I WISH SPORTS to congratulate Astro for its patriotic and inspirational 1980 Harimau Malaya documentary on Malaysia Day recently. It was a monumental effort to piece together the story of our 1980 Olympic heroes, who made every Malaysian proud of their achievement.
The 1980 Olympic qualifying goal by Sabahans Hassan Sani and James Wong, as well the phrase “cucuk Hassan” by veteran commentator Zulkarnain Hassan keep ringing in our minds when recollecting that glorious night. It was a proud moment when our footballers qualified for the Moscow Olympics after beating South Korea.
After 36 years, we are still waiting for a miracle to happen. We are hopeful that we will, one day, achieve great heights in football!
I applaud Astro and the media for giving prominence to our 1980 football heroes. They truly deserve it.
However, I am saddened that our 1972 national football team that qualified for the Munich Olympics in Germany has been forgotten.
I think the 1972 Olympic football team was our best football team. This team played three matches in Munich, where they won one match. They went beyond the qualifying mark and played in the Olympics. As such, they should be recognised as our greatest Malaysian football team.
It is even sadder to note that 16 of the 19 players in that team are still around and, yet, they are not being acknowledged. The players who played the three matches were Namat Abdullah, M. Chandran, Othman Abdullah, (Datuk) Soh Chin Aun, Khoo Huan Khen, Hamzah Hussain, Shahruddin Abdullah, Wan Zawawi, V. Krishnasami, Ibrahim Salleh, Harun Jusoh, Wong Kam Fook, Ali Bakar, Lim Fung Kee, Wong Choon Wah, Mohammed Bakar, Rahim Abdullah, Looi Loon Teik and Bahwandi Hiralal.
Chin Aun is the only footballer to have the distinction of representing Malaysia in both the 1972 and 1980 Olympic football teams.
However, it is unfortunate that even the Football Association of Malaysia has forgotten these national heroes. They are in their twilight years and some are financially struggling to make ends meet. They deserve recognition and help from all parties, including the state football associations.
These national players of the 1960s and 1970s sacrificed for the love of the game and loyalty to the king and the country. They did not earn fat salaries or allowances. Their pride and loyalty came from donning the national team jersey. It was what every footballer in that era craved for.
These forgotten national football heroes deserve better.
It was reported in the media that all advertising and sponsorship contributions for Harimau Malaya 1980 by CIMB and Milo will go to the Harimau Malaya 1980 veteran footballers. It is my humble request that the legendary 1972 team is also considered to receive some form of contribution and help.
I strongly believe that we should give credit when it is due and it is never too late to acknowledge and recognise our 1972 Olympic football legends while we still can.
THOMAS SAMUEL, Honorary secretary, former state and former National Footballers’ Association Malaysia