KL walk down memory lane

KUALA LUMPUR relived their glory days last night when the cast of their
greatest team in history held a reunion with Czech Dr Josef Venglos at a
hotel in the city.
Venglos, hailed for building up the great KL team that swept three
consecutive Malaysia Cup from 1986 to 1989, is in KL to conduct an Asian
Football Confederation coaching course.
Fandi Ahmad and Malek Awab, both who turned out for KL then, flew in
from Singapore for the nostalgic gathering.
The reunion of the legendary team, which was their first, was the result
of a joint effort by former KL coach Chow Kwai Lam, former KLFA president
Tan Sri Elyas Omar and a few other officials.
The players who were there to share heroics were Rashid Hassan, Mohamad
Noor Basri, M. Pavalamani, Razip Ismail, Tang Siew Seng, Chow Siew Yai,
Serbegeth Singh, Kamarulzaman Yusof, See Kim Seng, Nasaruddin Mat Din,
Ramlan Askolani, S. Balachandran, Subadron Aziz and Hashim Marman.
The others who could not be present were Mat Zan Mat Aris, Saidin Osman,
Lim Teong Kim and Nazim Din. The other member of what used to be the
greatest team in the land was the late Mohamad Zaid Jamil.
Among the officials present were Dato Seri Mohamad Noor Abdul Rahim
(former KLFA vice-president), Raja Datuk Seri Abdul Aziz Raja Salim
(former KLFA deputy president and team manager), Low Lee Cheng (former
KLFA vice-president), Goh Ah Chai (KLFA treasurer), coaches S.
Subramaniam, Kwai Lam, Hamzah Hussein, team doctor Gurcharan Singh and
physiotherapist K. Prabaharan.
Ashwin Singh - the son of Gurcharan - who as a toddler, was the team
mascot then, and now 15 years old, was also present.
"KL has become my second home. I have enjoyed working with KL especially
under the guidance of Tan Sri Elyas, who was responsible for the rise of
KL soccer," said Venglos, who after his stint KL, coached Czechoslovakia
to the World Cup.
"And meeting the players almost 15 years after is like being with the
team again. These players were a great bunch and seeing them today has
really made me very happy."
Venglos then went on to talk about the many trips that the KL team made
to Europe for exposure and the invaluable experience gained made them
among the best teams in Asia.
"Infact, from my stint with KL, I learnt to be a better coach. I had a
great group of people to work with, from Tan Sri Elyas to the coaches (S.
Subramaniam, Kwai Lam, Hamzah Hussein) and the team manager (Raja Datuk
Seri Abdul Aziz Raja Salim) and the players and everyone associated with
the team."
Elyas said: "Venglos certainly played a major role in the rise of KL
from whipping boys to championship material, not only for one season but
three," he said.
"This is indeed a great occasion and to see all the officials and
players together again reminds me of the many happy moments 15 years ago.
"Some players now look like officials while some officials look like
players. But today this certainly makes most of us feel 15 years younger,"
quipped Elyas.
Elyas added that it was good to see that many of the KL players have
made it in life after their playing days. Among the players last night
were politicians, successful businessmen, coaches and soccer pundits.
Serbegeth Singh, speaking on behalf of the players, said that it was the
close relationship among the players and officials that made them a
family, and leading to their success.
"We were very lucky in the sense that we all gathered together as a team
at the right place and right time and we had a great coach to mould us."
As the present KL team brace themselves for a hard time in Premier One
this season, it was yesterday once more for their team of the glorious
past.

