ANOTHER GAMEPLAN FROM FAM

COLUMN

By Tony Mariadass

Get to the root of the ill

It is surprising that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) while opting for ‘fast express’ method to revive the fortunes of Malaysian football by deciding to recruit proven players from other countries under a bold naturalisation programme, have conveniently left out talent scouts in their master plan.

FAM also had announced the ‘Malaysian way’ to success by unveiling the Malaysian Football DNA programme – wanting kampong to cities, schools to national level to play a similar Malaysia style – but nobody spoke of talent scouts.

Both the naturalisation programme and Malaysia DNA programme are no guarantee to see success.

As for the naturalisation programme, our neighbours Singapore have tried it from as early as 2002 under the Foreign Sports Talent (FST) scheme and their current FIFA standing is 162.

While some quality players like Daniel Bennett (England), Shi Jiayi (China), Fahrudin Mustafic (Serbia) and Qiu served the Lions well, there were some misses as well.

The first two men under the scheme, strikers Mirko Grabovac and Egmar Goncalves, were unable to reproduce their club form, where they were prolific strikers. Goncalves returned to Brazil in 2006 while Grabovac returned his Singapore passport in 2008 before returning last year to coach his old club Warriors FC.

Singapore’s FST policy had been dormant for eight years but it now back online for the Football Association of Singapore (FAS).

But the new scheme is a long-term development where they are looking at foreign players start playing in the Singapore Premier League at a young age, so that they can integrate into the local culture and they have about 10 years to give to the national team.

FAS vice-president S. Thavaneson had said when they announced the programme last year: "If the players are really young, it will be easier for them to assimilate. And by the time they are 23, they can start playing for Singapore (if they fulfil the five-year residency period required by Fifa for naturalisation)."

While Singapore having tried out older naturalised players and not achieved the desired end results and are trying another method, Malaysia is going on tried methods which have not produced results.

History plays an important as it is a lesson to cultivate the good and not to repeat the bad.

Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Those who do not remember their past are condemned to repeat their mistakes. Those who do not read history are doomed to repeat it. And those who fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors are destined to repeat them.

It was for these reasoning that I cannot bring myself to accept the FA of Malaysia’s (FAM) decision to recruit players from other countries under a bold naturalisation programme.

Two players – Brazilian Guiherme de Paula, 33, who plays for Kuala Lumpur and Kosovo Albanian Liridon Krasniqi, 27, – have submitted the required documents to the Home Ministry to apply for Malaysian citizenship and after it has been granted, FAM will hand in their application to FIFA for approval.

Besides, Singapore resorted to naturalised players because they are a small nation just like countries like Qatar and United Arab Emirates (UAE) whom FAM are citing for their reason to go the same way.

Malaysia has a population 32.4 of which 9 million are youth (15-30 age group bracket), while Singapore total population is only 5.8 million, while Qatar has 2.7 million and UAE 9.6 million.

As for the DNA programme, it is nothing new because it has been advocated in the past by several national coaches from the late Karl Weigang, Trevor Hartely, Alan Harris and now currently Tan Cheng Hoe who believes in Malaysian born players and playing to their strength, which is the Malaysian way.

But whether Malaysian DNA can be implemented throughout the Malaysian football system is a big challenge.

Would foreign coaches hired to coach State teams or clubs want to follow the ‘Malaysian style’ and what guarantee is that the system will filter all the way to grassroots.

Football although always talked about system of play, basically in modern day football, it is just about total football and playing to one’s strength.

In modern day football it is just attacking in numbers and defending in numbers as a whole team. Bottom line is whatever system used, the team is built around the strength of the players.

There is also plans that foreign-born youngsters be absorbed into the National Football Development Programme (NFDP).

The problem is contracts cannot be signed with minors (below 16 years old), thus bringing up the question what guarantee is that these young foreign players will stay on to play for Malaysia.

Above all, what kind of message are we sending to the young Malaysian players who had hopes of making football a career?

Would it not be better to have talent scouts to comb the length and breadth of Malaysia to scout for budding talents?

Much is said about the late Mokhtar Dahari and that no player like him has come through since.

But are the very people who talk about ‘Super Mokh’ know that he was not discovered by design but chance – because of a club coach who thought Mokhtar had the talent and recommended him.

M. J. Vincent, the Selangor team manager of the Burnley Cup (now Razak Cup) team, said that Mokhtar was introduced by a coach of a club team by the name of Wan.

“Wan told me that there was this player whom he thought was an excellent player. I told him to bringing him for trials and the rest is history,” said the 83-year-old Vincent who has served as an official for FA of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur FA and also a referee.

“Without doubt, if not for this coach, Mokhtar would have been discovered later or never. This coach who acted as a talent scout indeed played a key role,” added Vincent.

Mokhtar after leaving school in 1971, was successfully courted by the coach of Selangor’s Darul Afiah Football Club, Hussein Hashim. At that time, the club was in Selangor’s Division Two league.

Thus, coaches at club and grassroots level and talent scouts, are an integral part of football, which has been given low or no priority these days.

The next Mokhtar is not going to walk to the corridors of FAM or any State FA. He needs to be sought, found and natured.

Now another programme master plan for Malaysia football has been launched by Malaysia Football League (MFL) – 50-year Strategic Blueprint – 2021-2070) after FAM’s F:30 roadmap and Malaysia’s Football DNA.

All these plans are good, but we need to have one master plan and not a series which could end up in confusion. Above all implementation is the key word in any plans launched.

Many a plan has been launched in the past, but sooner or later it ends up in the filing cabinet gathering dust.

Let us hope the same fate does not happen to the current ambitious plans!