Malaysia’s lofty target of being a finalist in the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup disappeared following the humiliating 4-1 defeat at the hands of Indonesia on Sunday.
With the end of this tournament for Malaysia, it did seem like something “died”; or in a kinder word, ended.
Would it be the end of:
A. The tenure of the coaching staff?
B. The tenure of most players who struggled at the international level over the years?
C. The tenure of “noisy know-alls”, aka Football Association of Malaysia officials, who clearly do not understand football?
D. All of the above?
Tactically, we were in shambles. Physically, we were in shambles.
For almost a week leading up to this game, my ears bled from hearing the words “early goal” or “goal awal” on the very many platforms. It became an obsession, almost.
On Sunday night, we got an early goal, thanks to M. Kogileswaran Raj in the 13th minute.
Great, but then what?
Judging from what unfolded soon after, even the coaching staff had no clue as to what to do beyond that “goal awal”.
We can’t even call Malaysia’s premature exit from the AFF Cup the “end of an era” when there was no start to an era in the first place.
Malaysia’s AFF Cup campaign can be described in one word – shambolic!
This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Twentytwo13.
