Back for a good cause (The Malay Mail)

FORMER national midfielder Lim Teong Kim (left), now in Germany, will
return to Malaysia on Tuesday to coach.
 Teong Kim, who attained the German A Licence last year after being in
Germany for over two years, will be the head coach of the FA of Malaysia
academies from Feb 1.
 And the man instrumental for his return is none other than Datuk Ahmad
Basri Mohamad Akil, one of the four FA of Malaysia vice-presidents and
chairman of the Youth Development Department.
 Teong Kim, who had earlier applied to coach M-League teams like Kedah,
Kuala Lumpur and Negri Sembilan, had also expressed an interest to work on
youth development, be it at State or national level.
 While the State FAs did not take Teong Kim seriously, it was Ahmad Basri
who pushed for the latter's recruitment as he realised the potential of
Teong Kim's contribution to soccer development in the country.
 Holger Obermann, the head coach and technical chairman of the FAM youth
department, is another man, who was in full support of Teong Kim's return
to join FAM.
 Obermann had also played a key role in assisting Teong Kim in sitting
for the A Licence in Germany and also an attachment with Bayern Munich.
 Teong Kim could eventually take over Obermann's position in FAM when the
latter, who is here on a German Government Programme, eventually leaves.
 Teong Kim, who has a German wife and three children, had recently
pointed out that local coaches should equip themselves with better
knowledge of the game and his comments did not go down well with many
local coaches.
 He said local coaches, who lacked knowledge of the game and were not
exposed to high level international competitions, would find it tough to
bring out the best from the players and motivating them.
 Teong Kim said he did not mean to belittle local coaches, but hoped to
see improvement in the coaching aspects in Malaysia.
 Now that he will be back to help groom the youngsters, he will have an
opportunity to put his experience to good use.
 However, he needs the cooperation of all academy coaches throughout the
country to come up with a successful programme.
                              (END)

Don't insult me (The Malay Mail)

SCOTT Ollerenshaw is not amused that his previous exploits with Sabah all
count for nothing as 1997 came to an end.
 Ollerenshaw, who won the M-League's Golden Boot Award in 1995 and 1996,
has been told by the Sabah FA to attend trials if he wants to continue
playing for the Rhinos.
 The Sabah FA condition came after Ollerenshaw, who is married to former
national karate exponent and Sabahan Michelle Koh, parted company with
them in his mission to play for Australia in the World Cup.
 Ollerenshaw, who turns 30 on Feb 9, said yesterday in Sydney he felt
hurt that after four years of service with Sabah, he had to attend trials
if he wished to play for them again.
 He said he wants to explain to the fans of Sabah his exit from Kota
Kinabalu because they have been great to him.
 He does not want them to get the wrong picture of him walking out on
them.
 "It is true that I asked to be released from Sabah at the end of
December although my contract runs until December 1998.
 "The reason I wanted out was because I wanted to play for Australia in
the World Cup. I had written to the Sabah FA requesting for an early
release and they duly replied saying my request has been granted but that
my contract would end in November 1997.
 "I then found out that Terry Venables has already named a squad of 26
and, even if Australia qualified for the World Cup, he will not be calling
up any more players apart from those named earlier.
 "Australia also failed to qualify and I wrote back to the Sabah FA
offering to continue my services following the turn of events.
 "They wrote back saying that they are sticking with their earlier
decision to release me. However, they added that if I still wanted to play
for Sabah, I could attend trials.
 "I was really hurt by this statement because after four years of playing
for Sabah, they still do not know want I can offer. I really don't know
what to say.
 "I respect their decision not to re-engage me but to ask me to attend
trials was certainly not necessary. They could have just told me they do
not need my services anymore," said Ollerenshaw.
 Ollerenshaw said he will seek the help of the FA of Malaysia in getting
his  December salary as his contract covered the 12 months of 1997.
 "I hope the fans can now understand why I will not be playing for Sabah
in the new season," said Ollerenshaw, who made it known that he is still
very keen to continue playing in the M-League.
 "I am now a free agent as Sabah have released me. I want to play for
another team.
 "I have been offered by a team in Singapore, but I prefer the M-League
and I hope some of the teams are interested in me."
 Ollerenshaw said he would like to play for Negri Sembilan as he sees the
Deer as a good side and have the potential to do well.
 "I want to play for the team and win something for them. I also want a
new challenge and I see Negri as having the potential of winning something
but they will have to work hard for it and I want to be a part of it."
 On reports that he and fellow Sabah teammate Seslija Milomir have been
offered a package deal to play for a certain team, Ollerenshaw said he is
not aware of it because he has not been in touch with Milomir.
                              (END)

