Skip to main content

Najib gives under-fire players pep talk

The under-fire national football team received a pleasant surprise when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak dropped by to watch them train at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya yesterday.

Najib also took time off from his hectic schedule to give the players a pep talk and motivate them ahead of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup championship, which Malaysia and Thailand will co-host from Nov 24-Dec 22.
Malaysia are the defending champions.

“You who don the national colours are special and the chosen ones … to uphold the image of the nation. So, don’t be discouraged when things don’t go smoothly but fight back with vengeance because the true hallmark of a champion is on how one bounces back from defeat,” Najib told the players.
“In fact, the duty of the Prime Minister is similar to that of a footballer. If we achieve success, we’ll be applauded. But if we fail, we’ll be criticised. Take this as a challenge.”

He said that the national team should not be discouraged despite of the recent string of poor results (winless in their last four warm-up matches). He, instead, encouraged them to redouble their efforts to get the desired results.

“You can be down but you are not out, yet. If you succeed, march on and scale greater heights. The whole nation is behind you. I bring this message from the Cabinet too, showing our undying support and faith in the Harimau Malaya to retain the AFF Suzuki Cup,” said Najib.

This was the Prime Minister’s first visit to the Wisma FAM ground and he spent about 20 minutes watching the team train before giving them a pep talk. Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Shabery Cheek was also present at the field.

Skipper Safiq Rahim later made a pledge to the Prime Minister, promising him of their total commitment in trying to retain the Cup.

“We are touched by the support shown by the Prime Minister and we promise we won’t let the nation down,” Safiq said after handing over a national jersey to the Prime Minister.
National coach Datuk K. Rajagopal said it was “an honour to have a really special guest” at the training ground yesterday.

“If I am not mistaken, this is the first time that the Prime Minister has taken time off from his busy schedule to give the players a motivational talk. This is and extraordinary day for us,” said Rajagopal.
“We must realise that it’s not easy for the Prime Minister, with his hectic schedule, to come down here and motivate the players.”



THE STAR

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