The Malaysia Experiment

"It's not the will to win,
but the will to prepare to win
that makes the difference." - Bear Bryant

The “Melayu Derby” first began back in 1957, when Indonesia (169th) beat us 4-2 at the Merdeka Cup. That was the starting point of a rivalry that quickly escalated between two countries that have a similar culture. Unfortunately, the passion has often spilled over into clashes between supporters. During the 2012 Suzuki Cup (currently known as South East Asian Football Championship, Indonesian hooligans clashed with our fans, which ended up with everyone throwing objects at each other. It was madness as the our teams weren’t even facing each other at the time, with Indonesia taking on Laos.

For the 2011 SEA Games final, we had to travel in an armoured vehicle to the stadium for security reasons. There was also trouble in the 2010 Suzuki Cup final, with Indonesian players force to stop the game because lasers were being pointed in their eyes. The matches aren’t just about football. They are also a matter of pride, prestige and politics.

I personally feel our nation's pride so I've been surviving on my Nescafe these few days as my staff and I went through loads and loads of film sessions to scout our next opponent - Indonesia (169th). I realized that they have a similar formation as ours. I wonder if I should stick to my preferred line up.

Screen Shot 2018-08-26 at 12.54.00 AM.png

The ASEAN format is a two-legged semi-final. We jetted off to Jakarta, using Malindo instead of Air Asia, as I was still sour over the Tony Fernandes incident a few months ago. When we landed in Indonesia, I got a text that the group had been drawn for Asian Nations Cup Group Stage. We have been drawn in Group F along with Iran (55th), Oman (76th), and our potential final opponent in the South East Asian Football Championship - Thailand (126th), if both of us win our ties.

Screen Shot 2018-08-25 at 9.52.47 PM.png

When our bus was pulling into Gelora Bung Karno, we could hear the whole ground shaking. The fans that turned up to cheer for Merah Putih was close to 90,000! It was a capacity crowd! Let's hope the boys and rise up to the occasion. :)

Screen Shot 2018-08-25 at 10.09.11 PM.png

I decided to play my strongest eleven, even if it meant that we would be playing the exact same formation as our opponent. What grabbed my attention was Ilija Spasojevic, a 31-year-old Montenegrin-born footballer so stands head and shoulders above the rest at 1.84m!

Screen Shot 2018-08-26 at 1.20.35 AM.png

Right off the bat, Bayu Gatra, their right winger scored in the first minute! He unleashed an unstoppable shot after receiving a perfect pass from Hendro Siswanto. We were punished for being overawed by the atmosphere. Muhd Syazwan Ismawi was too enthusiastic about closing down the opponent and no one was near enough to cover for him. In less than 10-minute we leveled through Abhishek Pannierselvam, his first goal for Harimau Malaya! It was a thumping header from an indirect free-kick taken from Lee Jinxiang.

Screen Shot 2018-08-26 at 1.32.10 AM.png

Our attacking trio combined for our second to take the lead. Jinxiang drifted center and released Luqman Hussain on the left. Hussain then dribbled towards the touchline before pulling it back and passed to Muhaimin Jamaludin in the center. Kurnia Meiga was caught out and Jamaludin had an empty goal to tap the ball in.

Screen Shot 2018-08-26 at 1.43.22 AM.png

Jamaludin then made it 3-1 after a long ball played out from our half by Gonzalo Ganalingam. There was still much work left to do as our striker as he raced towards goal with another defender closing in on him. Zulvin Haris was on a yellow though, so he didn't commit and allowed Jamaludin to double his tally. We led by 3-1 at halftime. :)

Screen Shot 2018-08-26 at 12.41.06 AM.png

Surprisingly, Brunei (155th) was leading 2-0 at halftime as well, against fancied Thailand (126th).

Screen Shot 2018-08-26 at 12.43.45 AM.png

The second half came and went without much action. I did change my formation though, to play narrower by bringing in an attacking midfielder (Hafiz Azman) and striker (Jasni Abidin) in place of my wingers (Hussain and Jinxiang). It didn't bring us more goals but we kept more of the possession; and when the ball is with you, the opposition had very little chance of scoring.

We ended 3-1 winners and Jamaludin finally came good with two goals and a rating of 8.8. It's worth noting that Mohd Zulkifli Mazlan picked up a yellow card, so he'll be suspended for the second leg. At least he'll be available for the final if we go through, and I've got Shakir Roslan waiting in the wings.

We flew back the day after and there was a small group of fans that welcomed us at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It was indeed encouraging to see the boys get some recognition. A lot of work was put in by the staff as well to get them prepared. Now let's finish off the job at Bukit Jalil Stadium.

Screen Shot 2018-08-26 at 3.40.13 PM.png

As we're playing at home in the return leg, and with a two-goal cushion, I've decided to ring some changes in my attacking trio. I dropped Hussain (AML) and Jinxing (AMR) (both due to subpar performances) for in favor of Junaidi Ishmir (AML) and Thomas Irudinathan (AMR). I've also decided to give Shukri Salleh (ST) a chance up front. Roslan came in for the suspended Mazlan, while I also rested Gnanalingam (DMC) and Ibrahim Ismail (CM).

Screen Shot 2018-08-26 at 3.45.19 PM.png

We totally dominated the first half with nothing much to show for in the score. 63% possession and 7 shots compared to a measly 1 by them. I'm also keeping tabs in the other semifinal as it's also goalless so far. From the looks of it, seems like we'll be meeting Brunei again in the final.

Screen Shot 2018-08-26 at 3.55.07 PM.png

We ended our match in a 0-0 draw but drama happened in the other semifinal! I still recall checking their scoreline when the final whistle was approaching in our match. I was prepared to meet Brunei again. I was shocked when I was doing my press conference, I was informed that our opponent in the final is going to be Thailand! They scored in injury time and progress on away goals. I bet the capacity crowd of 60,000 really cheered the team on! So I guess it's an opportunity for us to make things right this time, as we lost to them in 2014 final. Alright, I'd better go and do some preparation as I've only for three short days before we face them. Thank God it's at home so there won't be the hassle of traveling.

If you enjoyed this entry, do check out my previous posts
from where it all started, right up to now.

The Malaysia Experiment - Melayu Derby