Game on a roll (The Malay Mail)

BOWLING is among the few sports that has given us reason to cheer in 1997.
 It serves as an example of a well managed association with achievements
that are hard for others to match.
 Over the last few years, bowling has brought about good news and pride
to the nation with its achievements rather than controversies.
 Basically, it all boils down to proper administration, calibre coaches,
professionalism, dedication, good development programmes and good
relationship with the National Sports Council (NSC) and sponsors.
 And the bowlers have certainly proved that they are no one season
wonders and the sport is constantly growing in strength with their full
potential yet to be realised.
 Even when their full potential is realised, which is expected to be in
1999, they can only move upwards as there are many more potentials waiting
on the wings for an opportunity to move into the main stream.
 The fact that their partner-in-sport under the Rakan Muda project - The
Land & General Bhd - has increased their grant from RM400,000 in 1995 to
RM600,000 last year only underlines the confidence the sponsors have in
them.
 The sport itself has certainly not let the sponsors down as eight other
sponsors (out of 20) have withdrawn their sponsorship for various reasons
including poor performances, disagreement, poor management and poor
accountability.
 Critics may point out that when it mattered most, bowling had failed
especially when the bowlers competed in step-ladder finals which had
turned out to be a jinx for the sport last year.
 Bowling sensation Shalin Zulkifli failed twice, in the Sea Games in
Jakarta and the World championship in Cairo, while Lai Kin Ngoh slipped at
the inaugural Brunswick Asian Championship for Champions in Guangzhou.
 But the step-ladder is no guideline because it is a one-off game while
the respective bowlers have done well overall and were even leaders during
the competition.
 However, in any case, national coach Sid Allen had specifically said
that Malaysia's true potential has yet to be realised.
 Not even when Malaysia had won five golds, five silvers and six bronzes
at the Jakarta Sea Games.
 Although next year is a very important year for the sport with six major
international championships coming up. It is the 1999 FIQ World
championship in the United Arab Emirates that Malaysia have targeted to be
ranked among the top three.
 Currently Malaysia are ranked about sixth with Holland leading the list
followed by the United States, Sweden, Finland and Taiwan.
 Ambitious as it may sound, but at least here is a sport body that
strives for excellence and is well in line to achieve their targets.
 While the hiring of Canadian nine years ago was the best thing that
could have happened to Malaysian bowling, it did not stop there.
 The Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC), under the leadership of Dr
P.S. Nathan and secretary Sideny Tung, have constantly worked hard to see
improvement.
 Besides Allen, there is Australian-born Chinese Eric Jang who has been
in Malaysia for the last two years and been largely involved in the
development of the game in the country.
 Known as the roving coach, Jang has been travelling to the ten bowling
centres of excellence across the country not only to help the elite group
of young bowlers but also to upgrade coaches in the respective States.
 The centres of excellence which started 10 ten years ago as a joint
effort by MTBC and NSC has certainly paid dividends and is expected to
continue to do so with the number of new talents being produced every
year.
 Next year, two more new centres will be opened to bring it to 12
throughout the country.
 There are about 35 coaches involved in the programme.
 Of the current 20 national bowlers, 16 of them, including Shalin are
products of the programme.
 And it was no surprise that at the recent national championships, more
fresh talents surfaced to give further hope for the future.
 Sarawak and Penang are two centres who have developed fast and produced
many talents for the future.
 Jang was stationed in Kuching for three months before the national
championship last month, and that probably explained Sarawak's supermacy
in the championships.
 James Potter, who was hired early last year, is another coach who has
made tremendous contribution to the game with his expertise in ball
drilling.
 The MTBC research centre has been rated as one of the best in the world
and it is through such planning and research that success has been gained.
 When bowling was said to be dominated by women in recent years, the men
also gave reason to celebrate with their emergence last year to match if
not better the women's performances.
 It has indeed been a fruitful year for the Malaysian bowlers with Sharon
Low starting off 1997 with her win at the Irish Open in January.
 Other notable achievements include Daniel Lim and Sharon Low winning the
mixed doubles event at the World Games in Lathi, Finland, Alex Lim
emerging as the youngest bowler to win the Melbourne Cup.
 The successes include Lydia Kwah winning the Philippines Open, Ricky
Chen bagging the Indo-Cement Cup in Indonesia, Kenny Ang's victory in the
Taiwan Open, Lai Kin Ngoh's second placing in the Brunswick Asian
Championship and of course Shalin's third place in the World Cup in Cairo.
                              (END)

