Bonus boost (The Malay Mail)

WHEN virtually every one is cutting costs these difficult days, FAM have
decided to spend more on the M-League.
 State FAs should thank their lucky stars that they would be getting an
increase in annual subsidy from FAM.
 This "bonus" was conveyed by FAM president Sultan Ahmad Shah to FAM
council members at their meeting on Monday.
 Sultan Ahmad confirmed the increase but declined to reveal the details
at the moment.
 "It is suffice for me to say at this stage there will be an increase in
the RM750,000 allocated to each State. We are still finalising the amount.
 "We did away with foreign players this season to help teams cut costs
besides wanting to see more local players getting exposure.
 "I am still going ahead to increase the subsidy because I strongly feel
that the State teams should be developed to a high level to produce
quality players," said Sultan Ahmad Shah.
 The absence of foreign players will generally help State FAs reduce
their M-League expenditure by about 40 per cent.
 Fifty-one foreigners featured in the M-League last season, the second
highest number since Semi-Pro was introduced in 1989 and went fully
professional seven years later. The most number of foreign players was 55
in 1997.
 But the Sultan of Pahang made it clear that the additional subsidy was
not for the State FAs to spend lavishly but to make an earnest effort in
producing  quality players.
 State FAs can help Sultan Ahmad realise his wishes by hiring quality
coaches to handle their teams.
 It could be top local coaches on a full-time basis where they can give
undivided attention to players. Or they can get good foreign coaches.
 However, the only problem is that all the teams have already named their
coaches for the season.
 But it is still not too late to employ foreign coaches as technical
directors to the teams with the view of making them coaches next season.
 This is not to say local coaches lack quality but it is just a lack of
them.
 Besides, foreign coaches have been exposed to a very high level of the
game especially in the many leagues in Europe.
 No harm getting foreign coaches to share expertise with local ones
though there was a substantial increase in local coaches last season with
12 involved in the M-League. Notably, Moey Yoke Ham coached Penang to the
league title while Abdul Rahman Ibrahim guided Terengganu to the Malaysia
Cup final.
 This way, not only do the players benefit from top level coaching, the
local coaches can also act as understudy to their foreign counterparts.
 This season, the teams with foreign coaches are Pahang (Alan Davidson),
Selangor (Mike Pejic), Johor (Steve Darby) Johor FC (Ronald Smith), Sabah
(Ken Shellito) and Perak (Karl Weigang).
 The local coaches are with Perlis (Tajuddin Nor), Kedah (Azman Yusoff
and P. Balakrishnan), Penang (Yoke Ham), Terengganu (Yunus Alif), Kelantan
(Mosthakeen Omar), Malacca (G. Torairaju), Negri Sembilan (Irfan Bakti),
Sarawak (Abdul Jalil Rambli), Kuala Lumpur (Mat Zan Mat Aris), Negri
Sembilan Chempaka (K. N. Devan) and Malacca Telekom (Khadir Buyong).
 Sultan Ahmad has indeed been generous to the State FAs and they should
repay his generosity by producing some significant results in the progress
of Malaysian soccer.
                               (END)

Not the right time (The Malay Mail)

