DOHA: Rubbish, clueless and tasteless.
These words best describe Malaysia's return to the Asian Cup after their "nightmare" in the 2007 edition.
The 4-0 thrashing by world No. 86 Jordan proves that Malaysian football is still a dwarf in Asia.
Malaysian football warlords hyped up the national team, leading fans to believe that Harimau Malaya were capable of causing a major upset in Asian football. It was as if a Malaysian version of David could defeat Goliath.
Some fans are now saying that Malaysia can bounce back, referring to how Argentina rose to the occasion to win the World Cup last year after losing their first game against Saudi Arabia in Qatar.
Don't be misled by this. Argentina played an excellent game, but the Saudis were better, and both are world-class.
Before the game at the Al Janoub Stadium in Doha, Malaysian fans danced and sang with pride in the streets, in a bid to motivate the national team.
The supporters continued it at the venue, hoping hard that Harimau Malaya would play to the same tune and vigour on the pitch.
Firstly, the Asian Cup should have been considered a learning opportunity in Malaysia's first appearance in 2007.
However, national coach Kim Pan Gon arrogantly declared Malaysia would reach the last 16 by first beating Jordan.
Pan Gon was confident because he had an army of naturalised players who made up half of the team in Doha.
After the thrashing, Pan Gon pathetically apologised, which is not good enough.
When going into any tournament, the basic rule is "never underestimate your rivals", but he did, and the team paid the price.
Looking at the match, Pan Gon's tactics looked very amateurish. And Harimau Malaya fell like tenpins against Jordan, and to add insult to injury, the Middle Eastern side had three players in the starting lineup who played in the M-League, including defender Yazan Al Arab, who is serving a lifetime M-League ban and two-goal hero Mahmoud Al-Mardi for Selangor and Kedah respectively.
Malaysia, who started with seven naturalised players in the match, were nervous and clueless, but the blame should also go to Pan Gon.
A confident Pan Gon basically fielded an attacking team and played an open game against a top 100 side in the world rankings.
Instead of relying on the tried-and-tested formation, the South Korean reshuffled the team to accommodate new naturalised player Romel Morales, which turned out to be a mistake.
Malaysia's playing style in the first half was horrendous. Anyone without a coaching licence will tell you that playing long balls against taller opponents would be disastrous, but that is what Malaysia did, laying bare their tactical naivety on Asia's biggest stage.
It was really surprising for Malaysia to play a high-pressing game against a superior rival, which left the defence well-exposed to Jordan's pace.
Bar Stuart Wilkin's excellent shot in the first half of stoppage time, Jordan made Harimau Malaya players look like schoolboys lost in the woods.
Jordan attacked like a pack of wolves, using their speed, technique and tactical astuteness to bully ill-prepared Malaysia from the centre and flanks.
It was clear that the Chivalrous Ones were a class above, and the man who caused the most damage was Montpellier winger Mousa Al-Tamari.
Al-Tamari practically toyed with the Malaysian defence, leaving players like La'Vere Corbin-Ong and captain Matthew Davies looking like beginners.
It has been a long time since Malaysia were humiliated. And even more surprising that players like Arif Aiman Hanapi and Faisal Halim — among the best in the M-League — could not do much and were easily kept at bay by Jordan.
It shows where Malaysian football actually stands.
Credit to Jordan as they were tactically ready and knew how to punish the Southeast Asian team.
The writing was already on the wall when Jordan took a quick 2-0 lead in under 20 minutes and could have had a third after 25 minutes but Malaysia were saved by the VAR.
But it did not matter for Jordan. Instead of being tighter, Malaysia continued their game plan, and Jordan easily scored a third in the 32nd minute.
The damage could have been avoided if Malaysia, ranked 130th in the world, had played more cautiously in the first 45 minutes.
With a healthy 3-0 lead, Jordan were contented and reduced a gear or two, which allowed Malaysia to move the ball around.
After the first-half bashing, Malaysia became smart after half-time, keeping the ball low and making short passes, which should have been done from the first whistle.
Pan Gon introduced substitutes, Shahrul Saad, Paulo Josue, Akhyar Rashid, Safawi Rasid and Mohamadou Sumareh, in different periods of the second half, and Malaysia looked more solid and confident.
Josue and Safawi had decent chances but Jordan goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila thwarted their attempts.
However, Jordan still had time to score a fourth through Al-Tamari.
The winger controlled a beautiful long pass expertly from the Jordanian half, ran a few metres, and unleashed a shot, sailing just over an outstretched Malaysian goalkeeper, Syihan Hazmi, despite being marked by Dion Cools, in the final five minutes of the game.
Jordan had another chance, but their attempt rattled the Malaysian post in stoppage time.
From Malaysia's perspective, they should be relieved that the score was only 4-0.
Jordan were unlucky not to win by more than five goals.
The defeat is an eye-opener, a reality check for Malaysia's football industry that there are no "quick fixes" in football.
Pan Gon is also guilty of selecting a few players based on reputation instead of current form for the tournament.
But that is his choice, which was endorsed by the football authorities in the country.
Malaysia will play Bahrain next, followed by South Korea.
Hopefully, Harimau Malaya have learned their lesson and will be more level-headed in those matches.
Let's hope Malaysian fans will not have to experience a repeat of the 2007 nightmare.