Prodigy

The Promuda Mouthpiece

Issue 1, July 2002

Just Silly Me, Dreaming of Malaysian Sporting Glory

by Praba Ganesan

Maradona ran down a whole pack of South Korean defenders in 1986 to kickstart the victorious campaign of the Argentinean team.  People wanted to forget the pain and misery of the Falklands War, and beating them English (who defeated them in that war) along the way, made victory oh-so-sweet!    

The Koreans a few days ago exorcised their own demons of never winning a World Cup Finals match, after qualifying four times on the trot.  They knocked the Italians, who think they give more to football than the English who invented the game, out of the World Cup.  

Negotiating the Second Round inspired the President Kim Dae Jung to tell the players, “You have given us the greatest day of our country’s history.” That was before they downed Italy . Have a line to top that, Mr. President?  

Returns us to the question many ask today, “Is sports (football in this case) really war fought by nations to seek supremacy?”  

I think the question is fair, but it misses the point.  I think sports reflects a country’s own commitment and ambition (all G-7 countries are nations that excel in sports).   I think the answer is, even if it is evasive, is that sports challenges countries to show that they are competitors, that their people are competitors.  

You think not?  Look back.  

The Cameroon team beating the Argentineans in the opening match of Italia 90 World Cup was the most memorable moment of that tournament.  

The Fredericks silver medal for Namibia was far more important than having yet another North American winning the sprint in the Olympics.  

Nations seek to earn the respect of other nations in battles, where the true glory resides in your nemeses admitting, however reluctantly, that you were worthy of the battle, irrespective of the result.  It is nice to see the underdog win, it really is, as I sat and watched in disbelief as 47 million Koreans lived in a dream they never dared to want too much, a moment in their Camelot.  

Can Malaysia seek the same respect on the field? After all the fire and smoke, can we rise above our station?  

I don’t only think it is possible, I know it is.  Glory 101- believe in it, and it will happen; and I make no apologies for the quote that comes paraphrased right out of a Costner film.    

Step One: Accept things and get on with the work at hand. 

We did use to beat the Koreans before in football, in very crucial matches too. However, they would beat us today without much trouble and without the need to select more than just a handful of club players.

They have gotten ahead of us in more than football, that means they have an underpinning principle or dogma that has helped them on to success. By success, I mean something more than just getting ahead of the Japanese.   

The truth is our performances are behind many of the countries in Asia , let alone the world.  And it is the Malaysian ‘tak kisah’ attitude that permeates all levels of Malaysian life when it comes to sports.  

Step Two: We have to believe that we can be better. 

Yes that goes to all those with those large Brazilian/ French flags in their rooms.  Keep those video tapes of their games, but save some shelf space for some kick-ass Malaysian football.

The supporters of a national team can criticise the national team. No more of those, “I been raised in Segambut all my life and I hate the Malaysian National team, but that is okay since I support Brazil .” 

You can admire the skills and beauty of other cultures, but do not forget you used to play your football in a SMK (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan) somewhere!  

A winning attitude is the catalyst for sporting success. We must believe that there is ability and strength in our way.  That there is undying love in the country enough to power us to compete with pride when we don the national colour.   

Step Three: Let us take things into our own hands.  

Can we throw away the old and so ‘failed in any test the Amway man gave it’ methods?  The M-League when mentioned to foreigners won’t stir any imagination in their heads.  They’d probably guess Maldives or Malta .  

Good football is played in Malaysia, and maybe since the structures and powers that be do not let good football come to us easy, let us go to the good football.  Open your ears, there is always a good match in the state leagues, where amateurs strut their stuff.  Watch their play, and if they play well, follow them. If enough folks think they play good football and are willing to pay to watch them, they’ll start playing in a stadium.  And then the sponsors would start sniffing.  

Do your bit to help these clubs that run their outfits like a business tempered with an earnest desire to give you entertainment.  Laissez faire can do its good this way.   

Since 1986, all world cup matches have been telecasted here in Malaysia .  Surely the proverbial man on the street wants to be the man in the stand rooting his team on. However, the stadium atmosphere here is disappointing because the football is in shambles.   

So you football lovers, seek your football, use the Net to seek a good decent match anywhere from PJ to Pasir Mas.  

And can we play our games in the afternoon?  There is no reason why our games have to be played at night on a Saturday.   

Step four: Do something for the game.

For all those people out there who love the game, pick some know-how about the game.  Coach a little league team.  Form a little league with the assistance of your Majlis Perbandaran.  Play the game yourself.   

Tell a colleague to let his children run on a field during evenings rather than ship them off to a tuition centre all day.  Get into sports.  It does not have to be football only.  Healthy bodies do make healthy minds, but we tend to overlook that.

Step five: Let that new-found confidence in your own team spread and you will be surprised with the result that must follow. Tell a neighbour, relative or complete stranger that you have a good feeling about Malaysian sports.  Share with people what we are doing right, as much as what we are doing wrong.  Positive affirmation of the future we do have.  

What Bill Shankly told his troops in the dressing room for Liverpool always gives me the goosebumps. “Look lads, the people out there are decent people and they pay a fair bit of their weekly wages to watch you play.  The least you can do is go out there and play your socks off for them.”

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