MALAYSIAN FOOTBALL IN TRANSITION PHASE

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 (Bernama) – The year 2024 marks a pivotal moment for the national football team as they underwent a transitional phase to maintain the momentum of their resurgence while, at the same time, compete in prestigious tournaments to rebuild the Harimau Malaya’s legacy.

Under the guidance of Kim Pan Gon, entering his third year as coach of the national team, Malaysia showed progress in terms of performance and football identity, although the real test was still to come in competitions against Asia's football powerhouses.

Malaysia’s biggest achievement this year was their participation in the 2023 Asian Cup Finals in Doha, Qatar in January, with the tournament serving as a benchmark to gauge the national team’s ability to rival elite Asian teams like Japan, South Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

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Malaysia, making their fourth appearance and their first since co-hosting the 2007 edition, received the full backing of fans eager to catch the national team in action in the prestigious tournament, which also garnered extensive media attention.

Despite hopes that they would get through to the knockout rounds, Pan Gon’s team, which also included heritage and naturalised players, ended the group stage at the bottom of Group E without a win after losing their first two matches - 4-0 to Jordan and 1-0 to Bahrain.

They, however, did create a memorable moment when they held two-time champions South Korea 3-3 in a dramatic final Group E match at the Al Janoub Stadium, with winger Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim's goal adjudged as the Best Goal of the tournament.

Instead of kicking off from this, and striving to reach greater heights, the team regressed.

After winning their two opening matches in the second round of the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers – 4-3 against Kyrgyzstan at home and 1-0 against Taiwan in Taipei – Malaysia topped the Group D standings.

Unfortunately, Pan Gon’s men missed out on qualifying for the third round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers and booking an early berth in the 2027 Asian Cup Finals when they finished third in the group with 10 points, behind group winners Oman (13 points) and Kyrgyzstan (11 points).

The Harimau Malaya lost 2-0 to Oman in both the away (in Muscat) and home matches in March before drawing 1-1 with Kyrgyzstan in the return leg in Bishkek and beating Taiwan 3-1 at home in June.

Based on their point collection, Malaysia could consider themselves unlucky because the likes of Indonesia, who had 10 points, South Korea (9 points), China (8 points), Palestine (8 points) and Kuwait (7 points) all advanced as group runners-up.

The Harimau Malaya squad suffered a huge blow a month before their away game against Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek when wing wizard Mohamad Faisal was splashed with acid while out shopping with his family at a mall in Petaling Jaya on May 5.

The attack left him requiring a long break to recover and he has yet to rejoin the national team, although he was fielded by Selangor FC for matches in the Malaysia League and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League 2 (ACL2) tournaments.

Then came another bombshell. On July 15, Pan Gon announced his resignation as head coach citing personal commitments, leaving his panel of coaches to handle the squad, with his assistant Pau Marti Vicente being promoted to interim head coach.

In September, Vicente guided Malaysia to emerge victorious in the Merdeka Football Tournament by defeating the Philippines 2-1 in the semi-finals and edging Lebanon 1-0 in the final, despite a boycott by hardcore supporters Ultras Malaya over certain issues.

In the last three Tier 1 international friendlies, Malaysia lost 4-0 to New Zealand in Auckland in October before bouncing back the following month to beat Laos 3-1 in Bangkok and draw 1-1 with India in Hyderabad.

Just days before the start of the ASEAN Championship (from Dec 8-Jan 6, 2025), Malaysian football was again rocked by news that the tournament would be head coach Vicente’s swansong.

Malaysia, drawn in Group A, began their campaign against Cambodia with a 2-2 draw on Dec 8; before huffing and puffing their way to a 3-2 win over Timor-Leste on Dec 11.

The Harimau Malaya are due to meet Thailand in Bangkok on Dec 14 before wrapping up their Group A fixtures by taking on Singapore on home ground on Dec 20.

However, the team’s main focus will be the third round of 2027 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers next March, with the draw for the group matches set to be held this month.

Meanwhile, the national Under-23 squad also proved to be a letdown when they crashed out in the early rounds of the 2024 Under-23 Asian Cup in April after losing all three matches to finish rock bottom in Group D.

Under the guidance of coach Juan Torres Garrido, the Under-23 side lost 2-0 to Uzbekistan, 2-0 to Vietnam and 2-1 to Kuwait, thus matching the dismal failure in the 2022 edition

 There is certainly concern over the effectiveness of the development efforts at the grassroots level as the national Under-19 side, also under the guidance of Garrido, failed to qualify for the 2025 Asian Cup Under19 Finals after finishing fourth in Group E in the qualifying round in Dushanbe, Tajikistan in September.

Even the national Under-16 side, under coach Javier Jorda Ribera, failed to qualify for the 2025 Asia Cup Under-17 Finals when they ended up second in Group H in Vientiane, Laos in October.

These dismal results highlight the pressing need for the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to redouble efforts to ensure the teams are not just taking part for the sake of taking part but to put themselves in a good position to chase honours.

FAM also faced a challenging year off the field, which all came to a head when they were involved in various serious allegations following the dissemination of a poison pen letter raising allegations concerning leadership and management issues in the governing body in March.

On the domestic front, Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), with Hector Bidoglio as coach, continued their dominance, winning the Charity Shield and clinching the FA Cup for the third straight time by trouncing Selangor 6-1 in the final in August.

The long-standing issue of unpaid wages to players and team officials continued to haunt Malaysian football and the situation is expected to worsen to the point that it could affect the number of teams competing in the Super League next season.

In September, the independent Financial Fair Play First Instance Body (FFP FIB) imposed an immediate fine of RM15,000 on three Super League teams facing salary arrears issues.

The local football scene also mourned the loss of two of its legends when Khalid Ali passed away in February after battling lung cancer for about a year and, two days later, Mohd Azraai Khor Abdullah died after suffering a stroke.

Amidst various challenges and achievements, the year 2024 has become a 'mirror' for Malaysian football to address its weaknesses.

FAM need to strengthen youth development programmes and ensure a more sustainable organisation for a brighter future, with high hopes of seeing the national team qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup Finals.

BERNAMA