The day Malaysian icon Robert missed out on training at Real

IT was almost at the tail-end of a whirlwind tour of Europe that Robert Choe, at one time one of Malaya’s most iconic inside-forwards, missed the opportunity to train at Real Madrid’s hallowed ground, the Bernabeu.

With Real’s training complex on Madrid’s outskirts, Ciudad Deportiva still under construction, Robert and fellow forward Abdul Ghani Minhat (later Tan Sri), were given the opportunity to visit the Bernabeu in February 1963.

But a knee injury sustained during the duo’s first transit stop in Germany weeks earlier put paid to Robert’s dreams of training alongside Alfredo di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas and Francisco Gento under the watchful eye of Miguel Munoz.

Robert did witness a league match, though, won comfortably by Real, beating Malaga 5-0.

Sadly with the passage of time and as the young makes up the majority, the names of Malaya’s greatest footballers tend to be ignored and forgotten.

No matter how historic or inspired an achievement may be, eventually the hours have a way of catching up.

Slowly but surely, the memory of a landmark occasion carved out by athletes of elite stature will be wiped away.

No achievement too big can withstand this merciless function.

And when they depart to the hereafter, sometimes it does not occur to the authorities to deliver a funeral wreath to the family as a mark of remembrance to honour the deceased.

For Robert who passed away on Tuesday, eight days after turning 85, his name had gone under the national radar long time ago, except for the occasional visit by the National Athletes Welfare Foundation (YAKEB).

Tengkera-born Robert was not only a member of the victorious Malayan team in the second edition of the Merdeka Tournament in 1958, but he was a mainstay of the first national squad to bag the Asian Games bronze in Jakarta in 1962.

Robert’s demise means there are only two surviving members of the 1962 team – his younger brother and fellow attacker, Richard and Australia-based Stanley Gabrielle.

With coach Choo Seng Quee in charge, Robert’s other teammates in Jakarta were goalkeepers Ungku Ismail Abdullah and Sexton Lourdes, Yee Seng Choy, Abdullah Nordin, Boey Cheong Liam, Ahmad Nazari Zohri Min, Kamaruddin Ahmad, Foo Fook Chuan, Edwin Dutton, Inderjit Singh, Ibrahim Mydin, Abdul Ghani, Arthur Koh, Mahat Ambu and M. Govindarajoo.

The Europe tour which began in October 1962 and lasted five months, opened Robert’s eyes on the football culture and the infrastructure in the continent.

In an interview with a newspaper in early 2000, Robert highlighted the fact that the Germans were even trained in gymnastics to improve their athleticism and agility.

It was in a friendly match played on heavy snow against a team from a sports school in Germany that Robert suffered the knee injury, while wearing a special pair of boots.

“Few realised my late father was suffering for almost half a decade due to the knee injury. Each time he played, the knee ran out of alignment. It hastened his retirement from football at the age of 26,” said his eldest son, Fahrian, named after West Germany’s FIFA World Cup 1962 goalkeeper Wolfgang Fahrian, who made Robert feel welcomed during the trip.

Born into a sporting family, Robert was the eldest son of Choe Soon Lee, a prominent figure in Melaka football and badminton circles during the 1930s.

While he and his two younger brothers, Richard and Johnny, were presented with the option of pursuing badminton or football, the trio opted for football – a decision that would shape Robert’s illustrious career.

As the information officer based in Johor, Soon Lee wrote a letter of felicitation to Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-haj, who was also the president of FA of Malaya (FAM), following the 1958 Merdeka tournament victory.

Tunku wrote back saying he did not realise Robert was Soon Lee’s son.

“The exchanges between the two gentlemen typified the era of cultured conversation,” said Fahrian.

Robert’s achievements are etched in Malaysian sporting history. He was instrumental in securing three consecutive Merdeka tournament titles from 1958 to 1960 and captained Malaysia to back-to-back Asian Youth Championship finals in 1959 and 1960.

“But I do not think he was given due recognition as a former national footballer. He received his BKT (Bintang Khidmat Terpuji) through his contribution as the vice-president of the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE).

“Thankfully, the Sultan of Pahang helped finance the knee replacement for my late dad almost two decades ago,” said Fahrian.