Harimau Malaya kills of the Garudas as whole nation embraces in glory

Harimau Malaya kills of the Garudas as whole nation embraces in glory

The whole nation was in frenzy as the Malaysian Football Team lost to Indonesia 2-1 in the AFF Suzuki Cup Final 2010 2nd leg. Yes, you heard me right. They lost. But who cares? We won on aggregate!!!

The pre-match headlines were all being buzzed about how Indonesia were looking up to the challenge of trouncing Malaysia again but the moment Safee Sali smacked in a fantastic goal past the Indonesian goalkeeper, the whole stadium that was packed with people clad in red and white went quiet. Their dream was over. Malaysia had that much coveted away goal advantage and they all knew it. They all knew that it was going to be super hard to put in 5 goals past a young but matured Malaysian side brimming with confidence.

I mean, who would have expected it right? After getting trounced 5-1 by Indonesia in the opening match, all Malaysian football fans were crestfallen and got back to their old perception of Malaysian football. But somewhere in a hotel in Indonesia, K. Rajagopal seem to had other ideas. he told his players to believe in themselves and turn it around and despite not playing well, that was what they did as they beat Laos drew 0-0 with a Thailand team coached by Manchester United legend, Bryan Robson.

In the final group game, they strolled past Laos with a hard fought 5-1 victory that sealed their ticket to the semi final with a date with Vietnam looming. Sure enought, Malaysia played like a team as they defeated Vietnam 2-0 in the first leg of the semi final at the Bukit Jalil Stadium. For the second leg, the instructions were pretty simple. They knew what they had to do. Go out there, stay calm and collective and don't concede. That was exactly what they did as the Malaysian lads managed a tough 0-0 draw in the 2nd leg to book a place in the final.

It wasnt just a cup final. I was time for vengeance. It was time for revenge. Time for the Indonesians to be humiliated after what they did to Malaysia in the first group game. The first leg was at Bukit Jalil and when the day came, the atmosphere at the stadium was something like what you can experience when Manchester United play at Old Trafford. and boy oh boy did the Malaysian team play well on that day. They absolutely whacked Indonesians on their face with a huge 3-0 win that placed one hands on the cup already. The game was marred by some unwanted incidents which i do not wish to recap here but i was impressed with the way the Malaysian offcials dealt with it.

Heading into today's game, the gameplan was a little bit differente. Indonesia will be desperate for goals and it would leave them vulnerable at times and Malaysia were aiming to exploit that vulnerability and earn that important away goal. And they managed to strike first blood as a wonderful pass was set up for Safee Sali and he did fantastically to fire in an unstoppable shot which left the Indonesian goalkeeper, Markus helpless.

After that, they played well but they did take their foot of the gas a little bit to allow some space for relaxation but even if they conceded two, it didnt matter. Malaysia deserved the cup and certainly grew in stature throughout the tournament and played together as a team and most importantly, had that hunger and desire for success. Kudos to K. Rajagopal for instilling it in them

As the new champions, we have now stepped up a level as a footballing nations. Its a majot step towards bringing back the glory days of Malaysian football. The journey has not ended. There's still a long way to go but with the right mindset and attitude, we can write the future.

I have two wishes for now. Do not dismantle this current young squad and ddo not sack K. rajagopal. There will be some minor hiccups or even major one but i think he has shown enough to convince that he is the right man for the job. He definitely brings out the best in whatever squad of players he has. Keep him longer by extending his contract. I would also love to see more development for football at grassroot levels so that we can keep producing quality players to continue the journey towards glory.

for once, i believe that MALAYSIA BOLEH

Forget the past, Write the future.

Cheers!