Drastic changes (The Malay Mail)

THE humiliation at the Jakarta Sea Games was the lowest point in Malaysian
soccer this year.
The unimaginable loss to lightweights Laos and the subsequent failure to
qualify for the semifinals led to some drastic changes.
The question is have we over-reacted to the Sea Games debacle by sacking
the whole national team?
Were the changes made by the FA of Malaysia in response to pressure
rather than an earnest desire to gain loss ground?
The only constant may be change but it has to be for the right reason
and in the right direction.
The change to the M-League format from one division to two next season
is another questionable decision.
We will have Premier 1 and Premier 2 but it is nothing new as the format
was used when the Semi-pro League was introduced in 1989 and it was in
force until 1993.
The only difference is that two club sides will be joining the ranks of
state teams in Premier 2.
But what is there to gain from playing teams of lesser quality?
The lower division is also unlikly to have a wide following and fan
support is one of the main ingredients for a successful league.
Pahang coach Jorgen Larsen said there is hardly any fault in the present
League system.
His only qualm is that league sides should be better managed.
He also feels it would be better for teams to play one match a week
instead of the current two so as to give the coaches time to work on their
team.
The Olympic team are the new national team but with them playing in the
League too, the intention of allowing the national side to train more does
not make sense.
Prior to the Sea Games, the national team were hailed as saviours of
Malaysian soccer after their encouraging performances in the Tiger Cup,
Dunhill Cup and World Cup qualifiers.
All that changed immediately after the Sea Games.
Perhaps the better approach would be to identify and rectify specific
weaknesses instead of disbanding the team and erasing all the work put in
in the last two years.
Soccer in Malaysia has gone professional but many States FAs are hardly
run professionally.
This is another area Larsen pointed out for improvement.
For players to act professionally, the management must act that way
first.
Self-serving officials, without a clue of the game, will have to go.
Rewarding mediocrity is self-defeating and Pahang's policy of rewarding
only achievements should be lauded.
Larsen was to be paid bonuses only for winning titles.
Teams should do away with team managers and appoint manager-coaches or
have an administrative officer handling the team's affairs.
We should not complicate things for the Sydney Olympics squad by giving
them too much responsibility.
Calibre coaches like Alan Vest, Ronald Smith, Jorgen Larsen, Karl
Weigang and Steve Wicks can help in the selection of players and their
knowledge of the game should be tapped to the maximum.
It was heartening to note that many young players featured in the
Malaysia Cup final on Saturday.
The performances of Aizal Lamin, Mohamad Rizal Mohamad Hassan, Nazzab
Hidzan, Abdul Hadi Tahir, Jalaluddin Jaafar, Khairuniza Mustafa, Ahmad
Shahruddin Rosdi and Suhami Mohamad Nor gives hope of a bright future.
State FAs have to spend more time on youth development and the rewards
to Selangor and Pahang should serve as an eye-opener to others.
And constant changes in the Malaysian soccer set-up and to their
blueprints are not going to help any.
There is nothing much that is wrong with Malaysian soccer, except that
it should be managed more professionally at all levels.
Let us hope 1998 will be a better year.
                            (END)

