Malaysia national football team

Malaysia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Harimau Malaya (Malayan Tiger)
Association Football Association
of Malaysia
Confederation AFC (Asia)
Head coach K. Rajagopal
Captain Norhafiz Zamani Misbah
Home stadium National Stadium, Bukit Jalil (Kuala Lumpur)
FIFA code MAS
FIFA ranking 139
Highest FIFA ranking 75 (August 1993)
Lowest FIFA ranking 170 (April 2008)
Elo ranking 128
Home colours
Away colours
First international
 Korea Republic 3 - 2 Malaya Federation of Malaya
(Singapura; April 13, 1953)
Malaysia Malaysia 1 - 1 Thailand 
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 1964)
Biggest win
Federation of Malaya Malaya 15 - 1 Philippines 
(Jakarta, Indonesia; August 27, 1962)
Malaysia Malaysia 11 - 0 Philippines 
(Tehran, Iran; September 7, 1974)
Biggest defeat
Federation of Malaya Malaya 1 - 6 South Vietnam 
(Tokyo, Japan; May 25, 1958)
Malaysia Malaysia 2 - 8 New Zealand 
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; November 16, 1967)
Malaysia Malaysia 1 - 7 China PR 
(Bangkok, Thailand; December 20, 1978)
AFC Asian Cup
Appearances 3 (First in 1976)
Best result Round 1, 1976, 1980, 2007

The Malaysia national football team is the national team of Malaysia and is controlled by the Football Association of Malaysia.

The Malaysian national team are nicknamed the Tigers, as the tiger is a national symbol of Malaysia. Their main regional rivalries are against Singapore and Indonesia. Before 1963, the team represented the Federation of Malaya and was known as the Malaya national football team.

Contents

History

Before the establishment of Malaysia in September 16, 1963, the Malaysia national football team was known as Malaya national football team. Malaya's biggest achievement in football was becoming the bronze medalist in 1962 Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia after defeating South Vietnam 4-1.

After the establishment of the Malaysian Federation in 963, the team became known as the Malaysia national football team. Malaysia qualified for the 1972 Olympics in Munich, beating Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Philippines en route. Although they managed to defeat the United States 3-0, they lost the other 2 matches by losing 3-0 to West Germany and 6-0 to Morocco. Two years later, Malaysia won their second bronze medal at the 1974 Asian Games after defeating North Korea 2-1. The team went on to qualify twice in a row for the AFC Asian Cup, in 1976 and 1980. Malaysia qualified again for the Olympics in 1980 in Moscow, but joined the boycott of the games. The team also won the Merdeka Tournament 3 times, became runner-up 4 times and being third place 2 times during the 1970s.

In 1994 as Malaysian football was embroiled in one of the biggest bribery scandals in the country. With the dearth of mainstream interest and lack of funds, Malaysian football has failed to repeat the achievements of the 1970s and 1980s, despite the recruitment of Claude LeRoy. Harris came with strong credentials, having assisted Terry Venables at FC Barcelona and Allan Harris as coaches.

Bertalan Bicskei

In the second half of 2004, FAM selected Bertalan Bicskei, former Hungarian goalkeeper and national coach, to succeed Allan Harris.

Bicskei led the national side to third place at the regional Tiger Cup competition, but was demoted to youth development duties by FAM for his actions during a friendly against Singapore in Penang on June 8 2005. Bicskei, disgusted by the standard of officiating, threw a bottle onto the pitch before confronting a Singapore player. In September 2005 the contract was terminated after mutual agreement.[1]

Norizan Bakar

Norizan Bakar became the next head coach of the Malaysian team. He guided the Malaysian squad to the ASEAN Cup semifinals in 2007, where Malaysia lost through penalties to Singapore. Norizan's position as the head coach was criticized by the Malaysian football community, fans and officials alike, after the team's performances during the 2007 Asian Cup, where Malaysia lost to China 1-5, Uzbekistan 0-5 and Iran 0-2.

B. Sathianathan managership

After the removal of Norizan Bakar, B. Sathianathan took over as head coach. Although he guided the squad to win the 2009 Malaysia Merdeka Football Tournament, Malaysia once again failed to qualify for the World Cup after losing 4-1 and drawing 0-0 with Bahrain in the qualifying round. In 2008, Sathianathan once again guided the team to the final of the Merdeka Tournament. However, Malaysia lost through penalties to Vietnam.

During the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup, Malaysia started their campaign with a 3-0 win over Laos, but were defeated in the second match by Vietnam with a score of 2-3 and were finally eliminated when they lost 3-0 to Thailand in the final match of the group stage. This was the first time that the Malaysian squad had not passed through the group stages.

