KUALA LUMPUR — Former national football players have stepped forward to condemn the harsh criticism directed at national under-23 head coach E. Elavarasan.
Despite securing a spot in next year’s AFC U-23 Championship in Qatar, local football fans were not impressed with Harimau Muda’s performance and took social media by storm, urging its head coach to step down while labelling his tactics as outdated.
Elavarasan’s young charges booked their ticket after emerging among the best four second-placed teams from the 11 groups in the qualifiers, and with a better disciplinary record than nearest challenger Iran, who collected more than three yellow or red cards.
Speaking to Scoop, Safee Sali, who scored 39 goals in 76 caps for Malaysia, said that he is disappointed with the netizens’ actions on social media and hopes to see a change in the fans’ mentality towards the team and its coach.
“It’s sad to see the fans acting this way without any respect for our team and coach. Our local fans should be supportive, considering the effort the squad have put into reaching next year’s championship.
“They should stop acting as if they are experts in the game.
“In football, results matter most. Playing an international style like tiki-taka but failing to qualify for a tournament serves no purpose.
“In this sense, I believe our team did well by qualifying with decent gameplay,” he said.
Safee added that there are a few elements in the team’s gameplay that can be improved in order for the team to win against tougher opponents in the AFC U-23 Championship.
He said they have a knack for relying on long ball passes and being weak when under pressure.
“Not all of them are well-versed in holding possession during games.
“But I trust that Elavarasan will sort out these issues before the championship in Qatar,” he added.
Echoing Safee, former Harimau Malaya coach Abdul Rahman Ibrahim said there are certain challenges that come with managing a national team which requires patience to do so.
“Managing a national squad is no easy task. The coach deserves credit for taking up this challenge.
“We need to trust his expertise and give him the support he needs, rather than constantly questioning his tactics online,” Rahman said.
Elavarasan was appointed as the head coach of the national under-23 squad in September last year.
The former Sarawak United manager is also the assistant head coach of Harimau Malaya since January last year.
Harimau Muda’s best achievement in the youth tournament was in 2018 when they reached the quarterfinals in China.
Sixteen teams will participate in next year’s tournament, scheduled to take place in Qatar from April 15 to May 3. — September 14, 2023