The reports stated that like coach Norizan Bakar, all three were asked to leave their positions immediately after the end of the Asian Cup campaign. It was also reported that all four were informed of the news right before the National Team took the field for the final group game against Iran. If this is true, it only goes to show the level of unprofessionalism on FAM's part.
Nasir Yusof, is a former national player, and as some may recall, one of the few capable playmakers that ever wore the national jersey. He has been one of the assistant coaches of the national squad since 2004 under Bertalan Bicskei.
Chuan Chin, former national goalkeeper and brother to Bayern Munich's youth squad coach, Lim Teong Kim, served as the goalkeeping coach for the team.
Which means that FAM would need to act quickly to reassemble the team in preparation for the upcoming Merdeka Invitational Tournament. However, it was also reported in The Star today that one of the deputies in FAM denied that Norizan has been sacked. So what is going on here?
FAM: Norizan is still the national coach
PETALING JAYA: FA of Malaysia (FAM) deputy president Datuk Redzuan Tan Sri Sheikh Ahmad clarified yesterday that national coach Norizan Bakar had not been sacked and would have to serve out his contract, which expires in September.
Redzuan said that he was surprised to see media reports on the sacking of Norizan and the coach had misinterpreted the information given to him by team manager Datuk Anifah Aman on the eve of the Asian Cup Finals match against Iran on Tuesday.
“There has been total confusion. We have not sacked the coach. The message passed to Norizan that the Asian Cup would be his last assignment with the national team does not mean that he is sacked,” said Redzuan.
“Yes, we have the Merdeka Tournament next month. But there is a possibility that the SEA Games Under-23 squad under B. Sathianathan will play in the tournament. A decision has not been made yet.
“The FAM president, Sultan Ahmad Shah, has also made it clear that he wanted the manager and coach to hand in their reports on the Asian Cup by this week for them to conduct an inquiry. How can we sack the coach before the inquiry?”
Norizan in response to questions about his future with the national team at a post-match conference after Malaysia were beaten 0-2 by Iran in their final Group C fixture on Wednesday, said that he had been told by the team management to relinquish his duties immediately after the match.
“I have to accept this because hiring and firing are all part and parcel of the job. I understand, it's all about results when you assume duties with the national senior team ... life goes on,” said Norizan.
On what he would do next, Norizan said: “I will make a decision later. I am a teacher by profession. Just because my students fail does it mean that I have to stop teaching?”
The other coaches in the team, assistant Nasir Yusof and goalkeeper trainer Lim Chuan Chin, have also been told to go. They have contracts that run until the end of the year.
In other Group C matches, Malaysia went down to heavy defeats by China (1-5) and Uzbekistan (0-5). It resulted in a public outcry for the resignation of the top brass in the FAM.
And the FAM deputy president, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah quit all his posts in the association on Sunday. But his father, who is the president, said that he was no quitter and would continue to fight to raise the standard of Malaysian football, which has been in the doldrums for a long, long time.
The reality is that Malaysia still do not have a team to compete in a tournament of Asian Cup quality. Playing by virtue of being hosts in these Finals had done more harm than good to Malaysian football.
Taken from The Star
1 comment:
something related, check out The Star today for comments made by Lim Teong Kim. I for one could not agree more by the ex-international midfielder whom I still look upon with much respect as being one of those rare local footballers who hv the guts to try and find glory in Europe, and succeeded in doing so!!
We have to look up at people like Teong Kim and other able ex players to lead the various levels of national team.
I disagree with the top brass clowns in FAM in their sacking of Chuan Chin & 'Prof' Nasir. These two are reputable coaches and have plenty of experience to impart to our current players.
We should be looking also at ex players such as ex-goalkeeping legend, Chow Chee Keong who went and found fame with South China FC in Hongkong and a few others.. (gee why is it so hard to think of soem suitable names here)... perhaps Bertalan Bisckei should have been left alone to do his jobs!
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