During the 2011 Asian Cup qualifiers, the Malaysian team lost 0-5 to the United Arab Emirates. This defeat was the final straw in the eyes of the Malaysian supporters, and in February 2009, the contracts of Sathianathan and assistant Soh Chin Aun were terminated.[2]

K. Rajagopal

The former Malaysian U-20 coach K. Rajagopal was selected to replace Sathianathan as the national coach in April 2009.

Kit

Before the national team kit manufactured by Nike, the national team kit was manufactured by Adidas. Adidas has been the sponsor for national team kit since 1970s.

Since 2007, the official Malaysia team kit has been manufactured by Nike: the association with Nike will last till 2011. The home kit's design of black and yellow stripes is a throwback to the kit used by Malaysian national team of the 1920s. The great national team of the 1970s also sported similar stripes, which are supposed to be reminiscent of the stripes of a tiger, the symbol of Malaysia's national football team.

The new home kit also sports black shorts and yellow socks. The new away kit features a blue jersey, white shorts, and blue socks, with a representation of the Malay ‘keris’ at the bottom left corner of each shirt.

Media coverage

Malaysia home matches (both qualifiers and friendlies) are shown live or delayed on Astro Arena and RTM. Media Prima Berhad, TV3 and TV 9 occasionally provide the live matches. All matches are broadcasted with full Malaysian commentary.

Home Stadium

National Stadium, Bukit Jalil

Malaysia's home stadium is the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, the largest stadium in Malaysia with a capacity of 87,411. Prior to Bukit Jalil being built in 1998, Malaysia played at the Merdeka Stadium, Shah Alam Stadium, or KLFA Stadium: the last time Malaysia played outside the Kuala Lumpur region was in 2006 when they played against Singapore at Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi, Seremban.

Competition Records

World Cup record

1930 to 1970: Did not enter

1974 to 2010: Did not qualify

Olympic Games Record

Olympic Games Record
Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
France 1900 to
Italy 1960
Did Not Enter - - - - - - -
Japan 1964 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - -
Mexico 1968 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - -
Germany 1972 Round 1 10/16 3 1 0 2 3 9
Canada 1976 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - -
Soviet Union 1980 Qualify but boycott - - - - - - -
United States 1984 to
People's Republic of China 2008
Did Not Qualify - - - - - - -
Total 2/24 - 3 1 0 2 3 9
Under-23 tournament since 1992.
Olympic Games History
Year Round Score Result
1972 Round 1  Malaysia 0 – 3  West Germany Loss
Round 1  Malaysia 3 – 0  United States Win
Round 1  Malaysia 0 – 6  Morocco Loss

AFC Asian Cup Record

AFC Asian Cup Record
Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
Hong Kong 1956 to
Thailand 1972
Did Not Qualify - - - - - - -
Iran 1976 Round 1 5/6 2 0 1 1 1 3
Kuwait 1980 Round 1 6/10 4 1 2 1 5 5
Singapore 1984 to
People's Republic of China 2004
Did Not Qualify - - - - - - -
MalaysiaIndonesiaThailandVietnam 2007 Round 1 16/16 3 0 0 3 1 12
Qatar 2011 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - -
Total 3/14 - 9 1 3 5 7 20
**Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Asian Games Record

Asian Games Record
Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
India 1951 Did Not Enter - - - - - - -
Philippines 1954 Did Not Enter - - - - - - -
Japan 1958 Round 1 12/14 3 0 0 3 2 8
Indonesia 1962 Third Place 3/8 5 3 0 2 23 9
Thailand 1966 Round 1 15/17 3 0 0 3 1 4
Thailand 1970 Round 1 16/16 3 0 0 3 0 4
Iran 1974 Third Place 3/15 7 3 2 2 20 13
Thailand 1978 Round 2 7/14 5 2 0 3 4 10
India 1982 Round 1 14/16 3 0 0 3 1 4
South Korea 1986 Round 1 15/18 3 0 1 2 2 5
People's Republic of China 1990 Did Not Enter - - - - - - -
Japan 1994 Round 1 11/18 4 1 1 2 6 11
Thailand 1998 Did Not Enter - - - - - - -
South Korea 2002 Round 1 11/16 3 1 0 2 3 6
Qatar 2006 Round 1 23/24 3 0 0 3 2 10
Total 11/15 2 Third Place 42 10 4 28 64 85
Under-23 tournament since 2002.