Wish for a glorious return

AS Kuala Lumpur celebrates its 27th birthday today, the wish of the Kuala
Lumpur Football Association (KLFA), who are a year younger, is to regain
past glory days.
KLFA, officially registered in 1975 as the Federal Territory Football
Association (FTFA) under a protem committee headed by Tan Sri Hamzah Abu
Samah, competed in their first official national competition in 1979 - the
Malaysia Cup.
Since then, the city side have come a long way, from whipping boys to
beating many associations who have a much longer history - dating as far
back to the 1920s.
Tan Sri Hamzah was their first president followed by Tan Sri Elyas Omar,
Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen was at the helm from 1977 to 1981.
FTFA, who changed their name to Kuala Lumpur in 1986, emerged as the
kings of Malaysian soccer when they captured the Malaysia Cup for three
consecutive years from 1987 to 1989.
As early as 1982, KL showed that they were on their way up when they
finished runners-up behind Penang in the League Cup that was introduced
that year.
KL were to later win every trophy at stake - triumphing in the Malaysia
Cup thrice, the League Cup (1986 and 1988), the FA Cup (1993, 1994 and
1999), the Charity Shield 1988, 1995 and 2000) and the Fairplay Trophy
(1991).
The man who took the city to their greatest height was Elyas, the former
mayor of KL as he showed a keen interest in the association and
contributed greatly.
In the new millennium, under the leadership of Datuk Seri Megat Junid
Megat Ayob, KL are looking at becoming a major power in the game again.
However, KLFA need the support of the private sector to be well armed
financially to start their conquest of Malaysian soccer again.
"One of the reasons why we did well in the 80s was because KL were
financially sound with good support from both City Hall and the private
sector," said acting KLFA secretary Goh Ah Chai.
"We had a good development programme going for age-groups and it
eventually bore fruits with an abundance of talent coming through.
"So much so KL became a reservoir of talent as many of our players
played for other States.
"We also had the means to hire some of the top players not only in
Malaysia, but also from across the causeway.
"But in recent years and even more so during the economic slowdown, we
were hit badly. Funds were not easily available and we had to depend on
City Hall and the FAM subsidy.
"But we are still proud to say that despite the stringent budget, we
have managed to manage the team well. With a relatively young team, we put
up a strong challenge and even won the FA Cup thrice in the 90s.
"We are indeed indebted to our present mayor Tan Sri Kamaruzzaman
Shariff, who has been supportive to the association and helped us to stay
afloat.
"But we are appealing to the private sector in the city to come forward
to support us too.
"We aim to get our development programmes going again in a big way with
youth tournaments and clinics throughout the city. But we need funds to
embark on the projects."
"We are also grateful to all the past officials and players who have
done their share to fly the KL flag high,' said Goh who together with K.
Rasalingam, the previous secretary, were founder members of FTFA.
And KLFA can also be proud that one of their affiliates, Kuala Lumpur
Malay Mail FC have also come of age. From being a club side in the KL
domestic league, the newspaper team are now in Premier II of the M-League.
Happy birthday KL, and may KL return to soccer glory.

D-Day on foreign players tomorrow (The Malay Mail)

WILL they be allowed back? The FA of Malaysia's technical committee will
decide tomorrow on whether to allow the return of foreign players into the
League.
Indications are the committee, headed by FAM deputy president Tengku
Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, will put the return of foreign players on
hold.
This despite a recent public survey which favoured their return.
Even the State FAs are clamouring for foreign players as they believe
their presence will boost gate collections.
But the bottom line is whether the teams can afford and manage them.
Everything indicate that the State FAs are still not in a position to do
that because they cannot even pay their local players on time.
Many States this season have had problems settling the wages of the
local players and some outstanding.
Then, there is the question of whether they help raise the standard of
the game. There is proof that the absence of foreign players has seen the
emergence of many new local talent.
Our national team's third placing in the recently-concluded Tiger Cup
tournament is a small indication that we are in the right direction though
there are still lots of grounds to cover.
If at all the technical committee decide to give the nod to foreigners,
it should be to recruit coaches, not players.
The foreign coaches must be for development work in their respective
States not for the M-League as the returns will be better.
And it would cost the State FAs much less than hiring foreign players.
These coaches should be hired on a long-term basis to ensure that they
draw up and implement development programmes in the States and supervise
it with local coaches.
Several foreign coaches who had done development work - former
Selangor's Ken Shellito, Pahang's Fred Binney and Terengganu's Marco Bilic
- have been productive in their respective States.
It is without doubt even more difficult to handle youth development than
coach a M-League team.
The youth level, requires a lot of patience, proper planning and an eye
to spot talent.
There are many foreign coaches who are experienced at the youth level
and who are prepared to come to Malaysia.
Tomorrow the technical committee will probably decide which way our
soccer game goes from here.
                              (END)

Can we be patient? (The Malay Mail)

