Malaysia 0-2 Iran. Decent result to be honest. Even the commentators mentioned about national pride being restored.
Bizarre actually, that a loss can be considered as a restoration of national pride, but truthfully said, yes, if anyone had watched the match, Malaysia should have something to be proud of, from that match.
Everyone knows what happened to national football. Our oncoming 50th Merdeka Celebrations are treated with 5-1 and 5-0 bashings by China and Uzbekistan respectively. Soon after that, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah quitted from his post as FAM deputy president. Many soon followed track. Everything is lost for Malaysia, Iran can't wait to play their final match.
Considering how well they played against China in the second half, I predicted a 7-0 thrashing. Well, I got it wrong.
Hate to say I told you so, but before the Asian Cup kicked off, I said that Malaysia shouldn't go for a win in their matches. Rather, they should play more realistically to keep the score down. In other words, play to avoid thrashing. I guess the pressure got to them when the other co-hosts are doing so well in their respective opening matches, but this time against Iran, 100+ places above Malaysia in FIFA rankings, they did just that, keep the score down.
Malaysia hardly have possession, they hardly got the ball into Iran's half let alone inside the penalty box, but who cares. In the end, only the goals count. After more than half an hour of impressive defensive display, I said that this could well be a goalless draw. In fact, it could well might have been, if not for the bookable dive of Ali Karimi. He did not get booked, he even fooled the ref into giving a penalty. There was no magic for Azizon, the penalty was well converted for Iran to lead 1-0.
Shukor Adan, once shot from the halfline against Uzbekistan, this time tried a Messi-like chip over the Iranian keeper, but the goalie got his hands to it. Incredible gutsy player, but also very creative. I won't say he has a lot to offer or he might have a promising future since he is a Malaysian, but he certainly is Malaysia's best player in this campaign, probably with Indra Putra.
The second half pretty much the same, frustrations begin to grow on the side probably expecting like me to put seven or something like that past Malaysia. In the end, Teymourian kept his cool and scored the second.
Malaysia could've played like that in their earlier games, but I can imagine the criticisms if Malaysia lose to China and Uzbekistan with such unambitious tactics. Regardless of how we play, how our mental state is, Malaysia would still lose all three matches, and we will still face heavy criticisms. It just so happens that the first two games produced two hammerings, followed by a long-awaited resignation of top officials.
I have no idea how to revive our football. I have no idea where will our football go in the next few years. At least, I can be proud that Malaysia only lost 2-0 to Iran, and the first goal shouldn't be a penalty at all.
Bizarre actually, that a loss can be considered as a restoration of national pride, but truthfully said, yes, if anyone had watched the match, Malaysia should have something to be proud of, from that match.
Everyone knows what happened to national football. Our oncoming 50th Merdeka Celebrations are treated with 5-1 and 5-0 bashings by China and Uzbekistan respectively. Soon after that, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah quitted from his post as FAM deputy president. Many soon followed track. Everything is lost for Malaysia, Iran can't wait to play their final match.
Considering how well they played against China in the second half, I predicted a 7-0 thrashing. Well, I got it wrong.
Hate to say I told you so, but before the Asian Cup kicked off, I said that Malaysia shouldn't go for a win in their matches. Rather, they should play more realistically to keep the score down. In other words, play to avoid thrashing. I guess the pressure got to them when the other co-hosts are doing so well in their respective opening matches, but this time against Iran, 100+ places above Malaysia in FIFA rankings, they did just that, keep the score down.
Malaysia hardly have possession, they hardly got the ball into Iran's half let alone inside the penalty box, but who cares. In the end, only the goals count. After more than half an hour of impressive defensive display, I said that this could well be a goalless draw. In fact, it could well might have been, if not for the bookable dive of Ali Karimi. He did not get booked, he even fooled the ref into giving a penalty. There was no magic for Azizon, the penalty was well converted for Iran to lead 1-0.
Shukor Adan, once shot from the halfline against Uzbekistan, this time tried a Messi-like chip over the Iranian keeper, but the goalie got his hands to it. Incredible gutsy player, but also very creative. I won't say he has a lot to offer or he might have a promising future since he is a Malaysian, but he certainly is Malaysia's best player in this campaign, probably with Indra Putra.
The second half pretty much the same, frustrations begin to grow on the side probably expecting like me to put seven or something like that past Malaysia. In the end, Teymourian kept his cool and scored the second.
Malaysia could've played like that in their earlier games, but I can imagine the criticisms if Malaysia lose to China and Uzbekistan with such unambitious tactics. Regardless of how we play, how our mental state is, Malaysia would still lose all three matches, and we will still face heavy criticisms. It just so happens that the first two games produced two hammerings, followed by a long-awaited resignation of top officials.
I have no idea how to revive our football. I have no idea where will our football go in the next few years. At least, I can be proud that Malaysia only lost 2-0 to Iran, and the first goal shouldn't be a penalty at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment