KUALA LUMPUR – Despite Malaysia’s setbacks at the ongoing AFC Asian Cup in Qatar, former national team striker Dollah Salleh believes that fans should be grateful to head coach Kim Pan-gon for transforming the team from being punching bags into respectable competitors.
His response came after the South Korean coach faced criticisms from netizens for the substitutions made during their second Group E match against Bahrain on Saturday.
Harimau Malaya were unlucky as they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to Bahrain, with Pan-gon opting for a more defensive approach in the match, employing a 5-4-1 formation.
Speaking to Scoop, Dollah, who also served as the national team coach for a brief stint between 2014-2015, said that it’s not right for fans to pick on players for their mistakes but should instead look at the national team’s progress as a whole.
“What Pan-gon has brought to the national team is something that we have to praise him for, as he has changed the image of the national team from punching bags into a competitive side.
“We can see a huge difference with the team compared to our last participation in the tournament in the 2007 edition in Malaysia, and Pan-gon’s team is playing with more desire and passion, especially when they bounced back after their opening day defeat against Jordan.
“They were just unlucky with the defeat as they played well in the first half of the match, but it was just that we couldn’t bring in the same momentum to the second half of the match, and the opponents had already read the gameplay of Arif Aiman Hanapi and Faisal Halim.
“There is no use in criticising Pan-gon’s choices of players, as he knows his players very well. At moments like this, we should not continue to add negativity to the team but be positive about what they have achieved.
“With Pan-gon in charge, I believe that Harimau Malaya will play in the Asian Cup on a consistent basis in the years to come,” said Dollah, who won 81 caps and scored 33 goals for Malaysia.
Meanwhile, former national team player Khairun Haled Masrom echoed a similar sentiment and said that fans should not put too much pressure and high hopes on the team by comparing it to its golden days.
“Fans should stop comparing the team based on the success it achieved in the past in the 1970s and 80s with players like Datuk Santokh Singh, Datuk Mokhtar Dahari, and Datuk R. Arumugam, as football has evolved and times have changed.
“I understand the fans’ perspective, but we have been playing well since Pan-gon took charge in 2022, and we have been getting decent results in our friendly and qualifier matches. But the standards are different in the Asian Cup, and for us to achieve success, it will take time.
“We need to play and get exposed to these high-ranking teams regularly so that one day we can overcome them. In my opinion, we have never been bad in the tournament so far; the players are learning as much as they can playing in these tournaments.
“I believe in Pan-gon, and I have confidence in him that he can bring our country’s football to greater heights, but my only advice is that he should be a bit more careful before he makes substitutions in crucial matches,” said Khairun, who played as the main center forward for Malaysia in the 1997 FIFA Youth World Cup.
Malaysia was eliminated from the tournament’s group stage in the fourth participation (1976, 1980, 2007, and 2024) after consecutive defeats to both Jordan (4-0) and Bahrain.
Currently sitting at the bottom of Group E, Malaysia will play their final group match against South Korea on January 25.
In Harimau Malaya’s last appearance in the 2007 edition, they conceded 12 goals and scored only 1 goal out of three group matches (China 1-5, Uzbekistan 0-5, and Iran 0-2). – January 22, 2024