THE Sultan of Pahang wants to put Malaysian soccer on the right footing
for the next millennium before stepping down as FAM president.
 Speculation was rife that Sultan Ahmad Shah would quit his FAM post
sometime this month to concentrate on his duties as Asian Football
Confederation (AFC) president.
 But Sultan Ahmad dismissed such talk after chairing yesterday's FAM
council meeting.
 Sultan Ahmad, replying in jest to queries from the Press about his
intentions to quit, quipped: "Where have you heard this?
 "I will step down when the time is right ... unless my deputy (looking
at Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen) wants to take over."
 That saw Ritahuddeen animatedly dismissing the suggestion.
 It was earlier speculated that Sultan Ahmad's son, Tengku Abdullah, the
Tengku Mahkota of Pahang, would be the likely successor.
 Incidentally, it was Tengku Abdullah who had said in Vietnam that his
father could make an announcement pertaining to his position in FAM at
yesterday's meeting.
 Tengku Abdullah, however, was not present at the meeting, having been
admitted to the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital yesterday morning after
feeling  unwell.
 Sultan Ahmad said: "I will step down. I am definitely not indispensable.
Besides, I am not getting any younger.
 "But I will do it at the right time. At this point I am still the
president.
 "I want to leave the association honourably. There are a few things I
would like to see happen to Malaysian soccer and I believe we will get off
on the right note for the next millennium."
 Sultan Ahmad said from the information of coach Abdul Rahman Ibrahim,
there is hope for the national team although they did not have a good
outing in the Dunhill Cup in Vietnam where they lost to South Korea (3-0)
and China (7-1).
 He added that the present national players do not lack passion or desire
to do well.
 "At least this is the feedback I got from the coach. What the players
lack are international Grade A matches. We have taken note of the matter
and are acting on it."
 The national team will play at least one international Grade A match
every month with immediate effect. They will also see action in an
international quadrangular in Malaysia before August's Brunei SEA Games.
 Asked why he does not intend to head FAM in the next millennium, Sultan
Ahmad said: "I have been around for 14 years and it is time for someone
else to lead FAM.
 "But, like I said, I am confident the game in this country will reach a
new level soon and that will certainly make me happy.
 "For now, let us all, including the Press, work as one to ensure that
the game moves up.
 "I also feel that without the foreigners this year, more local talent
will surface. We have done everything possible to ensure that the M-League
will not be affected by the absence of the foreigners. I believe it will
be an exciting season."
                               (END)

Lost souls! (The Malay Mail)

THEY are the "lost boys" with no future and no hope of reversing
Malaysia's soccer fortunes.
 Nothing can be done to save the national team with the present
generation of Malaysian footballers. Players who have lost their character
in their lust for easy money.
 The FA of Malaysia have to accept this as their bad karma for we really
reap what we sow.
 The future lies in the next millennium, in the kids now aged about 10
years old who are kicking balls around the kampungs, streets and patches
of green.
 Sure, waiting for these kids to mature will take time but we must
exercise patience and do the right thing instead of wasting money and
effort on the hopeless lot now plying their trade in the M-League.
 We must infuse the children with professional ethics like they do in
Europe. Make it an integral part of their soccer education to inculcate
character and a sense of national pride and professionalism.
 For far too long, the fans have been led up the garden path as FAM keep
trying, and failing, with their programmes to come up with a winning team.
 One can argue that the present national players are still young and just
starting out. But their path is full of potholes of their own making. They
lack a sense of purpose just like their predecessors of the past two
decades.
 And we cannot really blame the system. FAM have done everything
possible, from pumping money into State FAs and virtually taking over
their development programmes, to nurturing national youth teams.
 But yet the senior national teams keep on embarrassing the country. The
fans cannot comprehend why Malaysia are even no match for less developed
countries like Vietnam and Laos.
 The problem is  the Malaysian players lack professionalism and ambition.
They expect easy money without having to produce results and the M-League
offers them that.
 They do not behave like professionals when donning national colours and
expect FAM to heap lavish incentives on them.
 The last Malaysian player of some charisma was Zainal Abidin Hassan.
Whatever one may say about him, he was a commanding figure who could play
a grand game if he chose too. His longevity is proof of that.
 But it is a sad indictment of the game that the last quality player was
a throwback from 20 years ago. From the generation which produced the last
great Malaysian team with the likes of Soh Chin Aun, Mokhtar Dahari, R.
Arumugam and company.
 It has been downhill all the way since then.
 These days, players only need to be at their mediocre best to be treated
like lords by the States. So why bother trying to be the best?
Look at Khairul Anaur Baharom, Faizal Zainal and A. Ganesan. They are not
even exceptional in their State teams, let alone shine at international
level.
 The fact that they could not even make their mark against Under-23 teams
in the Dunhill Cup in Ho Chi Minh City underlines their lack of calibre.
 The players from Olympic 2000 should be better because under Hatem
Souissi they have had the ideals of professionalism instilled in them
during the past four years.
 Even so, these boys have rebelled against Hatem saying he is too strict
and tried to oust him. That speaks volumes about their professionalism.
 Like their seniors, they want everything but are not prepared to work
for it.
 Sad to say, the Olympic 2000 squad cannot be really seen as Malaysia's
hope because they too lack motivation and drive.
 Not many of our players dream of playing abroad. They are content with
the easy life the M-League offers them. Either they feel they are not good
enough or just do not have the desire to improve further.
 It is this indifferent attitude that is killing the game.
 We need ambitious players like Lim Teong Kim and Fandi Ahmad before
Malaysia can dream of being the best in the region, let alone Asia.
 So let us stop dreaming of quick success for we simply do not have the
players for it.
 Five or more years is more like it. And that is not too long a wait if
Malaysian soccer walks tall again like it did in the 60s and 70s.
 But for that to happen, we must teach the youngsters all about pride and
professionalism.
                             (END)

