Rajagobal hoping for help from the Man upstairs
National coach Datuk K.Rajagobal immediately looked up and said; “I have to do more prayers” before bursting into laughter.
Beyond the smile, Rajagobal is hoping for intervention from the Al-Mighty when his lads take on Thailand in the semi finals as he knows it will not be easy meat playing against the tournament’s favourites.
Even the defending champions tag will do little as Malaysia know that Thailand is capable of stealing the thunder this time around.
“Thailand is a strong team. We are already in the semi finals and now we must prepare for our next match. I don’t want to think too much but to ensure the boys are all geared up for the next round,” said Rajagobal.
“It’s not going to be easy.”
Harimau Malaya prowl into the AFF Cup semi finals after managing to maul Indonesia 2-0 in their final Group B match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
Earlier, the national coach applauded his players despite a jittery start in the first 10 minutes. Indonesia came on strong at the beginning of the match but were certainly rattled by the two quick goals scored by Azammuddin Akil in the 27th minute followed by Mahalli Jasuli’s strike hardly three minutes later.
S.Kuanlan and Khyril Muhymeen Zambri were seen at the Press area as they were sidelined due to injuries.
“It was evident there were tired legs...Norshahrul (Idlan Talaha), Safee (Sali) and Safiq (Rahim). They were not in their normal flow of the game.
“We need Kunalan and Khryil for Thailand and I hope they will be able to join the team by then,” he added.
Malaysia will play Thailand in KL on Dec 9 in the first leg semi final before visiting their opponents in Bangkok in the second leg on Dec 13.
Indonesia coach Nil Maizar took full responsibility of the team’s failure to advance beyond the group stage.
“We had many chances, even more than Malaysia but it was a bad result. The players were motivated but it just didn’t happen. I only blame myself and I take full responsibility,” Nil said.
In an indirect swipe to the on-going controversy surrounding Indonesian football and the Republic’s national body, Nil added;
“We must be united at heart, united in our actions and united in our words. That is the only way for Indonesian football to move forward.”
Singapore, meanwhile, were given an early scare by Laos before managing a 4-3 win to sit at the top of Group B.
The Islanders will play the Philippines in the other semi final clashes (Dec 8 and Dec 12).
HD says: Another exciting journey up ahead.
Merujuk kepada kenyataan Rajagopal di media, "saya sebelum ini tidak pernah terfikir menggunakan Syakir Saari"
ReplyDeleteBila Khairul Muhymeen dan Kunalan cedera, saya terfikirkan, kenapa tidak ada Chanturu atau Nurul Azwan Roya dalam senarai. Kedua-dua mereka digelar bas ekspress oleh peminat.
Bila Shakir dikeluarkan, tidakkah lebih baik memasukkan Bunyamin dipertahanan manakala Mahali dipindah ke posisi Defending Midfielder? Kenapa masukkan Gary?
Pendapat saya, Gary pemain yang cukup rajin dan berpotensi tetapi belum cukup matang untuk bermain diperingkat tertinggi.
Jika tidak pun, apa kurangnya Badrul Bakhtiar sebagai ganti Shakir?
Sekiranya Rizal Zambry ada dalam senarai, dia adalah pengganti paling layak untuk menggantikan Shakir. Terutamanya kebolehan dia menjaringkan gol dari jarak jauh.
Bila Mat Yo dikeluarkan, saya fikirkan, sayang sekali Farhan tidak disenaraikan. Apatah lagi Manaf Mamat.
Bukan Fakri. Bukan Amar.
Safiq penat? Itulah gunanya jika Piya dan Rizal ada dalam senarai.
Safee penat? Ada berapa orang top striker dalam senarai AFF Rajagopal?
As the popular phrase goes, " there is no choice but to go forward".
The thinking that Shakir is not the first choice is not your only mistake.
Fans has spoken, since the failure to progress in WCQ with the lost to Singapore backkkkk then.
Otherwise, congratulation on the two wins against Laos and Indonesia.
As a friendly reminder, we are yet a Asian Cup 2015 contestant material. That will require an ocean of prayers.
p/s Gelisah bila Amar dan Fakri masih tetap dimasukkan, walaupun sebagai gantian.
Kamarul
Still poor and lost going forward
ReplyDeleteVery poor performance by the Malaysian players. Again and again they failed to go forward in a organized way as demanded by the game.
Look at Safee Sali, only capable to run wt the ball towards goal aimlessly...-not able to hold the ball for the other players to join him for group attack.
The standard displayed by the Malaysian are very poor and not capable at all. They were lucky to defend the lead and eventually winning it.
The Malaysian still lacked the composure in many area of play.
Do they realize the shortcoming in their performance or are they simply satisfied?
We need to seriously look at and improve the attacking aspect of the game. "We must make things happen, not hoping it to happen"
We better correct the shortcomings before we get dumped out disgracefully.
Haha...according to Rajagopal, the team played very well last night!
DeleteKamarul
I am not Rajagobal's biggest fan but I think we were watching a different game last night. For me, credit should be given to where it is due - to both coach and players and everyone else for getting the job done.
DeleteOf course there is still plenty of room for improvement but last night was on the overall a better, composed, disciplined and clinical showing from Harimau Malaya as compared to the game v Laos.
Guys, you cant always be too critical about our lads. They worked hard on the pitch. So far 2 matches with increasingly major improvements from the painful Spore match. Like it or not, Fakri & Amar are part of Raja's squad and they did an effective job last night.
From the look and feel of it, we will be ready enough to face the Thais this Sunday.
MISTERI! Harap HD tolong bagi cerah kami yang di dalam gelap ini.
ReplyDeleteApa jadi pada jersi kuning yang dilancarkan baru-baru ini? Saja nak buat duit dengan Nike dan 100Plus ke?
Kamarul
Kamarul patut jadi coach Malaysia kalau RG kena pecat. Mungkin dia patut start jadi pundit bola at mamak, boleh masuk dalam CV bila minta kerja jadi coach nanti.
ReplyDeleteMangkok
Mangkok,
ReplyDeleteMudah-mudahan, Rajagopal baca tulisan anda dan terbuka hati untuk tidak lagi menganggap yang peminat sukan itu semuanya buta bola.
Tidak ada lagi statement :
1.Ranking tidak penting
2.Kalah bagus untuk pasukan
3.Saya kenal pemain saya
4.Harimau Malaya sorok kuku
5.Eksperimen
6.Terbaru : Tahap senior dan junior berbeza jadi tidak perlu perbincangan dengan Ong Kim Swee.
Itu, cubaan membodoh-bodohkan peminat, namanya.
Bandingkan dengan kata-kata Maurinho :
"Bila menang, 90% usaha pemain dan 10% usaha jurulatih. Bila kalah, 100% disebabkan jurulatih."
Kamarul