Updated : Wednesday October 29, 2008The Malaysian team lost when it came to the battle of nerves in the final of the Merdeka Cup. Some were quick to blame coach B. Sathianathan for the failure to retain the cup, and even went on to question his tactics. Yet these were the same people who only a few days ago praised Sathia for the three consecutive 4-0 wins recorded over the first three opponents. Perhaps it is the figure 4 that affected the chances of Malaysia winning the cup as the Chinese believe it is a number that signifies death, hence the defeat at the hands of Vietnam. Still I have faith in Sathia and whatever the FAM Technical Committee decides this week on his fate as National Coach, I believe that sathia will display strong character in carrying out his responsibilities towards the national team mission in the AFF Suzuki Cup this December.
But one cannot thinking that there is a grand plan to remove Sathia and why must the review of his contract be done now, in the midst of preparing for a major tournament?
Original Posting
Congrats to Sathia for doing a good job in grooming the national team for the AFF Cup. However qualifying for the Merdeka Tournament Semi Finals should not be used as a yardstick to gauge the squads preparation as the opposition was not up to the mark, despite reports stating that national teams made their way into Kuala Lumpur for a tournament that used to be the pride of Asia.
Unfortunately, the statistics don't lie. They expose the barren landscape of Malaysian football more than the sun bleached skulls of the Pol Pot's killing fields. It is a depressing scenario. yet, besides the usual diatribe, there is no firm policy or philosopy on hand to rescue the game from the dire straits it has been steered into by careless and incompetent stewardship.
And so lets keep our fingers crossed that Satia and his motely crew do well this December.
Congrats to Sathia for doing a good job in grooming the national team for the AFF Cup. However qualifying for the Merdeka Tournament Semi Finals should not be used as a yardstick to gauge the squads preparation as the opposition was not up to the mark, despite reports stating that national teams made their way into Kuala Lumpur for a tournament that used to be the pride of Asia.
Unfortunately, the statistics don't lie. They expose the barren landscape of Malaysian football more than the sun bleached skulls of the Pol Pot's killing fields. It is a depressing scenario. yet, besides the usual diatribe, there is no firm policy or philosopy on hand to rescue the game from the dire straits it has been steered into by careless and incompetent stewardship.
And so lets keep our fingers crossed that Satia and his motely crew do well this December.