Passion after the pain (The Malay Mail)

LEAVING Kuala Lumpur hurt K. Ramachandran but the defender is looking
forward to a whole new life with Pahang.
 Ramachandran, 26, came through the KL development programme to skipper
the M-League side.
 But after six years, the former international fell out of favour with
coach Mat Zan Mat Aris last season. He was not among the five senior
players recommended to be retained for this season.
 And when the Pahang offer came, Ramachandran took it.
 "It was a difficult decision because all my playing career has been with
KL," said Ramachandran, who moved to KL from Taiping.
 "I put in 10 years and felt I still had a few more years of good soccer
to give KL.
 "So, I was really disheartened when there was no place for me in the
team.
 "I am grateful to Pahang for giving me this opportunity."
 It was Pahang's assistant coach, Fuzzemi Ibrahim, who asked Ramachandran
to attend trials with them last month.
 After watching him for a week, Pahang agreed to take him on.
 Ramachandran signed with Pahang at the beginning of this month after his
contract with KLFA expired on Dec 31.
 "It is a new challenge for me and I am taking it seriously.
 "I am flattered Pahang want me and I am determined to repay their
confidence in me.
 "There won't be that familiar feeling and I will work hard to adapt to
all the changes," said Ramachandran.
 Ramachandran is looking forward to his first session with Pahang's new
coach Alan Davidson.
 "I played against him several seasons ago and now he will be coaching
me.
 "It's exciting as I have always admired Alan as a defender and I am sure
he will help make me a better player," said Ramachandran.
 Davidson played for Pahang in the M-League from 1991 to 1996.
 Ramachandran will also be seeing changes in his personal life.
 He is getting married to Seetha on Feb 7 in Kuala Lumpur.
 Ramachandran will be back in training for the new season after a short
break.
                              (END)

Sara to make good (The Malay Mail)

place in the national team after missing the boat the first time.
 The son of a kacang putih seller is determined to work for a place in
the Malaysian team to the Dunhill Cup starting next week in Vietnam.
 After the initial disappointment ob being excluded from the national
team for the recent playing tour of UAE, Saravanan has pledged to put in
extra effort to impress coach Abdul Rahman Ibrahim.
 For the Ipoh-born Saravanan, who turned 21 on Jan 11, a ticket to
Vietnam will indeed be a great, albeit, belated birthday present.
 He said: "I am grateful to coach Abdul Rahman for considering me for the
Dunhill Cup after my withdrawal from the team earlier this month because
of food poisoning.
 "Missing out on the Dubai trip could have been very costly because the
coach was finalising his squad for Vietnam during the tour.
 "I am lucky to be given a second chance. In fact, I was told by the
coach to be prepared for a recall on his return from Dubai.
 "I hope to make the final squad this time," said Saravanan.
 Saravanan, who has had enough disappointments since being dropped from
the Olympic 2000 squad late last year, said: "Coach Hatem (Souissi) had
his reasons for doing so and I have to respect it.
 "The national call-up provided some consolation and I want to make it
meaningful by making the final squad," said Saravanan.
 The 23-strong national training squad will be cut to 18 on Tuesday
before they leave for Ho Chi Minh City the next day.
 Besides Saravanan, the others eyeing places upfront are G. Shanmugam,
Yusri Che Lah, Mohamad Nor Derus and Zami Mohamad Noor.
 Saravanan, who featured in the World Youth championship in 1997, hopes a
credible performance with the national team would earn him a recall for
the Olympics qualifers in June.
 The seventh in a family of eight boys and a girl, Saravanan turned out
for the Perak Youth team in the 1995 Coke Cup before getting selected for
the Olympic 2000 squad.
 Though his 58-year-old father, Velu, has never played soccer, he
produced three footballing sons.
 Saravanan's eldest brother, Arumugam was a Negri Sembilan midfielder in
1995 and 1996 while his younger brother, Karannan, is Perak Under-18
midfielder.
 "I want to make my father proud by making it to the national senior
team," said Saravanan, who played a major role in Perak winning the
Malaysia Cup this season.
                               (END)

