Isn't it a bit too late for a 2010 review? I mean, today is already the second week of 2011. Google came up with their 2010 review as early as early December.
Ok what happened in 2010? World Cup of course! First ever in Africa, and I was there! Awesome experience, needless to say. If you googled 'paul' in early July, the first search result was the superstar octopus. Sadly for the world, the most brilliant invertebrate in the world has died the same year.
But the rest was, hmm, pretty much forgettable. Hmm, let me see, OK I can't remember anything else. Except for one, of course! The greatest yearender!
Malaysia won the AFF Suzuki Cup! All I can say is, you have to have more than luck to win it. Rajagopal did miracles with the team. Honestly, I only watched the two-legged finals, but in both matches, it was an organized, fluid team. Passing was crisp, defending was resolute, crossing and finishing was international class. Mere talent doesn't achieve that. Football is a team game, and he certainly did something to gel the team.
The whole country is on a frenzy. Our Prime Minister gave a public holiday, one that would give trouble to companies to comply. The atmosphere at the home stadium is like never before. The atmosphere all around the country for the second leg is even higher. Both countries claimed more local fans followed the two-legged final than the World Cup final.
The atmosphere was addictive. Wouldn't any of you like to experience anything like that again? Definitely, right?
So how can the team prosper? How can the team thrive? To make a good football team, it takes more than the current squad. It requires elaborate and thorough plans. Youth development, training facilities, revamp of top management, improvement of league status, involvement in regional leagues, exporting local talents abroad, external investment etcetera.
But what would be the most important one? My personal opinion is, just fill up the stadium in the domestic league, and everything goes from there. Replicate the atmosphere at Bukit Jalil. We do have a few, Malaysia Cup final is a notable one. I noticed, when fans are packing the stadium, voices are high, emotions go wild, automatically it creates a passion for the players on field to play better. Quality of football in Malaysia Cup finals are significantly better than normal league fixtures with less than a thousand spectators.
Take Kelantan for an example. They were in the FAM Cup less than ten years ago. That is like the Conference National of English league system. They then got promoted, now they're at top flight, and went on to two successive finals, and won the Malaysia Cup for the first time ever. Their stadium is packed week in week out (although the stadium does stand at a risk of getting burnt down). When fans are passionate, the players play with their hearts out. When scoring, they celebrate like hell. Derbies are extra special. Gate receipts shoot up. The FA has money to invest in development, in buying better players. They are extra motivated to find and nurture young talents, so that other clubs don't get it first. Therefore, they have to improve scouting, and scouting must start at very tender age.
I admit, I am partly to be blamed. I myself never attended a domestic league match. Even during the 3-0 win over Indonesia, I didn't even try to find the tickets because I would expect a dull draw or even a loss. But to those loyal fans, keep on watching the matches, you are the hope of Malaysian football. And to FAM, I don't know how you're going to do it, pay people like me to attend matches, but just fill up the stadium, and I believe everything else will follow.
Malaysia for 2018 World Cup! Haha!
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