JDT denied Champions League football by Muang Thong United

Photo: Official Muang Thong United website mtutd.tv

Johor Darul Takzim FC (JDT) eliminated by Muang Thong United 3-0 on penalty shoot-out after battling for 120 minutes in the second round of AFC Champions League play-off at SCG Stadium, Nonthaburi, Thailand yesterday.

Both sides struggled to create chances early in the first half as they unable to break through the defence.

However, as the game progressed in the 30th minute, Muang Thong managed to find the space through the JDT defence, especially through the flank, but left undone by a weak finishing.

JDT have considerable amount of chances as well, especially a piledriver from Mahalli Jasuli, but his shot missed only inches away.

The game changed completely in the second half as both team have a wide number of chances to score, Muangthong through Negrao, Cleiton and Sarach Yooyen, while JDT have chances through Diaz and Safiq Rahim but all of them have blown their chances away, forcing the game to go through extra time. The only bright thing is Farizal Marlias, who has been busy, saving numerous shot from Muangthong players, becoming a real saviour for his team.

As the extra time went on, the game begin to slow down, with majority of the players low on stamina, cramped and exhausted.

Despite fighting through the end, trying to get the golden goal, they have to settle it with a penalty shoot-out.

JDT's confidence continue to rise, as they did not expect to hang on to Muangthong until the end of extra time and they still have a chance to qualify for the third round. The dream has yet to over.

But it's all starting to go wrong when Diaz, one of the most revered player by JDT fans, kicked the ball to the left but was saved by Kawin.

As Muangthong scored the first goal, Marcos Antonio focused on equalising the goal for his team. But his shot was saved, again by Kawin.

The pressure is high among JDT players as Muangthong scored again to make it 2-0. It's all up to Hariss Harun to change the tides.

His shot, was well saved, again by the mighty Kawin. Three times in a row. Muangthong United have no problem scoring the third, and with that, JDT were eliminated.

While it's all over for JDT in AFC CL this year, they will return in AFC Cup, but this time as a defending champions and their quest this time is to defend the trophy.

Harimau Malaya in memory

Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) have announced that the nickname of the Malaysia national football team, Harimau Malaya will be known as Harimau Malaysia starting 2016 onwards.

There are plenty of history on the name of Harimau Malaya.

Malaysia national team gained the nickname Harimau Malaya after the Malaysian legendary striker of 1940s and 1950s, Dollah Don who scored three goals for Melayu Singapore team after 3-0 down against Indonesian side, Peseja. President of Indonesia, Sukarno at the time was so impressed with Dollah's performance that he begin calling Dollah, 'Harimau Malaya'. The nickname might came from the fact that Harimau Malaya is a well-known tiger in Southeast Asia. FAM soon adopted the nickname for the national team until the present day.

Since independence, Malaya has changed the name to Federation of Malaya until 1963 when the government has decided to form Malaysia that will represent Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak which the name has remain strong until today.

In 2004, when the name Harimau Malaya became official, it became highly controversial among the Malaysian association zoos as they argued it should be name panthera tigris malayensis to reflect the origin of the animal but after much negotiations, researchers of The World Conservation Union has decided to name the tiger panthera tigris jacksoni, to honour the tiger conservationist, Peter Jackson who has dedicated his life on promoting tiger conservation.

Besides that, General of Imperial Japanese Army, Tomoyuki Yamashita has also earned the nickname Tiger of Malaya after incredibly conquered Malaya and Singapore in just 70 days.

In recent years though, many have been critical with the nickname, citing that the nickname did not fully represent the whole country, as Malaya only represents the Peninsular (Semenanjung in Malay) with Sabahan and Sarawakian felt that their presence were completely ignored and they felt that the participation of the players such as James Wong and Hassan Sani were completely under-appreciated.

The President of FAM, Tengku Abdullah argued that the word Malaya no longer used by the country since 1963, and he wanted Sabah and Sarawak to feel that the national team belongs to them too.

Minister of Youth and Sports, Khairy Jamaluddin has addressed the issue last year and said that the name Harimau Malaya sounds like Sabah and Sarawak have not involved in the development of the national team at all.

Harimau Malaya has always been the identity of Malaysian football, and that identity has been cherished for such a long time by Malaysian society. In football, when the name changed, identity changed. When identity changed, it feels like they have lost something. Something precious.

This is Harimau Malaya that won Merdeka Cup, SEA Games, AFF Suzuki Cup. This is Harimau Malaya that participated in Munich Olympic 1972, Asian Cup 1976 and 1980 and qualified for Moscow Olympic 1980.

This is Harimau Malaya that were represented by so many great players such as Abdul Ghani Minhat, R.Arumugam, Chow Chee Keong, Wong Kam Fook, Soh Chin Aun, Santokh Singh, Peter Rajah, Wong Choon Wah, James Wong, Hassan Sani, Mokhtar Dahari-just to name a few.

