Malaysia 's journey to the semi final

Assalamualaikum ,well , hello everybody . How have you been? So this time around, my entry is about the journey on how Malaysia have managed to qualify to the semifinal of the Aff Suzuki Cup 2012.

 Malaysia 0 vs Singapore 3

Malaysia did not start the tournament particularly well as they stumbled against Singapore with 3 goals to nil.The players's body language did not seem to be up to the challenge to try to win the match that night. The brightest player was Shahrul Idlan Talaha. His dribbling skill is absolutely a nuisance for Singapore to defense against. Apart from him , Aidil Zafuan was also great that night as he acted as a general in defending the goal.The worst performer i have to say that the guy is Khairul Fahmi. He made an obvious clanger for the Singaporean second goal . He was poor . His mind was not entirely on the game. Overall, Malaysia were poor as they did not really create enough clear cut chances to score goal.

Malaysia 4 vs Laos 1

The coach , K. Rajagopal was under a huge pressure even before the match as they lost poorly against Singapore before this. The players certainly did receive a wake up call as the defending champions started the game well. Controlling every inch of the pitch with syafiq rahim pulled the strings at the middle of the park alongside Shakir Shaari. They passed the ball well. Malaysia were so good as i thought they could have scored more than 4 goals as the strikers, especially Safee Safi squandered a couple of golden opportunity to put the game to bed a lot more earlier. I have to say, Syafiq's freekick was absolutely a screamer and the goal was perfectly executed. Safee who i think is currently carrying some weight scored a brilliant second before Wan Zack and Khyril Muhaimin scored the third and the fourth goal to grab all three points.

Malaysia 2 vs Indonesia 0

Before the match , Malaysia also were under pressure as they ought to win the game as a win will ensure their place for the last 4 top teams. Malaysia played brilliantly i thought as they dominated the match with Shakir and Syafiq pulled the strings together. Azamuddin who replace the injured Kunalan scored the first goal after a brilliant cross from the man of the match Mahali Jasuli. The crosser for the first goal managed to

get the second goal himself after a lovely footwork skills from Wan Zack to put Mahali clear through on goal.

In the second half, Malaysia mantained the momentum and eventually qualified for the semi final.

In my opinion, i think , Malaysia have to be brave a little bit by allowing Syafiq Rahim to run to the opposition penalty box in order to increase the frequency of scoring goals. Besides that, Safee needs to change his mind set as i think his soul, his enthusiasm, his energy, his spark have lost a bit. He needs to rediscover his goal scoring form. I heard, Wan Zack who has been the stand up performer for Malaysia, is set to miss the encounter against Thailand due to injuries. Shakir has also joined him on the treatment table after sustaining an ankle injury against Indonesia. GO MALAYSIA , Go HARIMAU MALAYA!!!!!!

Man United , this season

Assalamualaikum , hi there , it has been a long time since i last wrote my entry. 

Man United 

Man United have been great scoring goals but their real problem lies at the back four. The center backs, Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans , i thought in my opinion , have been poor. Patrice Evra has improved slightly but still not up to the standard that he used to be. In my opinion and i think every man united fan agrees that Rafael Da Silva has been the real stand up performer among the back fours.

 Offensively , Man United have been relying greatly on RVP. He has been a the signing of the year so far. He scores goals for fun but not to forget having the energetic Wayne Rooney playing just behind him. In the midfield area, Tom Cleverly has caught my eyes. His passing movement has been exceptional. His work rate has improved game by game. However , he ought to improve his defensive side. Micheal Carrick has been the fulcrum of the team event though he does not always run forward to score goals. Darren Fletcher has been in and out due to the illness that he has been suffering since 2011. Anderson has not been performing to the man united standard but he did come good for the last couple of game before he got injured, Ashley young is a one dimensional winger. I think he has got to learn on how to cross the ball with his left leg more often and more accurate. 

The goalkeeper has also been the main problem for man united. David De Gea who has not really settled into the premier league ,has been dropped to the bench since the last 7 or six games. Lindergaard also has not been performing well simply due to the unsettled back four but there's no doubt about their talent though. 

FOOTBALL IN MALAYSIA ,TODAY

Malaysia used to be a powerhouse in world of football during the 70’s and the 80’s; however, not today. In 1972, Malaysia managed to qualify for the Olympics and tried their best to qualify for the world cup a year later (Maximus). The country has an incredible facilities and stadiums but the outcomes have never been satisfied. We might have won AFF Suzuki cup and also a gold medal during the Asian games but we still cannot perform consistently at international stage. The factors are improper lifestyle of the Malaysian players, the mentality of the people who manage FAM and the players and the methods used by FAM are not good enough. I would like to ask you, Malaysians, why is it the position of Malaysia in FIFA ranking is worst compared to the likes of Syria and Palestine?

