COACHES GIVE THUMBS-UP
MFCA chief supports FAM’s move to get naturalised players
MALAYSIAN Football Coaches Association (MFCA) president, B. Sathianathan feels that the proposal to make use of naturalised players is a necessary move to improve the worsening performance of the national team.
Sathianathan said that it is a short term move that has to be done while waiting for the grassroots project, such as the National Football Development Programme (NFDP) which will need a couple more years, to produce quality players of calibre.
According to Sathianathan, all the parties should have an open mind in truly understanding and accepting changes that are part of the concerted efforts by the FA of Malaysia (FAM) to improve the country’s No 1 sport to be on par with that of Asian footballing powers such as Japan and South Korea.
“If we are to wait for young and upcoming players from the NFDP project to realise their potential and produce positive results for the national team in the near future, then it is virtually impossible to do so.
“The best way is to take good foreign players who have been naturalised that are young, around 18 or 19 years old,” said Sathianathan.
“Players who are of mixed heritage are few and far between, and they, too, are not of high calibre either.
“So, I agree with the proposal to take naturalised players for the time being to bolster the national team, as what was done by Japan prior to this.
“During the time when Japan first qualified for the World Cup, they had two to three players who were naturalised that were originally from Brazil.
“And newly crowned World Cup champions France have also relied on naturalised players as well.
“So we have to be more open minded on such a matter.
“At the same time, we need to identify what are the problems with our crop of local players and do what we can to solve these problems
“We also need to educate the players from a young age, as they will be the future of Malaysian football who we hope will take the place of naturalised players and bring honour and glory to the country in time to come.”
The proposal to make use of naturalised players was expressed by FAM recently but has not been well received by new Sports Minister, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman who believes that homegrown players should represent the national team.
Apart from this, Sathinathan explained that all the parties must give FAM the chance to take the effective steps to regain the faith and trust of the fans in the Harimau Malaya squad.
“If we are to regain the faith and trust of the fans in the Harimau Malaya squad, then we must achieve some form of success.
“But if we do not have quality players and end up losing matches, then we will continue to lose support and the fans themselves.
“Last time, Japanese sports fans were more inclined towards the sport of baseball, but after their national team qualified for the World Cup, football has become the No 1 sport there.
“And the Samurai Blue have a strong fan base and support, along with many sponsors,” Sathianathan pointed out.