ONE of the main reasons for the setback in Malaysian sports is the lack of
patience by the administrators.
 Now, there is a call to bring back the foreign players just two years
after the FAM move to restrict the M-League to locals only.
 But what happened to the intention of seeing local talents get a shot at
playing at the highest level and leading to a wider base of selection for
the national team?
 The about turn is the reasoning that without the foreign players, there
have been poor turnouts at matches and that the standards of soccer have
dropped.
 But can this really be the solution?
 It all boils down to us not being patient enough to see the many young
players who have had an opportunity to see action in the M-League develop
their skills.
 If examined closer, the problem of them needing time to develop into
better players lies with the State FAs themselves. If only the State FAs
had put  emphasis on youth development, it wouldn't have led to this
situation.
 If we bring the foreigners back again, many of the young players who
have had the benefit of two years of playing experience will once again be
shunted aside.
 Even the many players from the disbanded Olympic 2000 squad now playing
in the M-League might have to take a backseat.
 And that would be sad because these players have had at least four years
of training with the national youth squad and featured in hundreds of
international matches.
 That will not help Malaysian soccer at all.
 How much can the foreigners help in raising the standards of Malaysian
soccer?
 And more often than not, the foreigners who grace Malaysian soccer are
have-beens, or players who cannot make the grade in the country they come
from.
 When countries all over the world are seriously thinking about the
repercussions of the presence of foreign players, it is sad that Malaysia
want to get back into it.
 Even England have admitted that the influx of too many foreign players
has affected the standards of English soccer. Manchester United's Ryan
Giggs has openly said these foreign players have blocked the progress of
young home grown players.
 Maybe, our soccer administrators, if they really want foreigners to play
in Malaysia to get better fans response, should limit it to only one
foreign player each team. This way, teams will only select the better
ones.
 Secondly, the financial burden on State teams - from hiring foreign
players - that had been a problem in the past, will be lightened.
 And maybe, clubs in the league should be allowed to recruit a foreign
player to help close the gap between them and State teams.
 To say that there are not enough local talents is surely an
understatement.
 Just look at Kelantan who have three teams playing in Premier II -
Kelantan, Kelantan JKR and Kelantan TNB.
 While some may argue that the strength of the State team has been
stretched thin, the fact that Kelantan and Kelantan JKR are in the race
for the Premier II title only underlines that there is depth in them.
 If we continue to have short term plans and keep abandoning programmes
and concepts, we will never realise our true potential.
 

Local coaches left out of W-Cup picture (30/05/2002 - The Malay Mail)

Publication : MM
Date : 30/05/2002
Headline : Local coaches left out of W-Cup picture


IT is sad Malaysian coaches will not get an opportunity to witness the
World Cup, starting tomorrow in Korea and Japan, despite the countries'
close proximity.
While a group of FA of Malaysia Council members left on Monday and
another entourage last night to witness the opening match between France
and Senegal, local coaches were not on board those two flights.
Members of the FAM Council are either respective State FA presidents or
their administrators.
While it should be lauded that the national body - in recognising these
members' services towards the development of Malaysian soccer, FAM should
have also considered the benefits of sending at least a few top local
coaches to witness a few of the matches.
No doubt the council members would be witnessing the World Cup opener,
but money would have been more wisely spent to send a few coaches, even if
the trip was through sponsorship.
While it would probably cost more to send a technical study group of
local coaches, allowing some of them to watch the World Cup matches would
lead to a better understanding of the demands and changes in the game, as
well as the various systems played.
These coaches could even return and prepare a book on their experiences
and their observations, which could be distributed all their peers in the
country.
For the last World Cup in France, Japan sent 40 of their coaches to do
their own comprehensive technical study.
Maybe Malaysia do not have so many coaches to conduct technical studies,
but they have a handful who took part in technical studies during the 1997
Youth World Cup here.
FAM also have a youth section and technical Department, both headed by
their deputy president, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah (above). And it
is not too late to make arrangements to send a few coaches from these
departments and maybe a few top local coaches to garner first-hand
experience as the World Cup is for a month.
Though FIFA will also be conducting their own technical study as in
every World Cup, with end reports distributed to all countries, it is
nothing like the local coaches being there to personally absorb the World
Cup experience.
In previous overseas study tours, also organised by the FAM, many
officials who were hardly involved with the game at coaching level were
part of the entourages that returned without providing any feedback at
all.
We cannot allow this scenario to go on.
If Malaysian soccer is to progress, the coaches have to be exposed to
high-level matches and coaching methods, just like players need tough
opponents.
And FAM must take every opportunity to send coaches overseas on study or
technical tours so that they can keep up with the modern trends of the
game and not be left behind in years.
For the first time in its history, the World Cup is being played on
Asian soil and being so close to Malaysia, it would indeed be a pity if
FAM do not grasp this opportunity that would benefit local coaches.
The Asian Football Confederation headquarters are in Kuala Lumpur, but
if we are not going to exploit the chance to work closely to get the
maximum benefits, it will indeed be a crying shame.

Over to you, Mr Minister! (27/01/2000 - The Malay Mail)

Publication : MM
Date : 27/01/2000
Headline : Over to you, Mr Minister!