 The lifestyle of the players in Malaysia need to be changed as it affects the way the footballers play on the field. Eating habit can be an example of the lifestyle. Eating habit affects the performances of the athlete. I think, the athletes should be handed a proper diet program and they should obey the instructions. Ryan Giggs is the best example as he eats wisely in order to maintain his fitness.  He is currently 39 years old and still representing his club which is Manchester United. He is the oldest player to have scored during the Olimpics Games. He practices Yoga to prolonging his Manchester United career(Christenson).

In Malaysia, most of the players are Muslims. I think Solat is much more better than yoga.  One of the techniques that yoga uses is the method of lowering the head to the ground which is the same as “sujud” in performing solah and the name of the technique is Adha Mukha Svasana. Adha Muka Svasana is a technique which imitates the movement that we, Muslim always do while performing solah which is “sujud”(Danial). In addition, in Malaysia, players cannot eat healthily simply due to the foods being cooked here. For example, during Hari Raya , players might eat Ketupat, Rendang and soft drinks a lot. Malaysian players are not being discipline enough. If they are discipline , I think , their body might have been bulked up since they follow the eating diet. For example , you look at Cristiano Ronaldo; his body has changed drastically after joining Manchester United as an 18-year-old schoolboy. It was because he followed the diet program and he has worked hard on it. Why cant we have this sort of player in our country,Why? Why?.

 Second factor is the mentality of the Malaysian players. The players always take things easy in my opinion. They never feel gratitude with the facilities that have been given by the government. If they are feeling gratitude with the facilities that they have got ,I m quite sure , they will work more harder and they will produce a better result. Besides that, even though our country is free of internal crisis or war, but still cannot compete with the Syrians in terms of FIFA ranking. Syria are currently having civil war and still manages to compete with Malaysia which are peaceful and harmony. It is all in the player’s heads as I think they might think that they are not capable of competing with higher and stronger players. In contrast, look at Spainish national team, they do have small players but they won a couple of European cups and a World cup owing to having high level of skills.

 The youth setup is not a very good one .Young players who represent their schools are allowed to do so even though they do not pass Bahasa Malaysia paper. If we want to produce intelligent footballers we ought to make sure that they at least pass the national examination. Malaysia ought to have this kind of standard to make sure that the footballers that we produced are capable of applying the knowledge that they have learnt and be able to play well. In my opinion the football association in Malaysia is not grooming the players inside out; meaning to say grooming the players physically and also mentality and not to forget spiritually. That is why players who have the potential to be successful cannot be one as they are not mentally and spiritually prepared.

Lastly, FAM’ s methods are not good enough to produce an excellent result.The president of FAM, Sultan Ahmad  should step down as he has been in charged since 1984 but there is a slight improvement as we won Suzuki cup a couple of years back. Politic affairs should not get involved in this organization as the changes in the political cabinets are going to affect the organization(Maximus). Former sportsmen should have an opportunity to lead this organization as they know what it takes to be an athlete. Besides that, they former sportsmen have the passion what they are doing and never think about the position and money that they might receive.

 We had been conquering Asia for a quite long period of time in the past, and I would like to see Malaysia to do it again in the future.  I am quite sure everybody wants to see another Mokhtar Dahari to run at the defense and terrorize them with a powerful shot and mesmerizing skills. I believe, the day will come but not near the future.  Most of the staffs and players are Malays. So, are we going to be the generation that going to lead our own society to a brand new efficient working culture?

PS: I m not being stereotypical but I think we ought to wake up from a long happy sweet dream.

               

Superior Spain , Brave Croatia

Spain have shown the world that they are the current European cup and World cup holder by trashing the Republic of Ireland 4 goals to nil. Torres scored twice ,Silva and Febregas both scored one goal each. Personally , i think, Ireland were very brave to have played the game by using their own style. They were plucky to hasten Spanish centrebacks, Ramos and Pique for the first 4 minutes of the game. Torres scored first by dribbling past two Irish defenders and then unleashed a very powerful shot to beat Shay Given.              

  

                        Torres back to his best

Then, Silva added the second goal .He produced a sublime skill to send a couple of Irish defenders and passed the ball to the back of the neat through the legs of Richard Dunne. 

