KUALA LUMPUR: Former national player Bakri Ibni paid tribute to the late Chow Chee Keong by saying that he was the most perfect goalkeeper Malaysia ever had.
"For me, Chee Keong was perfect. The most perfect goalkeeper Malaysia ever had," said Bakri.
He said even though local fans knew more about goalkeepers R. Arumugam, Wong Kam Fook, Lim Fung Kee and Rashid Hassan -- the Hong Kong Rangers player had his own superior skills.
"I followed Chee Keong's progress since I was a young chap. He was my senior, but I still managed to play alongside him in the 1981 World Cup qualifier in Kuwait. Back then, he was playing in Hong Kong, and was recalled to strengthen the national squad.
"Nobody can deny that he was a perfect goalkeeper because he could catch the ball with swift reflexes, and could also read the game well to cut off the ball from reaching strikers, like a good defender.
"What attracted me to him was that he was 'always in training mode' and that's why the veins in his hands were thick and many. He always had the 'hand gripper' with him, and sometimes he even brought it to the dinner table," said Bakri.
Chee Keong, former national player in the 1960s, passed away on Wednesday at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre.
Bakri, who helped Malaysia qualify for the 1980 Moscow Olympics, said until today he has yet to see a replacement for Chee Keong.
"I believe with the attitude and capabilities that Chee Keong had, nobody else can come close to him between the posts."