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)

Malaysian football weekly Roundup + Preview

This week oversaw two top Malaysian side JDT and Pahang in action for AFC Cup Quarter-Final First Leg.

MSL champions, JDT disappointingly draw 1-1 against South China and it will be tough playing away at Mongkok. A mission impossible.

Meanwhile, the league runners-up Pahang were hammered 4-0 by FC Istiklol away at Dushanbe in which they played without the presence of Dickson Nwakaeme. Pahang do have a history of making a comeback even if it seems impossible, but despite that, to score more than 4 would be a little too much. Highly unlikely.

Over to the youth, President Cup 2015 final on Friday oversaw Kelantan beat Penang 2-1 at Bandaraya Stadium. Goals from Fakrul Zaman and Azwan Aripin led to the victory for The Red Warrior. The triumph means that Kelantan have won President Cup for a record of 6 times, more than any other team.

Special mention for the national youth side, Malaysia U19 or Harimau Muda C who have been impressive so far, beating Singapore U19 or Young Lions by 4-0 scoreline. They also managed to draw against Vietnam in 0-0 goalless draw in Vientiane.

On Saturday, Malaysia national team will face Bangladesh in Shah Alam Stadium in preparation for the World Cup Qualifying Round against UAE.

Also on the same day and time, FAM League final will be play between the recently promoted FAM League side, Malacca and Perlis at Hang Jebat Stadium, Malacca.

Not to mention, Malaysia U19 facing Myanmar U19 in Vientiane.

AFC Cup, Malaysia Cup play-off and AFF U19

After the end of MSL and MPL season, fans are pretty much turning their attention to AFC Cup Quarter Final with both JDT and Pahang involved. There is also Malaysia Cup play-off to determine the final two team for the competition. In the youth scene, Harimau Muda C currently compete in the AFF U19, with high expectation after months of preparation in Slovakia.

Mario Gomez will be facing his former team tonight, as JDT are looking for a strong lead in the first leg. After their recent success in the league, they are seeking for more on the more prestige tournament. The return of Marcos Antonio at the heart of defence will be huge boost for the home side.

NS Matrix will be a much fancied team to be in Malaysia Cup since they have larger fan base and has been around much longer than ATM. NS also recorded a better form compare to the relegated ATM. A win for the away side would be a likely result.

Sime Darby should be winning this despite their recent slump in the league. No one would fancy to see two JDTs in the same competition. This is the time to prove that they are worthy opponent in Malaysia Cup.

Malaysia v Singapore would be a mouth-watering clash if it's senior side due to the strong rivalry between the two sides. But on the youth level, this should be an easy one for the Harimau Muda C since there is such a clear distinction in the team's ability.  


Tonight

AFC Cup 2015 Quarter Final 1st Leg

JDT v South China

Malaysia Cup 2015 play-off

ATM v NS Matrix
Sime Darby v JDTII

AFF Cup U-19

Malaysia v Singapore

Malaysia to bid 2034 FIFA World Cup

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Asean sports ministers have expressed support to Malaysia's initiative to conduct immediately a study on the possibility of being host to the quadrennial global footballing event.

"I would like to stress here that the agreement is not for us to make a bid to host the World Cup, but to study whether a bid is feasible or not, which will be conducted by the Asean Football Federation (AFF).

"Once the study is done, we will forward the result to our respective governments, through our football associations, to decide whether we should form a joint committee for the bid," he told a a press conference today after the Third Asean Ministerial Meeting on Sports (AMMS-3).

Khairy said they hoped to complete the feasibility study by next year, and come up with the joint committee then.

He explained that they have to forward any bidding documents to FIFA by 2019 to stand any chance of playing host.

Khairy added that the cost to put in a bid is still yet unclear as it will mainly depend on how many of the Asean nations will be hosting the event.

"We have to take into account other factors as not all the countries will play host.

"For 10 countries to host may not be accepted by FIFA. I was made to understand that FIFA may consider having four nations as host," he added. -Bernama

Malaysians have a dream. A big dream. To watch their national team playing in the most prestigious sports competition in the world, the FIFA World Cup.  For years they have been trying to progress through a series of qualifiers in order to compete on the biggest stage. This of course, have never became a reality, not even once. Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) have long been criticised by fans for the ultimate failure, mainly accused for being incompetent, obsolete and lack of proper progress in terms of professional leagues and the development of youth.

Not to mention the poor performance by the senior national team whenever the team played in an important match such as World Cup or Asian Cup qualifier which the only way for the team to progress is to win and collect as many points as possible, something Malaysia failed to do all this time.