You cowards! (The Malay Mail)

IT is a blue Christmas for Pahang skipper Zsolt Bucs in Budapest today.
 Bucs, 34, is upset with comments that he does not deserve the Man-of-
the-Match award given to him in the Malaysia Cup final last Saturday.
 He is also unhappy about allegations that he did not give his best in
several matches this season, including the final against Selangor.
 A player and an official told Mailsport on Monday that it was no
surprise the Pahang management had decided to drop Bucs for next season
because of his indifference in several matches including the final.
 Bucs, contacted in Budapest on Christmas eve, was highly upset with
developments here after he had left for home with his family and fellow
Hugarian Istvan Borsos on Monday morning.
 "I challenge the player and the official who accused me of pulling
punches in several matches to identify themselves," said Bucs.
 "I am really disappointed such reports have come out after I have left
the country.
 "Why didn't they say it to my face when I was in Malaysia or even after
the Malaysia Cup final.
 "It is an act of cowardice. They are just looking for excuses for Pahang
failing to win the Malaysia Cup."
 Bucs said he has no qualms about the Pahang FA's decision regarding his
continued stay with them.
 "Maybe they should have been professional enough and informed me of
their decision, but otherwise I accept their decision," said Bucs.
 "Pahang were just an average team but every one of us worked very hard
to reach the Malaysia Cup final.
 "I did not ask for the award. It was the sportwriters who felt I
deserved it and I was honoured to receive it.
 "But I would gladly trade it for the Malaysia Cup winners' medal.

Professional
 "If I had pulled punches in the final, Selangor would have run rings
around us, especially when we were reduced to 10 men in the 47th minute
after Khairulniza (Mustafa) was sent off.
 "I am a professional and I give my best in every match but even the
world's greatest player cannot perform consistently well in every match.
 "I may have had my off off days but I gave my all in the final.
 "If we had won, I am sure there would have been no such allegations.
 "I am disappointed no one from the Pahang FA informed me officially of
my future but I did not let it affect my performance because I am a
professional."
 Bucs can take heart that Pahang coach Jorgen Larsen and manager Datuk Dr
Yusof Ali came out in support of him in yesterday's Mailsport.
 However, both said that news of his contract not being renewed had
affected Bucs.
 "Even if  Pahang do not want my services, I would still want to continue
playing in Malaysia.
 "Negative and untrue reports will hurt my cause.
 "I hope those responsible will have the courage to come out in the open
and clear the air.
 "I am taking this matter seriously as it affects my livelihood and I
will go to any length to clear my name," said Bucs.
                              (END)

Dane Larsen's local touch (The Malay Mail)

