Football: Merdeka victory just the right tonic

PETALING JAYA: The success of the national Under-23 team in the 39th Merdeka Tournament has brought back some life and joy into the Malaysian game. 

The final against Myanmar saw contrasting scenes at the Shah Alam Stadium on Wednesday night compared to a month ago when the FA of Malaysia (FAM) came under heavy grilling following the humiliation suffered by the national team against much superior opponents in the Asian Cup Finals. 

Merdeka joy: Fans invade the pitch to celebrate with the players after Malaysia beatMyanmar 3-1 in the Merdeka Tournament final at the Shah Alam Stadium on Wednesday.

Malaysia beat Myanmar 3-1 and the FAM president, Sultan Ahmad Shah, rejoiced with the 40,000 fans. 

The organising secretary of the tournament, Datuk Seri Dr Ibrahim Saad, said the atmosphere at the stadium erased the unpleasant memories of having played hosts in the Asian Cup. 

“It was worth it (organising the tournament),” said Ibrahim, who has stepped down as the FAM general secretary. 

The strong showing of the Under-23 team has earned B. Sathianathan the job as coach of the senior team. And his boys, who are preparing for the Korat SEA Games in December, will now form the core of the senior team. 

Selangor’s Dollah Salleh was the top candidate to replace Norizan Bakar but opted not to take up a “suicidal mission”. 

The next assignment for the national team is less than two months away – a pre-World Cup tie against Bahrain, who are ranked 12th in Asia. And the coach of 30th-ranked Malaysia will have to get his team ready for the matches during the fasting month. 

Malaysia will be away to Bahrain in the first-leg match on Oct 21 and host the return leg on Oct 28. 

Sathianathan has taken charge of the Under-23 team for the last two months and the team went on an 18-day stint in Slovakia just before the Merdeka Tournament. 

Influential skipper Mohd Shukor Adan, centreback Norhafiz Zamani Misbah and rightback V. Thirumurugan were the three seniors roped in for the eight-team tournament. 

Except for Myanmar and Singapore, who sent their national and SEA Games teams respectively, most of the other foreign teams were represented by their second stringers. 

Malaysia finished as the runners-up in Group A to Myanmar. They defeated Laos (2-0) and Lesotho (4-0) and lost to Myanmar (1-2). They beat Singapore 3-1 to reach the final. Singapore came into the semi-finals with an unbeaten record against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Indonesia. 

Selangor striker Safee Sali emerged as the leading scorer for Malaysia with four goals while his partner from Negri Sembilan, Mohd Zaquan Adha, bagged three goals. Their partnership in attack was only forged recently. 

Said Safee yesterday: “The victory is sweet after the nightmare in the Asian Cup (losing to China 1-5, Uzbekistan 0-5 and Iran 0-2). But it is best we look forward from now. There is still a lot to be done for the pre-World Cup and the Korat SEA Games. 

“Let’s not get complacent after the success in the Merdeka Tournament. It is a good feeling to get huge crowd supports and a very big thrill to win the tournament for Malaysia again after 14 years.” 

The key players in defence for the tournament were Norhafiz, Mohd Aidil Zafuan, Mohd Daudso Jamaluddin and Sumardi Hajalan while the midfield had strong runners in Mohd Khyril Muhymeen, Amirulhadi Zainal and Norsharul Idlan Talaha.