Glory days in football
Radin Ali Mohamed; Interview by Rizalman Hammim
MY interest in football started when I began watching matches at the municipal padang in Jalan Rahmat when I was still a teenager.
 |
| reminiscing: Radin Ali showing a picture of him and his fellow football players attending a dinner for the inaugural Merdeka Tournament. |
 |
| SKILFUL: Radin Ali (front row, centre) with his Johor teammates. |
 |
| making headlines: A newspaper report on Radin Ali’s success on the field. |
I joined the police force in 1949 and started to play football for a number of clubs in Batu Pahat that time and in 1951, I was chosen to represent the district in various football competitions.
However, my involvement with the police force did not last long and I quit in 1954 to join the Singapore police. I left Singapore police after two years and returned to Malaya.
Unlike today, the football scene in Batu Pahat in the 1940s and 1950s was vibrant and competitive, with several clubs vying to be the best in the district.
Among the top clubs at the time were Batu Pahat Club, Young Men’s Association (YMA) and Teruna. The matches between these clubs were always exciting and entertaining affairs.
These clubs were also the breeding ground for several of the best players to represent the district, the state and, in my case, Malaya.
I began representing Malaya in 1956 after I notched several successes, including playing in, and winning, two Malaya Cup finals for Singapore a few years earlier.
Among the players that I played with at the time include ‘Raja Bola’ Ghani Minhat, legendary Singapore striker Awang Bakar, Rahim Omar, SS Dutton, Arthur Koh and Yusof Bakar.
Unlike today, where everything is provided for, whenever we were called for training with the national team, we had to arrange for transport ourselves, with the state football associations only providing the money for the fare.
We usually stayed at Hotel Asia in Jalan Bukit Bintang whenever we attended training for the national team in Kuala Lumpur as it was close to the training venue, the Merdeka Stadium. We used to walk to the stadium for training.
That time, all the national players knew their duties and responsibilities and there was little need for supervision from the team management.
We all knew that if there was a match coming up, we should not stay out too long the night before. On other nights, we were allowed to go out for dinner or drinks but we were always back at the hotel early.
Nowadays, national players lack the spirit and passion of the earlier generation of players, which is why, I think, Malaysia has not had much success on the field.
I also think that most players today are not bothered to learn about how to play the game from older players.
Just because they have been selected to play for the state or national team does not mean that they are the best players around.
I became a coach after I retired from playing in 1961 and coached a number of teams in Batu Pahat, Johor and Kuala Lumpur.
I retired completely from football about 20 years ago because I was getting older. I still attend football matches from time to time, especially in Johor.
I only wish that the Football Association of Malaysia or the government would give more recognition and appreciation to former national players.
People still recognise me whenever they meet me, although some are surprised that I am still around which is understandable because I now live a quiet life.
My only wish now is to meet up with my former teammates who are still around so that we can catch up. It would be good to meet up with them after all these years.
Radin Ali Mohamed, 81, was a midfielder in the national team in the 1950s. He was described at the time as “brainy and passes well”.
|
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association, along with Muslim restaurateurs and several Muslim non-governmental organisations, will be launching a campaign to boycott American ...