THINK global, act local.
 That seems to be Pahang coach Jorgen Larsen's policy in handling his
charges.
 The Dane, who signed with Pahang this season, did not impose the
continental style on his team and it turned out to be quite a fulfilling
debut for him as Pahang finished Malaysia Cup runners-up.
 "When I first came here, I noticed the Malaysian players were a skilful
lot but lacked the physique of the Europeans.
 "I could not ask them to play a particular style when they were not
built for it.
 "Instead, I used the strength of the players to build the team.
 "Since I had skilful players, I used it to keep the ball more on the
ground and move it around.
 "We kept our crosses sharp and low.
 "We made use of set pieces to get goals and worked hard on our fitness
to last longer than the duration of the match.
 "I even had small players as stoppers and critics questioned my wisdom,"
said Larsen.
 He was obviously referring to stopper Khairulniza Mustafa who, despite
his small built, proved effective with a high workrate, strong tackles,
close marking and good vision.
 The aerial balls were well covered by a tall sweeper in Kopi Ampiah.
 "We did not adopt any style but played the style we know best alaysian the
Malaysian style.
 "And our results should be ample proof that we had taken the right
approach."
 Larsen also emphasises on specialisation.
 "I had at least two players for each role and it is not my style to move
players around.
 "With two specialised players, we don't have to worry in case of injury
or suspension.
 "It is also important to have depth in the reserves. We did not have it
this season but I did my best with what I had.
 "I will have to go on a scouting mission to get more players to
strengthen the reserve bench for the new season," said Larsen.
 Larsen also said that bringing the best out of players means
understanding them and taking care of them.
 "When players are happy they will perform.
 "The players did well for us despite their limited experience."
Larsen is a true professional  and  is  not afraid of stepping on a few
toes or ruffling a few feathers.
 He is paid to do a job and he does it well.
                             (END)

Thanks for the favour (The Malay Mail)

PAHANG'S Danish coach Jorgen Larsen attributes his present position to
former Kedah FA deputy president and team manager Datuk Ahmad Basri Akil.
 Larsen, 52, believes it was Ahmad Basri who had given his name to Pahang
FA president Tengku Mahkota Tengku Abdullah.
 "I met Ahmad Basri when the Kedah team went to Qatar last year for their
pre-season matches," said Larsen.
 "He made me an offer but I was with the Qatar national team then.
 "But he told me to get in touch with him when I had finished my stint
with Qatar.
 "I was in Phuket last year after my stint with Qatar and had called
Ahmad Basri from there.
 "He insisted I go to Kedah and after much persuasion, decided on a trip
to Penang for a short holiday.
 "From Penang, I went to Alor Star, where I watched my first M-League
match between Kedah and Penang.
 "Ahmad Basri asked me to get in touch with him at the end of the season
but before I could do so, I got a call from Pahang.
 "I was really surprised and did not even know where Pahang was.

Bonus
 "I have always been interested in ending my coaching career in the Far
East and when Pahang got in touch with me, I decided to give it a shot.
 "Till today, I believe it was Ahmad Basri who gave my name because I
checked with my agent in England and they did not know anything about it.
 "I am indeed grateful to Ahmad Basri."
 Kedah's loss is indeed Pahang's gain.
 Ahmad Basri did not get the opportunity to hire Larsen because he was
out of the Kedah FA setup at the end of last season.
 Larsen has a two-year contract with Pahang FA and all indications are
that he will see it through.
 He has proven to be a good coach, having steered a relatively young and
inexperienced Pahang team to the Malaysia Cup final.
 But like most foreign professional coaches, Larsen is still not totally
satisfied with the management aspect of the team, which he intends to sort
out before continuing his services.
 On Wednesday, he received an irresistibly good offer from Egyptbut
Larsen said he not only works for money, but also job satisfaction.
 "I have a good team in Pahang and I like it here very much. I want to
continue with them but need to sort out a few grey areas.
 "I will only contemplate to move if I fail to settle some matters."
 But for now, he has only one thing in mind - to steer underdogs Pahang
to victory in tomorrow's Malaysia Cup final.
 Besides a personal achievement, Larsen also stands to get a handsome
bonus if they do win.
 Unlike the players, Larsen did not get any bonus this season. His
contract stipulates e is only entitled to it if Pahang win anyone of the
trophies, be it the FA Cup, League Cup or Malaysia Cup.
 However, if Pahang do not win tomorrow, he will not receive a sen.
 The players have already received RM7,000 for qualifying for the
Malaysia Cup and another RM6,000 for reaching the final, which was paid on
Wednesday night at a dinner in Kuantan.
 Larsen has no qualms about the deal because he believes the bonus is
seen as a reward for the team's success.
 Not many coaches would take a deal or challenge like Larsen, but he has
proven to be a true professional who only strives for excellence.
                              (END)