The world ranking also played the role in setting up the path for the national team in World Cup qualifications whether its going to be easy or a difficult one. Normally, the higher the ranking, the better the pot you will get and in this case, the easier the matches or the group will be with the high possibility of collecting more points against a much lower ranking teams, or roughly said, a much weaker opponents. This is something that FAM surprisingly have yet to realize and even at one point, played down the importance of ranking. Remember the phrase 'ranking is not important?'

Malaysia highest world ranking is 75th in 1993, a year before the match-fixing scandals were exposed and the lowest is 170th in 2008, a year after participating in the Asian Cup as a co-host nation.  Now? Malaysia currently in 168th, few months after playing in the 2014 AFF Cup final, losing to Oman 6-0, draw 1-1 against Timor Leste and losing 6-0 for the second time, this time to Palestine.

There are talks on how to improve the national team, that includes naturalizing a foreign player. If according to the Article 17: Acquisition of a new nationality, it seems feasible enough to recruit some of the foreign footballers who have played long enough in Malaysia and good enough to play for the national team. However, this have never been materialised.

Some views naturalizing foreigners as unpatriotic and damaging the national pride despite the fact that there are many other countries have done it without any shame and without any trouble. The reluctance of the previous FAM President, Sultan Ahmad Shah to allow foreigners in the national team might also contributed to the current state of the national team. Former FAM General Secretary, Dato' Ibrahim Saad recently revealed how FAM are very much interested with the idea of naturalization, but since the president disagreed, they stopped the project immediately.  

Other reasons include the lack of professionalism, poor league schedule, the lack of interest in youth development. Recently, National Football Development Programme (NFDP) was launched with a strategy of developing Malaysian footballers from the age of 13 until 17 under the stewardship of Lim Teong Kim, the former Bayern Munich youth coach. Their mission is clear, to qualify for the World Cup U-17, World Cup U-20, and most importantly to groom them to be the future Malaysian footballers playing abroad, subsequently improved the senior national team.

This seemed realistic, but why after all this, Malaysia suddenly wants to bid as a host for the World Cup?  Are you trying to take a short-cut by qualifying automatically as a host nation? Why not qualified properly instead of taking a short-cut? Or do you already think that NFDP will be a failure? How is qualifying through as a host nation any better than deservedly qualified through result and performance? Do you know how bad the state of Ringgit currency right now?

P.S.- Naturalized cannot, but bid for World Cup can. So shameless.

Lions XII crowned champions of Malaysia Super League 2013

Lions XII celebrates their first ever MSL 2013 title

By thrashing the hapless Felda United, the Singaporean side clinched the league title for the first time ever since the inception of 2004 and since departing from Malaysian football 20 years ago. 

An OWN GOAL by Azrul Ahmad and goals from Shahril Ishak,  Fazrul Nawaz and Shafiq Ghani sealed the title while Felda United were on the brink of relegation with one game remaining.

Man of the Match: Shahril Ishak

Next game will be the final league match of the season before heading to the fasting month, with the newly crowned champions Lions XII will travel to Kota Bharu to contest the highly anticipated clash with the FA Cup winner Kelantan FA whilst Felda United at home need a win against the already relegated Negeri Sembilan in order to stay in the top-flight but still need a bit of luck from Terengganu FA, hoping they will beat T-Team with only two points separate between them. 

All final matches will kick-off on Saturday, July 6.

Kelantan won the FA Cup 2013 title

Kelantan retain FA Cup title

A golden assist from Piya to find Nor Farhan Mohd who slotted the ball beautifully into the back of the net to make it 1-0 and it was enough for The Red Warriors to capture the FA Cup title for the second consecutive times after a long hard-fought battle against mega-rich side, Johor DT. 

Kelantan met two of their former players, Norshahrul Idlan Talaha and Nurul Azwan Roya who previously won the FA Cup title together last season.

But the one of the most talked about during the game was three quick changes from the Southern Tiger when the match were just inside 45 minutes.

Man of the Match: Piya

What's more, Johor DT striker Norshahrul Idlan Talaha, who best known as Matyo, allegedly thrown his runner-up medal into the dustbin, locked himself in the dressing room and refused any interviews from the media. 

Johor DT players were promised earlier by Tengku Mahkota Johor before the FA Cup final clash that they will have Audi Q7 each if they win the cup both as bonus and motivation for the team. It results in failure though.

