The stuff of dreams
‘Ola Bola’ and Leicester show anything’s possible
OLA Bola and Leicester. Now, what in the world do these two have in common?
To me, they are proof that dreams can come true.
The movie Ola Bola has been a monster hit. Having watched it the other day, I can understand what all the hype is all about.
There was nothing spectacular about the movie. Now don’t get me wrong. I loved it.
The movie transported me back to an era when people played football for the love of the game. Not for the money.
The movie tugged at my heartstrings for two reasons. One is the achievement of our national football team in qualifying for the 1980 Moscow Olympics. The first time we qualified was in 1972 – the Munich Games.
We haven’t had a sniff at the Olympics since. That says it all about the standard of football in the country now.
The other thing that strikes a chord with me is that the characters in the movie spoke in different languages – Bahasa Malaysia, English, Chinese and Tamil. (Oh, how I miss those good old P. Ramlee movies.)
Ola Bola had a simple yet effective premise: United we stand, divided we fall.
That’s a powerful – and pertinent – message in these trying times in our country.
Kudos to director Chiu Keng Guan as well as his talented and passionate cast and crew.
But if you are expecting Malaysian football to be transformed because of that one movie, then I suggest you better wake up. You must still be in dreamland!
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) listen to no one, but themselves. Period.
Like most of you, I’m going to stay in my own dream land and fantasise about a team thousands of miles away.
Their achievements, thus far, could have come straight out from the fairy tales written by the great Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen.
Yes, Leicester have turned me, a die-hard Liverpool fan, into a dreamer.
Here is a team who, just a year ago, was flirting with disaster. They were on the verge of being relegated from the English Premier League. Look at them now. And who’s the man who has turned their fortunes around? Well, it’s Tinkerman (or maybe we should re-name him Tinker Bell).
Claudio Ranieri has come in, sprinkled his magic stardust over the team and unearthed two gems in Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy.
Mahrez’s vision and skill coupled with Vardy’s unerring accuracy in front of goal have galvanized the team.
Even Roberth Huth, a player deemed surplus by moneybags Chelsea, has found his form here. As has Japan’s Shinji Okazaki, who is playing out of his skin!
And this is a team with a player named Drinkwater, for goodness sake!
Jokes aside, I (and millions of others) hope that Leicester will go on and lift the English Premier League trophy come May.
Can they? Yes. Will they? I don’t know.
But one thing I do know is that they deserve it!