Is the nickname Harimau Malaya for a football team really a big deal for you? If it's really a big deal, I'm sorry, Malaysia still have a long way to go. But if the nickname Harimau Malaysia makes you feel better, then fine. So be it.

Selamat tinggal Harimau Malaya.

Harimau Malaya
The nickname of Malaysia national football team.
(1950-2016)

T-Team secured place in MSL 2016

PHOTO: Official Facebook T-Team FC

T-Team secured the final place in Malaysia Super League as they beat ATM in a narrow 2-1 win of the MSL play-off at Stadium Perak in Ipoh on Saturday.

The Titans have no trouble in scoring throughout the first half as they took the lead through Ahmad Takiyuddin Roslan in the 26th minute while Tomislav Busic added second goal of the game in the 44th minute.

But The Titans were left in disbelief as Gladiators managed to score through Sukri Hamidi in the 51st minute due to a defensive howler, something that T-Team least expected to be from a side full of players from military forces.

T-Team tried to add more goals in the latter stages of the game but can only hang onto the lead as they secured the final spot left by the now defunct Singaporean side, LionsXII who competed in MSL last year.

While ATM will be competing in Malaysia Premier League this season.

Malaysian Football Awards 2015

Best Goalkeeper: Farizal Marlias

Best Defender: Aidil Zafuan

Best Midfielder: Safiq Rahim

Best Striker: Amri Yahyah

Best Foreign Player: Luciano Figueroa

Best Young Player: Matthew Davies

Best Head Coach: Mario Gomez

Most Valuable Player (MVP): Safiq Rahim

The story of Malaysia Cup final 2015

No one expected Selangor and Kedah to be in the Malaysia Cup final 2015. Many tipped JDT, Pahang and Terengganu to reach the final. Unfortunately, Terengganu crashed out in the group stage, JDT in the quarter-final while Pahang lost to eventual finalist Selangor in the semi-final.

Malaysia Cup magic is widely known due to consistently provide a surprise element in the tournament but this year is a real shocker.

Selangor v Kedah final 2015 is not the same as Selangor v Kedah final 2008. Both team are equally strong in 2008, competing in the same league and possessed quality imports and as well as suppliers to the national team.

Of course, Kedah dominated Malaysian football scene at the time, winning all major trophies available in the country. While Selangor finished 4th in the league, lost 3-2 to Kedah in FA Cup final and lost to Kedah, again with 3-2 scoreline, in Malaysia Cup final.

At that time, Kedah looked unbeatable and invincible and almost no one can beat them. Selangor is still struggling to find their way back to the top.

Fast forward to 2015, much has changed. Selangor won back-to-back league title in 2009 and 2010 yet unable to appease their fans as they continuously failed to reach Malaysia Cup final every year, something that is very unusual for the football team that has been crowned champion for 32 times.

Every year the fans are talking about Misi33 and every single year FAS tried to assemble the best squad, matching the demand of the fans. One thing FAS failed to realise is how their fans is used to winning, so they want something more. Winning the league is a must and featuring in the Malaysia Cup final is a must. FAS have enough resources to do so. Both Devan and Irfan Bakti failed to win the Malaysia Cup despite boasting the best talent in the country. But Mehmet proved that Selangor able to reach the final without star players in the team. If they can do it with such a team, imagine if they sign more good players in the future. Now they are back in the final for the first time since 2008, and its the time to show the new generation of fans who they was and how good they were in the past.

Kedah is a case of a great fallen giants. After winning double treble in 2007 and 2008, the highest stage they reached afterwards was FA Cup 2010 final but lost to Negeri Sembilan on 5-4 penalties. They were relegated in 2012 and that was it. It took them 3 years to be back on track. They finished 4th twice in the MPL in 2013 and 2014. They are always the favourite to win the league but took too much time on settling and bonding together as a team. Even this season they started off in a slow tempo, always fall short behind T-Team and Sabah. But they soon took the lead, taking an advantage from T-Team and Sabah slip up to win the league title.

Kedah later became the surprise package in the Malaysia Cup, beating the likes of Terengganu, LionsXII and Felda on the way to the final. Its incredible for a team that probably spend much lesser than the then MPL team such as ATM and the defunct MPPJ in order to reach the final. Such consistent performance throughout the campaign, there is no doubt that they have a bright chance of winning the final.

Its been too long for both side. For Selangor, its 10 years. For Kedah, its 7 years. If Selangor win, they will finally fulfil the Misi33 and will definitely bring back the belief to the fans for the next season. If Selangor lose? Pressure will be even higher. If Kedah win, they will be very very happy. If Kedah lose? Sad. Just a bit sad. That's it.

Hope the final will be as exciting as the 2008. Hope the final will be one great final. Enjoy.