“The good thing about supporting Aston Villa is that no one trolls us when we lose!”
Yazeer Sivori Seranna Mohd Ikhas, president of the Official Aston Villa Malaysia Supporters Club, let out a hearty laugh after mouthing those words.
Yazeer, of Punjabi, Chinese and Malay heritage, was a laugh-a-minute as he shared his love and passion for the Villans.
“There are not that many of us in Malaysia.
“Once, we invited some Everton fans to our ‘clubhouse’ – a restaurant owned by a fan in Bangsar – to watch a match. There were more Everton, than Aston Villa fans!” laughed Yazeer, who works for Petronas in its maintenance management division.
“There are only 39 members in our WhatsApp chat group. Usually, we have three to five members for any viewing party.
“Despite the small group, we know there are many of us out there. That drove us to set up the fan club earlier this year.
“I am proud to say we have been recognised by Aston Villa as an official supporters club as of January this year.”
From Port Klang but now residing in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur, Yazeer said he hopes the new Villa boss, Unai Emery, can work his magic.
“There is a joke making its rounds, that Emery joined us as he wanted to be the first man to coach four Villas – Sevilla, Villarreal, Aston Villa and David Villa!” said the 43-year-old father of four.
“Emery is a proven winner. He replaces Steven Gerrard, who suffered when his long-time assistant (Michael) Beale joined Queens Park Rangers before the season started.
“Gerrard got his tactics and player selection wrong. He was unable to motivate the players and kept making strange decisions.
“It looked like the players were only interested in playing the big teams.
“Emery is a serial winner, and the fans are optimistic he can change our fortunes. However, he failed in his last job in England (with Arsenal, 2018-2019).
“I hope Emery can bring us to the top 10 in the table.”
Villa is 15th with 12 points from as many games, its cause helped by the 4-0 victory over Brentford last week, days after Gerrard got the boot.
Aaron Danks will remain in the dugout this weekend as Emery will only begin work on Nov 1.
His first game will be against Manchester United on Nov 6 (10pm)
“Emery will need time to stamp his mark on the team. I feel we will see a team in his image only after the World Cup break,” said Yazeer, who watched the team live twice – a Wembley FA Cup semifinal, and once seated among Newcastle fans at St James’ Park.
“I studied at Durham University, which is close to Sunderland and Newcastle.
“I could only get a home ticket and sat with Newcastle fans. I had to control my emotions after Villa recorded a 1-0 victory.
“That was on Aug 7, 1999. It was Alan Shearer’s 100th match for Newcastle, and he received a red card!”
A year later, Yazeer was at Wembley to see Villa beat Bolton 4-1 on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
He still has both tickets and match programmes to this day.
“The only time I visited Villa Park was to buy the FA Cup tickets. Hopefully, I will be able to watch them play on home ground in the future.”
Asked why he opted to support Villa, Yazeer laughed when he revealed: “I was a Liverpool fan when I was younger. I followed them because of my cousins.
“However, when I reached 18 (1997), I realised I did not like supporting popular teams like Liverpool or Manchester United.
“I was attracted to Villa, partly due to its jersey colours – claret and blue.
“Some asked me why not West Ham or Burnley as their kits are similar. I say it was because I admired Villa’s defensive play.
“Gareth Southgate and Ugo Ehiogu were in defence when Villa reached the FA Cup final. Unfortunately, they lost 1-0 to Arsenal. I enjoy supporting a mid-table team as it is more exciting than following the top teams.
“Sadly, my son supports Liverpool.”
Asked about his team’s chances against Newcastle tomorrow (10pm), Yazeer admitted it will not be easy.
“We won 4-0 last weekend, but we may lose this one narrowly. As long as the players give 100 per cent, I do not mind.
“As I said, supporting Villa is a roller-coaster ride. I would not want it any other way,” he added.
FIXTURES (Malaysian time)
SATURDAY
Leicester vs Manchester City (7.30pm)
Newcastle vs Aston Villa (10pm)
Bournemouth vs Tottenham (10pm)
Brighton vs Chelsea (10pm)
Crystal Palace vs Southampton (10pm)
Brentford vs Wolves (10pm)
SUNDAY
Fulham vs Everton (12.30am)
Liverpool vs Leeds (2.45am)
Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest (10pm)
MONDAY
Manchester United vs West Ham (12.15am)