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| Never again. |
Year 2016 by far was one of the most complicated year for
Malaysian football. As long as one can remember, no such year can compare with
this year's agenda.
Things normally progress slowly due to the lack of urgency
which is something typical in Malaysia. But 2016 is different. This year, there
is a push, an urgency to change for the better.
Popular word of 2016 is privatisation. Fans wanted to see an
act of professionalism taking place for real this time around, not just for the
sake of changing the name.
Unfortunately, despite the optimism, from the beginning of
the year, until 31 of December 2016, we barely seen something positive out of
it, instead we were forced to read, watch, hear and accept the fact that we are
nowhere near the right track of making Malaysian football great again.
Here are some of the best moment in Malaysian football 2016.
January:
DSV became the main
sponsor for Kelantan thus changing the team's name, kit colour, stadium and
constantly appeared in live games, instantly made everyone hate her.
February:
The most
disappointing countdown is when FAM announced the name Harimau Malaya to
Harimau Malaysia. So unnecessary. We all thought they are launching a new kit,
but a name? smh!
People known Faiz Subri as one of the local player before but
became an overnight sensation as his wonder goal viral throughout the world and
currently in contender for Puskas Award. Amazing.
March:
Malaysia ended World
Cup 2018 qualifying round campaign, finishing 4th out of 5 in Group A, scoring
only 3 goals and conceded 30. Err..
April:
DSV said she wanted
to stop funding Kelantan due to poor results.
At that time: W3 D3 L3
Has anyone see a patience?
May:
PFAM revealed that
Kelantan and ATM have yet to pay their players worth up to RM4 mil. It so bad
they have to make a press conference just to say they got the money already.
Weird.
D'Herbs almost became
the main sponsor for Kedah but both ended up in war of words in public. Please
no more of this, 2017.
June:
Malaysia qualified
for Asian Cup 3rd Round. Oceania Tour went horribly wrong as New Caledonia game
status was revoked by FIFA. Sweet.
July:
Perhaps one of the
most depressing thing as fans was when 4 JDT players who are regulars in the
national team retired all of a sudden. What a timing.
August:
When TMJ said he have
pendrive that contained corruptions in FAM, we all excited to see what's
inside. It turned out to be nothing. Can you believe that??
September:
Media wondering who
should be the next president of FAM, with some suggesting TMJ to lead Malaysian
football like he did to JDT. Do you guys have any other suggestions?
October:
Kedah finally won
Malaysia Cup after 8 years as Rizal Ghazali single-handedly beat Selangor and
landed himself a place for AFF 2016. Great talent.
November:
Malaysia ended AFF
Suzuki Cup 2016 in group stage after losing to Myanmar and Vietnam, making it
the worst record since 2008. Time for 2018.
December:
Kelantan and
Selangor's decision not to compete for MSL 2017 due to 'lack of fund' ending
the year 2016. The worst ending of all. Can they just start talking about
football? Every single thing is so negative.
Let's hope for a much better year in 2017. Better in terms
of...everything. Goodbye 2016. Hello 2017.