Q&A with national football defender S. Subramaniam

National and Kelantan FA centre-back S. Subramaniam shares his thoughts on Malaysian football and “naughty” players like Luis Suarez and Mario Balotelli with T. AVINESHWARAN

Avinesh: Greeting Subra, my first question, What do you think of “naughty” players like Mario Balotelli. Also, who is the funniest lad in the Malaysian League?

Subra: The funniest lad off the pitch is my teammate Norfarhan Mohammad. He is always joking around and mingles well with the other teammates. As for the “naughty” players in international football, they may be naughty on the pitch, but they still perform. Take Mario Balotelli for example, he may be rude on the pitch but he is strong and knows how to intimidate his opponents.

Avinesh: As a professional, you must have harboured dreams to play for a big club. Which club would you like to play for?

Subra: I would love to play for FC Barcelona. I love their style of play. Their passing and pressing game is impressive. I would learn a thing or two if I played for them.

Avinesh: On a serious note, do you think the authorities are making the right steps to develop Malaysian football?

Subra: We are taking the steps but we need to strengthen our youth development. Rather than targeting school players, we should go out and search for young talents. There are many academies out there and FAM and the Youth and Sports Ministry should take steps to tap that potential. In many countries, football is a national agenda but not in our country. If it is a national agenda here, I’m sure we can see a difference in our football. The government, FAM and even the people should work hand in hand to see the rise of our football again.

Avinesh: Do you think Khairy Jamaluddin is the man to improve our sports scene?

Subra: I think Khairy can do it. He seems to be well versed with our sporting scene and he can ring the changes. I’m looking forward to his tenure as the Youth and Sports Minister.

Avinesh: When do you think Malaysia will qualify for the World Cup?

Subra: Now, it’s very tough for us to qualify for the World Cup. We are very far behind. Now, we should focus on becoming the best Asian side again. To achieve this, we must have a good plan and develop our youth sides. Start from grassroots and everything will find its way. We are really far behind many Asian sides. Take Japan for example - it will take another 15 years to emulate them. They’ve got a number of players in Europe and this helped the development of the country’s football.

Avinesh: How does it feel to have the Lions XII team from Singapore win the Malaysian League?

Subra: I feel ashamed. It is an embarrassment for the Malaysian League. Many Malaysian clubs have foreign players but they were still unable to win the league. Lions XII do not have any foreign players but they still won. Their home record was impressive and only Kelantan managed to beat them at home - and that was last season! I’m sure Malaysian sides will do better next season. The Singaporeans sent their side to our league to make their players better-equipped for international tournaments. To me, the Malaysian league is much better than S-League.

Avinesh: Malaysia will face Chelsea soon. You have played against them before. What was it like to play against them?

Subra: Physically and technically, they were stronger. We’ve got lots to learn from them. Their players try to perfect their game every day and we can see it in their training. Marking the likes of Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres was tough but it was a great experience.

Avinesh: Bribery and match-fixing in Malaysian football, what’s your take on it?

Subra: It’s not healthy for Malaysian football or the players. Club sides should be strict when they come across such an issue. The need for enforcement is very important as match-fixing affected our football in the 90s. We don’t want that again.