AJITPAL SINGH
DO you want to play for Liverpool or Manchester United or Barcelona or Juventus one day?
If you pose this question to any aspiring Malaysian footballer, the answer would be a definite “yes”.
Playing in Europe is every footballer’s dream but are Malaysian players doing enough to get noticed?
The sad answer is “no”.
The lack of ambition among local players to showcase their skills abroad is hindering the growth of Malaysian football.
Many footballers in Malaysian have just one aim — that is to play for Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT).
It is not wrong to have dreams to play for JDT as they are simply the best in the country.
However, local footballers should not just stop at that — their ambitions should go beyond Johor Baru. Greater things lie further out — outside Malaysia.
They should look at opportunities that lead to playing in Japan’s J1 League and South Korea’s K League 1. These are the places that attract scouts from Europe — the launching pads to Europe.
Sure, the M-League is getting better but unfortunately, it does not attract scouts from Premier League clubs like United, Liverpool and Manchester City or even from smaller leagues in Europe.
Players like JDT’s Safawi Rasid, Akhyar Rashid, Afiq Fazail, and Selangor’s Syahmi Safari are among Malaysia’s best, and they definitely have the qualities to play in Japan or Korea.
FA of Malaysia (FAM) president Datuk Hamidin Amin agrees that local players need to think far, not just be content with playing in the M-League until they retire.
“A footballer’s time at the top is not long, maybe 15 years the most, so our locals should take a chance and play abroad.
“Our footballers need to have a personal ambition to play in the strongest leagues, at least in Asia first.
“The leagues in Japan and Korea are among the strongest in Asia, and that is why both countries have qualified for the World Cup many times.
“Besides that, many young Japanese and Korean players are recruited by scouts to play for top clubs in Europe.
“Let’s take this step, and play in Japan or Korea first, before dreaming big.
“If our Malaysian footballers go and play in these two countries, they will likely be playing division two football, but that is okay for a start.
“From there, our players can get noticed by these countries’ top clubs, which will then open a pathway for them to play in bigger leagues outside Asia.
“Our players should aim for the strong leagues in Asia first as this is the only way to get to play in Europe.
“Of course, FAM would like to see a Malaysian playing for Ajax Amsterdam or an English Premier League club one day, that is every footballer’s dream, but our footballers need to stamp their mark in top leagues in Asia first to get a break,” Hamidin told Timesport on Thursday.
He disclosed that FAM are in discussion with the Japan FA and the Korean FA in a collaboration to get Malaysian players into their leagues.
“Going straight to Europe is not easy, let’s focus on Japan and Korea first. Both FAs are keen to take in our best players from the 17 to 21 age group.
“We are finalising this joint programme, and this could become a reality by the end of the year or early next year.
“However, it would be tough to coax some of our young players who are now already earning around RM40,000 a month to go as the lower division clubs from both leagues (South Korea and Japan) do not offer big money.
“I heard that second division clubs in Korea and Japan offer not more than RM4,000 to their players, so we cannot expect them to offer our players a lot.
“However, this can lead to Malaysian players playing in the J1 League and K League 1 one day.
“We have chosen Japan and Korea because of their positive attributes. Players from both countries are not only taught the finer points of football but also educated on how to behave off the pitch.”
He added that getting into the Korean League might be easier for Malaysian footballers from next year as the clubs there will be given an optional quota to sign an Asean player.