Kelantan 4-1 PKNS

Super-sub Khyril Muhymeen's header sealed Malaysia win over Yemen

Khyril celebrates winning goal against Yemen

Malaysia bounced back after going behind through an early strike from Yemeni striker Ayman Al-Hagri, but a goal from Pahang wizard Azamuddin Akil and a point blank header from Kedah maestro Khyril Muhymeen completed Malaysia first ever win in Asian Cup 2015 Qualifier

Malaysia succumbed to a heavy 4-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia easily dominated in the first half but a massive change of line-up in the second half including the return of Malaysia captain Safiq Rahim in the second half with a courageous display which saw him on the scoresheet as well but just could not prevent from beaten by a quality opponent

Selangor held by enthusiastic Tampines Rovers

A brace from Forkey Doe followed by an amazing strike from Amri Yahyah could not bring their side to the first ever win in AFC Cup this season as they were pegged by Singaporean champions who narrowly managed to avoid defeat 

Lions XII 1-0 Kelantan

Syafiq Ghani easily past Khairul Fahmi Che Mat

Kelantan's defensive calamities punished by young Lions XII Syafiq Ghani to put Lions XII very much in a title frame and capped one of the worst performance by The Red Warrior this season  

Ten men Selangor demolished mega-rich Johor DT

Selangor proved money can't buy success as they easily overcome The Southern Tiger despite playing with 10 men to secure one of the biggest result this season

The Red Giants proved too strong for the visitors as they crushed title rivals Johor DT 4-1 in an exciting encounter at Shah Alam Stadium.

Selangor lining up Peter Chrappan in the starting eleven as a replacement for the banned Ramez Dayoub, released by The Red Giants last week while Adib Abdul Latif get the nod ahead of captain Asrarudin Putra.

Johor DT lining up almost an unchanged line-up with Muslim Ahmad sitting on the bench this time and captain Safiq Rahim back in the starting eleven after injury absence.

Selangor have an early lead through S. Kunanlan with a fluke goal in the 4th minute.

The home side doubled their lead this time through Francis Forkey Doe who scored in a close range finish with Johor DT goalkeeper Zamir Selamat failed to hold the ball that went straight into the net.

With Johor DT falling behind again with two goals, they should have think to tighten the defence more or change the tactical approach during half-time interval but Fandi Ahmad thought otherwise when he decided to change current keeper Zamir Selamat with sub keeper Al-Hafiz Hamzah, believed that both conceded goals was at Zamir's fault.

It is as if similar script in the first half continued in the second half as Johor DT did not do enough to creates chances and threaten their opposition while the home side looked as lively as ever. It was not until ten minutes after the restart that new Selangor centre-back Peter Chrappan collected a second yellow card as he fouled Johor DT striker Norshahrul Idlan Talaha at the edge of the penalty box.

It should be a huge advantage for the away side when Selangor have one man down, but things just didn't went their way.

Instead, Selangor keep marching on, and they did so in 66th minute when the unlikeliest goalscorer Mahalli Jasuli dribbled past Johor DT's defence before releasing the shot to the back of the net. It was superb effort and Mahalli would be delighted with his playing display.

The home side were not yet satisfied as they got another goal in the 69th minute courtesy from a delightful pass from Forkey Doe who finds an unmarked Amri Yahyah who slotted the ball easily to the bottom right corner of the net to make it 4-0.

Norshahrul Idlan Talaha gave Johor DT the only consolation goal in the 75th minute by dribbling past Selangor defender before unleashing the ball past Norazlan Razali.

Following the win over Johor DT, Selangor were up to second place, tied on 18 points with league leaders ATM only separated by goal difference.

Despite a heavy defeat, Johor DT still very much close with league leaders ATM, with only two points separated them but The Southern Tiger will have to content with fourth place, behind Lions XII, Selangor and ATM.

Man of the Match: Mahalli Jasuli

Pahang shocked by incisive PKNS

Pahang were left stupefied by what would have been one of an upset this season as they were simply outclassed by PKNS despite leading early through R. Gopinathan but a brace PKNS star striker Patrick Ronaldinho Wleh and a goal from Nizad Ayub condemned Pahang to the first home loss this season

Man of the Match: Patrick Ronaldinho Wleh

T-Team hard done by Terengganu late winner

T-Team missed chance to grab a point after a late strike from Peteh striker Farderin Kadir lift Terengganu up to seventh in Malaysia Super League table

Perak 2-4 ATM

Perak could not hold the lead they have in the first twenty minutes of the first half as goals from Shukor Adan, Christie Jayaseelan and a double from Marlon Alex James marked a remarkable comeback from ATM who closing the gap to second place behind league leaders Johor DT 

Man of the Match: Marlon Alex James

Selangor rued missed chances

Selangor missed chances to go top of the Super League table as struggling T-Team held The Red Giants with an entertaining goalless draw at Kuala Terengganu

Man of the Match: George Boateng

Johor DT 2-1 Negeri Sembilan

The Southern Tiger staged yet another heart-throbbing comeback win, this time against out-of-sorts Negeri Sembilan despite an early scare from the visitors

The home side keen to bring their impressive momentum from FA Cup Second Round win over Kedah last Tuesday. Following the league leaders ATM stalemate 0-0 draw against Pahang, Johor DT have a chance to become the new league leaders if they beat Negeri Sembilan. Meanwhile rock bottom Hobin Jang Hobin keen to end their current eight winless streak in a row if they managed to beat the home side.