DATUK Hishammuddin Hussein must surely be considering the timing of his
appointment as Youth and Sports Minister.
His appointment was in early December and he replaced Tan Sri Muhyiddin
Yassin.
The controversy that has now shaken the bowling fraternity will be an
acid test of his calibre. How he handles the crisis will not only be
watched by sporting circles but also scrutinised by his political
contemporaries.
Fourteen national bowlers resigned after issuing an ultimatum to the
Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress that national coach, Sid Allen, be
removed.
Neither impressed nor amused, MTBC accepted the resignations and issued
the bowlers with their own ultimatum - apologise publicly if they ever
want to bowl for the country again.
Hishammuddin is expected to meet MTBC president Datuk Dr P. S. Nathan
and the 14 bowlers separately today.
Hishammuddin is unsure if the decision by MTBC is the best solution
though he understands the reasons behind it. But he is more concerned
about the interest of the sport and the nation.
He is, however, expected to direct the bowlers to return to the fold.
Hishammuddin has to strike a fine balance when he does make a decision.
On one hand, the grouses by the bowlers may be genuine but on the other,
he could open a can of worms if he allows "player power".
He cannot be seen to undermine national associations either.
The next few days will be crucial.
There are indications that the National Sports Council (NSC) and Sports
Ministry officials have leaned in favour of the bowlers.
There are suggestions that if one man - Allen - is the problem, then he
should be the one to go. But the question is - will justice be served?
Removing Allen will be the simple way out, not necessarily the right one.
We are all governed by rules and regulations. Just because a few people
take to the streets does not make their cause a noble one.
If authority bows to pressure, the end results would be anarchy and
chaos.
Your move, Mr Minister!

Gloomy stars (07/11/1999 - Sunday Mail)

Publication : SUM
Date : 07/11/1999
Headline : Gloomy stars


IT is happening again. In the Malaysia Cup, the insufferable soccer stars
are letting their teams down. When you think they do not try hard enough
at international level, they are proving to be lazy at home too.
To the consternation of their employers, the supposed cream of Malaysian
soccer have gone sour in their performances as the states battle for
Malaysia Cup semifinal qualification with two matches left.
One can empathise with national coach Abdul Rahman Ibrahim for being
less inclined to choose stars while going for less skillful players who
have more passion for the Malaysian shirt.
In retrospect, during the preparation for September's Brunei SEA Games,
Mailsport had warned Rahman not to depend too much on the established
players for they have been known to be a let-down when it matters.
True enough, they dragged Malaysia's soccer reputation further down the
pits by getting humiliated 2-1 by Singapore and getting whacked 6-0 by
Indonesia.
The indifferent players would not feel the hurt but for Rahman, the
Brunei episode numbed him to the marrow and taught him never to trust
stars again.
But on familiar ground, on the M-League stage where they have been
strutting, a place where their employers thought they would save their
best for, the stars are turning out to be duds.
It is no coincidence that the teams with the stars are the ones having a
stormy time in the Malaysia Cup competition.
Pahang and Penang, the best two teams of the M-League in the past two
seasons, star-studded Negri Sembilan and 28-time Malaysia Cup champions
Selangor are not even among the frontrunners in the race to the
semifinals.
Look at their positions in the Malaysia Cup table. They are left uneasy
and squirming. A good team are just not measured by the number of stars on
their side but by consistency.
Everything points to the hotshots holding back in their performances and
far from being the professionals they claim to be.
Whether their performances have anything to do with their differences
with their State FAs over late payment of wages and bonuses is another
matter.
In any case, as professionals, they cannot allow these problems to
affect their performances.
If they have problems, they should go through the proper channels and
not take them nto the playing field and take paying fans for a ride.
So much so, Negri coach Irfan Bakti Abu Salim has come out in the open
to say that his key players have let him down. Selangor coach K. Rajagopal
and team manager Datuk Mokhtar Ahmad said their team can play like
champions one day and novices next day.
Penang's Moey Yok Ham is too much of a gentleman to take his players to
task but that is probably the very reason why the Panthers are facing
uncertainty in the Malaysia Cup semifinal battle. Pahang, also well armed
to the teeth, are in the same boat.
Coming back to the national team where as Rahman picks his Asian Cup
training squad, uppermost in his mind will be whether the boys will play
their hearts out for the nation.
Probably the best way is to invite M-Leaguers who think they have the
heart and passion for the Malaysian shirt to turn up at Wisma FAM where
Rahman can make his selection from there.
It is sad that we have to resort to ideas like this when players should
give their right arm to play for the country.
At this stage, Rahman is indeed right to say he gets better satisfaction
from a bunch of players with lesser talent but with the heart to perform
then spoilt stars.
Anyone out there with the heart and passion for the Malysian shirt?
Stand up and be counted.