Raja: Arrangement fine by me (The Malay Mail)

CARETAKER coach K. Rajagopal is prepared for the eventuality he may not
get to handle Selangor this season.
 And he is not disturbed by news that the Red Giants may sign an English
coach.
 The FA of Selangor have plans to let an Englishman take charge of the
team for three weeks at the end of the month and possibly make him their
coach.
 Selangor team manager Datuk Mokhtar Ahmad announced on Tuesday a former
England international who has coached in the English Premier League and
Div 1 will be at Shah Alam.
 Although Mokhtar did not reveal his name, it has been speculated the
coach is former Nottingham Forest and England striker Trevor Francis.
 Rajagopal said yesterday: "I was fully aware of it when I agreed to be
an interim coach."
 He said the understanding was he would be the acting coach for two
months first.
 "My two-month contract with FAS ends on Feb 28," said Rajagopal whose
last involvement with Selangor at senior level was as assistant to Ken
Worden in 1995.
 "Under the contract, I am to be informed of my position at the end of
next month. I could be offered the post of coach or assistant coach.
 "I was also told the Raja Muda of Selangor was keen to have a foreign
coach. I am prepared to work under a foreign coach and hopefully learn
from him.
 "I have also told FAS I am ready for the M-League and there have been
offers to coach other teams," said Rajagopal who attained his FAM A
Licence in 1992 and last year earned a German `A' Coaching Licence.
 "If Selangor feel they need a foreign coach, I can deal with that. But
if they ask me to handle the team, I am also prepared for it.
 "I just want to contribute to Selangor," said Rajagopal who has five
Malaysia Cup winners medals with Selangor from 1978-1984.
 Rajagopal, who coached the Selangor Reserve League team the past three
years, said the M-League side will resume training tomorrow and play a
friendly against the national team.
                               (END)

Cold and hot: P. Saravanan - not up to the mark (The Malay Mail)

IT was not a happy return to Malaysia on Saturday for Kuala Lumpur sweeper
P. Saravanan (right) after the national team's impressive playing tour of
the United Arab Emirates.
Upon landing in Kuala Lumpur, Saravanan was told by national coach Abdul
Rahman Ibrahim that he was not required to rejoin the team on Thursday for
training.
That dashed Saravanan's dreams of making his international debut for
Malaysia in the Dunhill Cup in Vietnam later this month.
Though disappointed, the 25-year-old admitted he did not perform well in
Dubai where the young national team played three friendlies.
In the first match, Malaysia lost 2-0 to FC Ventspils of Latvia with
Saravanan only coming in the last quarter of the game.
The lanky Saravanan started among the first 11 in the second match
against Al-Ahli FC and played for about 75 minutes before he was replaced.
Malaysia triumphed 4-3. He did not play in the final match against Al-
Shabab which Malaysia won 1-0.
Saravanan, who has played for the national Under-18 and Under-19 youth
teams under M. Karathu and Richard Bates, said: "I was not at my best
during the tour.
"I had problems playing my role as I was up against experienced players.
I was not commanding enough and probably that's the reason I have been
left out."
Saravanan probably found it hard to cope with an unfamiliar system that
required him to play with just two other defenders due to a five-man
midfield.
Saravanan said Rahman told him that although he was not in the coach's
plans for the Dunhill Cup, he will be called up for future national
training from time to time before the Brunei SEA Games.
"Of course, I am disappointed to have been left out. But I have gained
much from the national stint and the UAE tour was certainly a good
experience for me as we played against fast opponents."
The exclusion of Saravanan should pave the way for Khairul Anuar Baharum
- the other sweeper used in the UAE stint - to feature in the Dunhill Cup.
Rahman also has another option in B. Rajinkandh although he is being
used as a midfielder.
                                 (END)