Negeri Sembilan have a shock early lead through captain Rashid Mahmud who pounced on the ball and lashed it past Zamir Selamat in 29th minute. The home side, as usual dominating the game in the first half but profligacy makes it hard for them to equalise while the away side clearly delighted to be leading but somehow got lucky for most of it.

Similar script continued in the second half as the home side attacked from all sorts of angle but their increasing off target plus stubborn defending from the visitors mean their effort often comes to nothing. 

It was not until 80th minute that the home side finally equalised due to opponent's mind in trying to add more goals and left most of their defending responsibility out of the sight. Johor DT equalised through a corner from Simone Del Nero who lofted the ball beautifully directed to the head of the unmarked Kamarul Afiq, who headed the ball easily to make 1-1. 

The equalising goal excites fans so much that a huge flares came afterwards when the ultras sets it off and contribute to huge fog surrounded the pitch and left the match officials with no choice but to abandoned the match for five minutes.  The match resumes after the visibility is up to the standard for the match officials, Johor DT proved their class when silky winger Nurul Azwan Roya scored from 25 yards distance in the middle of the pitch despite slipping on the way of hitting the ball in the stoppage time.

Johor DT leading the table for the first time this season but with a narrow one-point lead over second placed ATM. Negeri Sembilan remained bottom in the table and the winless streak continued to nine.

Man of the Match : Nurul Azwan Roya

MSL Team of the Week Match Day 8

 Team of the Week Match Day 8

FA Cup 2nd Round tie Roundup

Guiza stars in Johor dramatic comeback win over Kedah, Azamuddin Akil romped four goals past Tentera Darat in 7-1 victory while Primorac shown T-Team the exit door 

Johor DT should have recorded an easy win against recently relegated Premier League side Kedah FA but made the unusually hard way to progress to the next round. Two early goals in the first half from clinical striker Khyril Muhymeen almost condemned Johor DT to a shock cup exit but were visibly improved in the second half. Dani Guiza is the hero for the Southern Tiger side as he scored two goals in the second half. A controversial free-kick conceded for a questionable handball by Kedah but no trouble for Guiza as he equalised with a sublime finish in the stoppage time and dragged the match into additional extra-time. With either side couldn't find a breakthrough after an extra-time, it seems a penalty shoot-out will be likely to decide the winner. Dani Guiza is the hero once again as he coolly slotted the penalty win after Kedah player Shazuan Ashraf missed the spot-kick earlier.

Pahang pushed complacency issues aside as they trashed FAM League outfit Tentera Darat 7-1 in Darul Makmur Stadium. Four goals from Azamuddin Akil confirmed Pahang place in the Third FA Cup Round.

Penang have no answer for Terengganu despite an encouraging performance as an excellent Ashari Samsudin scored two goals in a 3-0 easy away win which saw them progress to the next round.

Super League outfit T-Team suffered a cup exit after FA Cup 2012 runners-up Sime Darby hold firm 1-0 narrow lead through their in-form striker Karlo Primorac.

Negeri Sembilan recorded an easy 2-0 home victory over unfancied Pos Malaysia after first half goals from Fauzi Nan and Rashid Mahmud sealed the win for Hobin Jang Hobin.

Premier League outfit Sarawak have no trouble progressing to the next round after an easy 2-0 home win over PBAPP at Stadium Negeri, Kuching.

Selangor were the victors against Sabah in the earlier clash which ended 3-0 at Likas.

The only side that is yet to progress are current FA Cup holders Kelantan up against tricky side PKNS, having their match suspended due to a waterlogged pitch. They will only meet on March 25th for a rematch.

BREAKING NEWS: Selangor defender Ramez Dayoub banned for life

Lebanese FA has suspended Selangor FA defender, Ramez Dayoub for life following an alleged match-fixing scandal involving Asian league's games

Secretary General of the West Asia Football Federation, Fadi Zureikat announced in the press conference held at the Lebanese FA headquarters, Selangor defender and current Lebanese international Ramez Dayoub has been suspended from playing football for life, subject to an appeal.

Ramez has been accused for his involvement in an alleged match-fixing scandal in recent Asian league fixtures and international matches. 

Selangor will be under scrutiny following Ramez shock suspension, after performing consistently well in Malaysia Super League. It is now under Selangor' decision either to dismiss Ramez or waiting an appeal. 

It will be a massive blow for Selangor in bid for Super League title challenge if they were to lose their best defender, after putting a good performance so far for The Red Giants, helping Selangor cause currently to a second place in the table this season.