Harimau Malaya’s fine progess makes it a passable year for Malaysian football

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian football has certainly seen a significant improvement this year since the performance of the Harimau Malaya squad at international competitions has been impressive and the results have drawn a new lease of life for the local fans.

After suffering a heart-wrenching defeat at the semi-final stage of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup competition in Thailand early this year, the Harimau Malaya squad rebounded rather quickly to register four consecutive victories and two draws against higher-ranked opponents, starting with a 1-0 win over Turkmenistan and a 2-0 triumph over Hong Kong in Johor Baru in March.

The positive momentum continued under the tutelage of South Korean coach Kim Pan-gon when the Harimau Malaya squad roared past the Solomon Islands 4-1 and routed Papua New Guinea 10-0 in Kuala Terengganu in June.

Apart from the four wins, the most significant performances came against top-tier opponents in June when they drew 2-2 with fancied Syria and recorded a creditable 1-1 draw against China in Chengdu in September.

That impressive performance and unbeaten run continued when they beat India 4-2 in their opening Merdeka Tournament in October but Pan-gon’s boys were beaten 2-0 by Tajikistan in the final.

That Merdeka Tournament defeat, though painful, was quickly forgotten when the Group D 2026 World Cup 2026-2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers began in November as the Harimau Malaya produced a spectacular performance in their two opening matches, beating Kyrgyzstan 4-3 in Kuala Lumpur and defeating Taiwan 1-0 in their own backyard.

Those two wins have given Malaysia a handy six-point lead in Group D, although a tough assignment awaits them next March when they take on group favourites Oman in Muscat and the return match in Kuala Lumpur.

The return matches against Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek and Taiwan in Kuala Lumpur are scheduled for June.

The positive results have also seen Malaysia enjoy significant progress in the FIFA world rankings, climbing to 134th spot in September, which is the Harimau Malaya’s best position in 17 years since being ranked 127th in May 2006.

Apart from the World Cup Qualifiers, the Harimau Malaya squad will also be involved in the 2023 Asian Cup Finals in Qatar next month and they have been drawn in Group E with South Korea, Jordan and Bahrain.

Meanwhile, the National Under-23 squad also produced some impressive performances, especially in winning the Merlion Cup in Singapore in March and making it to the SEA Games final in Cambodia two months later.

In August, the Under-23 squad, also known as Harimau Muda (Young Tigers), failed to achieve the intended target in the Under-23 AFF Cup, after losing to Vietnam in the semi-finals and later losing the third-fourth placing playoff against Thailand.

The squad’s failed campaign during the AFF Cup led to speculation that coach E. Elavarasan may vacate his position as the interim coach of the Under-23 squad, but the assistant coach to Pan-gon silenced his critics by leading the squad to qualify for the Under-23 Asian Cup in 2024.

During the qualifiers hosted by Thailand in September, Malaysia finished second in Group H with six points after beating Bangladesh 2-0 and the Philippines (4-0) before losing 1-0 to Thailand.

Despite chalking up victories during the qualifiers, Elavarasan dropped a bombshell by announcing that he was vacating his position, which was later filled by Spaniard Juan Torres Garrido, whose immediate task will be to lead the squad in pursuit of a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics during the Under-23 Asian Cup in Qatar next year.

On the domestic front, Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), under coach Esteban Solari, continued to dominate the Malaysian Football League by sweeping all four titles at stake in the 2023 season – Charity Shield, FA Cup, Super League title and Malaysia Cup.

JDT clinched the Super League title for the 10th consecutive season, won the FA Cup and bagged the Malaysia Cup for the fourth time by beating Terengganu FC 3-1 in the final.

But while the performances of the national teams showed a marked improvement, the same cannot be said of the management of teams competing in the M-League, since the issue of unpaid salaries continued to hog the limelight for all the wrong reasons.

Although it has been three years since the privatisation of M-League teams came into force, unpaid salaries of players and officials continue to remain a thorn in the league, with some players resorting to social media to highlight their grievances.

Among the teams under scrutiny for salary arrears are Kedah, Kuala Lumpur and Kelantan.

As far as Kelantan are concerned, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) may bar them from the M-League next season for failing to fulfil the National Licence procedures.

Meanwhile, the entire football fraternity and the Malaysian public, in general, were shocked by the news of former national coach B. Sathianathan’s passing at the age of 65, after battling with cancer for some time.

In summary, Malaysian football can be given a pass mark overall compared with the below-par performance the previous year. — Bernama