DON’T JUDGE VINGADA YET, TMJ TELLS CRITICS AND FANS

Don’t judge the coach yet, TMJ tells critics and fans

JOHOR BARU: Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim has no intention of making head coach Eduardo Vingada the scapegoat for the dismal performance of the national team.

Critics and fans are unhappy with Vingada’s handling of the team since his appointment in May. He has yet to record a win in five matches (including two friendlies).

Tunku Ismail said that the Portuguese should not be judged after just five matches.

“If we bring in a new coach now and no matter how good the person is, it will not change the result of the national team. This is a fact because we simply do not have enough good local players.

“We do not have enough firepower up front,” said the Tunku Mahkota Johor (TMJ) during a dialogue session here on Wednesday.

Tunku Ismail, who owns Super League side Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), reckons that the 64yearold Vingada needs more time to adapt to Malaysian football.

“It is impossible to get immediate and drastic results within a couple of months. We do not have players with strong mental strength and a winning DNA.

“We have been sleeping for 30 years while countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar and even Syria made vast improvements in their game,” he said.

In five matches under Vingada, the national team have drawn once and lost four.

Malaysia lost 21 to Lebanon in their opening 2019 Asian Cup Group B qualifying match in Johor Baru on June 13. They went on to lose two friendly matches – 21 to Syria on Aug 22 and 10 to Myanmar on Aug 29.

They were then held to a 11 draw by Hong Kong in their second Asian Cup Group B qualifying match in Melaka on Sept 5.

On Tuesday, Malaysia’s hopes of progressing to the 2019 Asian Cup Finals suffered a severe dent when they lost 20 to Hong Kong in the return leg at the Hong Kong Stadium.

Malaysia are now rooted at the bottom of the group with a single point. Lebanon top the group with 10 points from three matches. Hong Kong are second with five points. North Korea are third with two points from two matches. Malaysia’s next match is against North Korea in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 14.

Tunku Ismail admitted that he does not expect the national team to qualify for the 2019 Asian Cup Finals.

In fact, he expects them to suffer more defeats in the competition.

“The actual problem in Malaysian football is education. The players must be taught to be professionals from a young age,” said Tunku Ismail.

He pointed out that the national Under17 and Under23 players had strong potential and showed better progress than the senior players.

Tunku Ismail also defended FAM’s decision to allow MLeague teams to hire five foreign players from next season.

“This is for commercial reasons. It is not a must for teams to get five foreign players. They must look at their budgets before deciding what is best for their teams.

“If the teams can only buy two foreign players and field the rest of their squad with younger local players, then do it. I want to see a more competitive league, which can benefit the national team,” he said.

If we bring in a new coach now and no matter how good the person is, it will not change the result of the national team. This is a fact because we simply do not have enough good local players.

Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim