustain it from day to day to rival what is being offered. They have to compete with the market forces,” he says, adding that local sports needs mass support to propel it to greater heights.

As for the World Cup, Jegathesan will be watching it from a technical point of view.
“I am watching to appreciate the game. I don’t have a stake in any of those teams,” he says.

Ravind Ramesh, 33, considers himself to be a patriot. This avid football fan is not planning to follow the World Cup until the later stages.

“Basically, I don’t have anyone to support,” he says.
While he supports Arsenal, he still follows the fortunes of his home club Kedah. He recently attended the FA Cup Final which saw Kedah lose to Negri Sembilan. And whenever Malaysia is playing, he makes it a point to go for the games.

James Wong* also follows the fortunes of Perak, despite the lack of excitement and quality. He attends games and follows the highlights when he has a chance.

“I feel that they need more support now because a club can’t survive without its fans,” says Wong, who is an avid Tottenham Hotspurs fan.

But not everyone shares the same passion. V. Prasad, 37, used to watch Malaysian and Selangor games live until the 1994/95 football bribery scandal.

“I felt cheated,” says the Tottenham Spurs fan.
He says that his interest in Malaysian football waned after that, and the last Malaysian game he watched live was a World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia in 1993.

Prasad says that in the past, there wasn’t such a big gap in dignity and prestige between supporting a foreign team and a local one.

“No one would have laughed at you then if you said you supported Malacca,” he says.
One of his fondest memories of local football was when Malaysia defeated South Korea in 1979 to qualify for the 1980 Olympic Games.

“I remember hearing that live on radio. It was no different from watching Ricky Villa dribble past a handful of Manchester City players to score the winning goal in the 1981 FA Cup final,” he says.

Those are the two most memorable goals I remember in my first few years of following football,” adds Prasad.

So when will he start following the local scene again?
“If we do well in the next Asian Cup and qualify for the World Cup, we will have millions of Malaysian fans. We would all be painting our faces,” he says.

Blogger Rizal Hashim (rizalhashim.blogspot.com) believes that cable television has played a huge role in influencing Malaysians. He says that growing up in the 70s, the coverage of foreign football could not compare to today’s.

“The perception is that local football is in the doldrums,” says the former sports writer.
“Try to know our own team at least. Whatever you say about them, they are still our representatives. I do not like it when people say they cannot name the starting 11 of the national team. Because of technological advances, there is no excuse for it – it’s a matter of wanting to know,” he says.

He says that winning the Sea Games gold medal was a good start, and Malaysians should be supportive of their own team.

He points out that neighbouring Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam have good support. It has to be noted, though, that these countries are not setting the world of football alight either.

“But their national team is a source of pride for them,” he says.
K. Rajagopal, coach of the national team, says that while people can support the foreign teams, they should support the national team as well.

“Come and support the national team. Not just for football but for all the sports. It is important for the future of sports,” he says.

*Names have been changed for anonymity.