Skip to main content

Harimau Malaya's Performance A Cause For Concern

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 21 (Bernama) -- The national soccer squad Harimau Malaya's performance in a number of international friendlies ahead of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2012 which kicks off here Sunday has become a cause for concern because they are the defending champions.

The squad under, under the guidance of national chief coach Datuk K.Rajagobal, appears to be still trying to find its rhythm.

Their performance in their four "warm up" international friendlies in preparing for the Suzuki Cup, the most prestigious soccer tournament in the Asean region, is nothing to shout about.

They started off on a bad note losing 0-1 to Vietnam and 0-2 to Thailand and were held to 1-1 draws by Asian minnows Hong Kong and Bangladesh.

Malaysia are ranked 163rd in the world, Vietnam (138), Thailand (152), Bangladesh (171) and Hong Kong (172).

This has got supporters questioning if the national squad can repeat the feat they achieved in Jakarta two years ago.

Malaysia are drawn in Group B in the Suzuki Cup which will be played at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil here, together with Indonesia, Singapore and Laos.

They take on Singapore on Sunday, Laos (Nov 28) and Indonesia, the last edition's runners-up on Dec 1.

Group A is made up of Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and the Philippines.

Singapore who share the same ranking with Malaysia whipped Pakistan 4-0 recently while Indonesia and Cameroon's Under-23 squad played to a 0-0 draw.

The two teams pose a serious threat to Malaysia.

Prior to this, Rajagobal, 56, had reassured fans not to be too concerned about rankings but the way the Harimau Muda are playing lately hardly inspires confidence.

All said, Harimau Malaya's moment of reckoning is nigh.

-- BERNAMA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rajagobal Let Off The Hook

PETALING JAYA, April 24 (Bernama) -- National head coach Datuk K. Rajagobal was let off the hook by the Football Association of Malaysia's (FAM) Disciplinary Committee after finding no evidence that he had violated FAM's Article 88, as claimed. FAM Disciplinary Committee chairman Datuk Taufik Abdul Razak said the committee had decided not to charge Rajagobal after carefully analysing the video of the post-match press conference by the 56-year-old coach. "After listening to the recording of the post-match press conference, we decided to drop the charge against Rajagopal as he did not make such a statement. "Maybe his (Rajagobal) assessment and comments of the match was misconstrued by the media. There was no mention of the FAM policy throughout his comments," said Taufik after emerging from a three-hour Disciplinary Committee meeting at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya, here, Wednesday. Rajagobal who does not mince his words when asked to com...
4 comments
Read more

Atlet Tempuhi Empat Kejohanan Besar Sebelum Olimpik Rio 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, 31 Mei (Bernama) -- Empat temasya sukan penting yang dijadual berlangsung mulai Disember ini hingga 2015 menjadi medan persiapan atlet negara sebelum menghadapi cabaran Sukan Olimpik 2016 di Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, kata Menteri Belia dan Sukan, Khairy Jamaluddin Jumaati. Kejohanan berkenaan ialah Sukan SEA di Myanmar pada Disember, Sukan Asia 2014 di Incheon, Korea Selatan, Sukan Komanwel 2014 di Glasgow, Scotland dan Sukan SEA 2015 di Singapura. Bercakap kepada pemberita selepas melawat Majlis Sukan Negara (MSN) di Bukit Jalil di sini, Khairy berkata kesemua temasya sukan itu dilihat amat penting dalam memastikan impian negara untuk membawa pulang pingat emas Olimpik pertama menjadi kenyataan. "Kita di Kementerian Belia dan Sukan (KBS) mahupun MSN akan memastikan semua atlet mendapat bantuan sewajarnya dalam melakukan persiapan ke arah membawa pulang pingat emas pertama negara di Rio de Janeiro, Brazil nanti," katanya. Dalam perkemb...
6 comments
Read more

Uber Cub: Malaysian squad Can Spring A Surprise - Ahmad Shabery

KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 (Bernama) -- Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek remains confident that the national Uber Cup squad can spring a surprise when Malaysia hosts the Thomas and Uber Cup finals at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from May 9-16. He said despite not being the favourite, the women's team was able to surprise everyone by winning the gold medal at the Laos SEA Games. "I am confident they (Uber Cup team) will be able to produce a similar surprise. Not only are they capable of reaching the semi-final, they can go further," he told reporters after having lunch with national shuttlers here Thursday. National badminton Team manager Datuk Syed Abu Bakar Abdullah who echoed the minister's confidence said: "In Laos, nobody expected the women's team to win the world, so why not the Uber Cup? All they need to do is try their very best." Women's team captain Wong Pei Tty said she and her team-mates have set a target of r...
1 comment
Read more