  Fabregas scored his second goals of the tournament with a fierce shot on goal after a clever short corner kick which was been taken by Xavi found the goalscorer.

      Silva produces another wonderful performance 

Spain dominated team game and the Republic of Ireland players were chasing their own shadows. Spain have proved to the world that they are here to win the tournament and to be the best team in the world.

         Xavi pulls the string at the middle of the park 

Italy failed to secure 3 points

Italy failed to beat Croatia after Mandzukic scored a late equalizer. Italy were infront through Pirlo 's pinpoint  accuracy freekick. Pirlo was the man of the match in my opinion. He dictated the match and pulled the strings in the middle of the park for the Italians. Italy will need to beat Ireland if they are to qualify. Croatia meanwhile have to beat Spain who beat the Ireland 4 -0 . Italy did not really perform up to their standard i think as they did not take full advantage when they had a clear chance on goal. 

Pirlo is the man for Italy 

The DUTCH still in the mix to qualify , Valera saved Ronaldo's blush

Believe it or not, Holland have an outside chance to qualify for the next round, BUT, they may need a huge favour from Germany to trash Denmark and themselves to trash Portugal. Lets face it, Holland not gonna watch Denmark being trashed and they cannot beat Portugal later simply owing to Holland inability to get goals from the likes of Hunterlaar, Sneidjer,Robben and the 28 year old Arsenal star RVP is looking to be short of confident in front of goal even though he did score against the well organised German team. Holland looked to be disjointed because of the formation. Hunterlaar should have gone starting the game early on because it was a must win game against the Germans. However, he started from the bench after they conceded 2 goals from the super hot striker, Mario Gomez.Van Persie did reduce the deficit but it wasn't enough to save his team.

Valera,27, saved Ronaldo from being the convict of not scoring 2 clear chances on goal. Ronaldo's misses proved to be decisive because afterwards, Bendtner scored the equalizer. Everybody seemed to point the finger to the Real Madrid man before Valera unleashed a pile driver to secure Portugal the vital 3 points in their quest to get themselves out of the group of death. Early on the match , Portugal managed to score twice from the header of Pepe and a neat finish from Postiga. Bendtner scored twice after that before Valera scored the winning goal.

Ronaldo misses one of the chances 

Malaysia will never go to the world cup

assalamualaikum. hi there, this term, i would love to discuss Malaysia will never ever go to the world cup and the National Team are moving backwards. Why is it Malaysia always struggle to compete with other countries in South East Asia? why is it the current Fifa ranking shows that the ranking of Palestin is much more higher than us? why? .

As you all know Malaysia is one of the most developed countries in Asian and even the world . The facilities that have been provided by the government to the players who represent the country are enough compare to Palestin who are currently in a lot of crisis.Why is it , Malaysian cannot perform at the highest possible level ?  Malaysia are a wonderful country which do not crisis such war. i wonder why Malaysia cannot produce exceptional talents who can compete with players from other big footballing nations. Why? As a Malaysian, i  am just wondering , why is this happened? 

We are tired seeing Malaysia being trashed by the likes of Australia and Oman. We want to see changes. AFF suzuki cup meant nothing. i thought the winning of the cup was a cornerstone for our country but my thought was/is absolutely wrong. Another question to be asked to the players who represent the country, is it a must to colour your hair ? i saw some of the players coloured their hair,are they muslims? Malaysia is an Islamic country. i think the players need to cover their aurah . These questions are asked from me and also the fans to make the players and the organisation THINK !!!!

England ,the defensive warrior

last night, we saw a very defensive minded England formation against Les Blues,the French side. England defensive shape was exactly the same as Chelsea who won the European Cup a fortnight ago. England sat deep and defended their goal while France passed the ball around the English team. France could not penetrate the defensive wall of England until Lescott gave England the lead.A dubious freekick was given to England and the Three Lions skipper, Steven Gerrard let the ball flew and met the head of the Manchester City defender to head the ball passed Hugo Lloris. Nine minutes later, England who had 8 players in the penalty box were shocked after Lescott's club mate Nasri scored the equalizer. After the goals, the game turned up to be a boring game as both side were afraid of losing and did not want to over commit to score the winning goal. The second game of group D saw Ukraine won the game by scoring 2 goals and let one in. Their skipper and also talisman scored both goals . Shevchenko ,35,lead by example by leading his team by beating one of the thoughest opponents in this group.