Asian Cup is chance for Malaysia to emerge from the shadows of 1972 generation

THE year 2023 was memorable for the Malaysian football team as Kim Pan-gon and his team basked in the plaudits after ending the year on a high note by becoming the third biggest gainer in FIFA rankings.

For the forgotten heroes of the 1972 generation, though, it was the year they bade farewell to Harun Jusoh in October and Shaharudin Abdullah four days before the world ushered in the new year.

The Munich Olympic squad were arguably the greatest Malaysian team in the modern, albeit amateur era.

Captained by M. Chandran (Datuk), the Munich mission was Malaysia’s only appearance at the Olympics, as we boycotted the Moscow edition eight years later.

For the late Datuk Peter Velappan who was the assistant team manager-cum-assistant secretary of the FA of Malaysia (FAM) then, the team’s qualification to Munich was the most defining moment in his team management career.

In his book Beyond Dreams published in 2013, Velappan said in preparing for Munich, FAM agreed on two projects — an European training stint for the team and a fund-raising dinner hosted by team manager, Datuk Harun Idris, who was also the Mentri Besar of Selangor, FAM vice-president and chief selector of the squad.

“Datuk Harun hosted a dinner in his official residence for the business community and football friends. We managed to raise about RM300,000.”

There are only eight remaining survivors of the team – goalkeepers Wong Kam Fook and Lim Fung Kee, centre-backs Datuk Soh Chin Ann and Bahwandi Hiralal, midfielders Hamzah Hussein and Koo Luen Khen and wingers Rahim Abdullah and Looi Loon Teik.

In memoriam are leftback Namat Abdullah (Datuk), centreback Chandran, right back Othman Abdullah, midfielders Wan Zawawi Wan Yusoff, V. Krishnasamy, Ali Bakar and Wong Choon Wah and wingers Salleh Ibrahim and Mohamad Bakar (Datuk).

The team earned a ticket to the Olympics after a triumphant East Asian qualifying tournament in Seoul in October 1971, where the wet and windy conditions did not deter the team from brushing aside Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines.

They returned to a heroes’ welcome at the Subang Airport following an unbeaten streak as Malaysia, under the guidance of Scotsman Dave Maclaren, beat Japan 3-0, courtesy of a double strike from Syed Ahmad and Loon Teik, a 1-0 victory over hosts off a header from Syed Ahmad, Taiwan 3-0 and the Philippines 5-0.

However, 10 months later, the squad boarded the plane to Munich without Maclaren and Syed Ahmad, who netted five goals in Seoul.

With Jalil Che Din assuming the hotseat, Malaysia lost the opening match against hosts West Germany 3-0, with Bahwandi’s own goal later credited to Ronald Worm in the 56th minute,

The distinction of being the first Malaysian to score at the Olympic Games fell to Penang-born Shaharuddin, younger brother of Namat, who netted in the 14th minute before Salleh and Wan Zawawi got their names on the scoresheet.

When met in Simpang Renggam three years ago, Shaharuddin said Munich was the highlight of his short international career which came to an end at the age of 26.

Shaharuddin was first called up for the first time as an 18-year old for the 1966 Asian Games in Bangkok after having impressed as a forward in the Asian Youth Championship in Manila. But surrounded by Robert Choe, Syed Ahmad, N. Thanabalan (Datuk), M. Karathu (Datuk) and Agus Salim, Shaharuddin merely warmed the bench in Bangkok.

Described by Kam Fook as two of the best headers in the game along with Dali Omar, Shaharuddin only made his debut the following year – in the pre-Asian Cup in 1967, which turned out to be a busy year for him as he also featured in the pre-Olympic campaign, the Merdeka Tournament and the SEAP Games in Bangkok.

Among his biggest regrets was missing the Teheran Asian Games in 1974.

Shaharuddin along with left-footed schemer Choon Wah, were dropped prior to the Games.

Teheran was the only time Syed Ahmad, Mokhtar Dahari (Datuk) and Isa Bakar wreaked havoc on the opponents as a triumvirate as the team bagged the bronze.

Shaharuddin’s epoch-making team of 1972 are guaranteed their places in the annals of Malaysian football.

Go beyond the group stages in Doha and the class of 2024 take a step closer to consign their predecessors into the record books.