Tiger Cup/AFF Football Championship record

Tiger Cup/AFF Football Championship record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
Singapore 1996 Runners-up 2/10 6 3 2 1 18 4
Vietnam 1998 Round 1 6/8 3 0 1 2 0 3
Thailand 2000 Third Place 3/9 6 4 1 1 12 4
IndonesiaSingapore 2002 Fourth Place 4/9 5 2 1 2 9 5
VietnamMalaysia 2004 Third Place 3/10 7 5 0 2 14 9
SingaporeThailand 2007 Semi-finalist 3/8 5 1 3 1 6 3
IndonesiaThailand 2008 Group Stage 5/8 3 1 0 2 5 6
Total 7/7 1 Runners-up 35 16 8 11 64 34
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
**Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Merdeka Cup record

Year Round
Malaysia 1957 Group Stage
Malaysia 1958 Champions
Malaysia 1959 Champions
Malaysia 1960 Trophy Shared
Malaysia 1961 Runners-up
Malaysia 1962 Third Place
Malaysia 1963 Group Stage
Malaysia 1964 Group Stage
Malaysia 1965 Group Stage
Malaysia 1966 Group Stage
Malaysia 1967 Semi-Finalist
Malaysia 1968 Champions
Malaysia 1969 Runners-up
Malaysia 1970 Group Stage
Malaysia 1971 Group Stage
Malaysia 1972 Runners-up
Malaysia 1973 Champions
Malaysia 1974 Champions
Malaysia 1975 Runners-up
Malaysia 1976 Champions
Malaysia 1977 Third Place
Malaysia 1978 Third Place
Malaysia 1979 Runners-up
Malaysia 1980 Runners-up
Malaysia 1981 Group Stage
Malaysia 1982 Group Stage
Malaysia 1983 Group Stage
Malaysia 1984 Semi Finalist
Malaysia 1985 Semi Finalist
Malaysia 1986 Champions
Malaysia 1987 Semi-Finalist
Malaysia 1988 Group Stage
Malaysia 1989 Not Held
Malaysia 1990 Not Held
Malaysia 1991 Group Stage
Malaysia 1992 Not Held
Malaysia 1993 Champions
Malaysia 1994 Not Held
Malaysia 1995 Semi Finalist
Malaysia 1996 Not Held
Malaysia 1997 Not Held
Malaysia 1998 Not Held
Malaysia 1999 Not Held
Malaysia 2000 Runners-up
Malaysia 2001 Group Stage
Malaysia 2002 Not Held
Malaysia 2003 Not Held
Malaysia 2004 Not Held
Malaysia 2005 Not Held
Malaysia 2006 Group Stage
Malaysia 2007 Champions
Malaysia 2008 Runners-up
Malaysia 2009 Not Held

Matches

2009-2010 Record

Competition GP W D L GF GA
FIFA international match 11 2 3 6 9 17
Non FIFA 'A' international match 9 4 1 4 13 9
Total 20 6 4 10 22 26

Schedule and recent results

Date Opponent Result Venue Tournament Malaysia Scorers
January 6,2010  United Arab Emirates 0-1 (L) Sharjah Stadium, UAE 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification
February 27,2010  Yemen 1-0 (W) National Stadium, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur Friendly Match Baddrol Goal 55'
March 3,2010 Singapore Albirex Niigata FC 0-0 (D) Jurong East Stadium, Singapore Friendly Match1
April 5,2010 Singapore Singapore U-23 0-1 (L) Bishan Stadium, Singapore Friendly Match1
July 25,2010 South Korea South Korea U-23 1-0 (W) National Stadium, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur Friendly Match1 Safiq Goal 50'
August 29,2010 Qatar Al-Jaish 1-2 (L) Al-Wakrah Stadium, Doha Friendly Match1 Fakri Goal 46'
September 3,2010 Oman Oman 0-3 (L) Al-Wakrah Stadium, Doha Friendly Match

1 Non FIFA 'A' international match

Current squad

The following players have been called up for friendly game against Oman on 3 September 2010.

Name Date Of Birth Club Caps (goals)2
Goalkeepers
Khairul Fahmi Che Mat February 7, 1989 (1989-02-07) (age 22) Malaysia Kelantan FA
0 (0)
Mohd Sharbinee Allawee Ramli December 7, 1986 (1986-12-07) (age 24) Malaysia Terengganu FA
1 (0)
Defenders
Mahali Jasuli April 2, 1989 (1989-04-02) (age 21) Malaysia Harimau Muda A
1 (0)
Mohd Muslim Ahmad November 25, 1989 (1989-11-25) (age 21) Malaysia Harimau Muda A
1 (0)
Mohd Fadhli Mohd Shas January 21, 1991 (1991-01-21) (age 20) Malaysia Harimau Muda A
0 (0)
Mohd Sabre Mat Abu August 8, 1987 (1987-08-08) (age 23) Malaysia Kedah FA
18 (0)
Mohd Azmi Muslim October 17, 1986 (1986-10-17) (age 24) Malaysia Kedah FA
18 (0)
Mohd Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak (Captain) August 3, 1987 (1987-08-03) (age 23) Malaysia Negeri Sembilan FA
37 (2)
Mohd Nasriq Baharom February 2, 1987 (1987-02-02) (age 24) Malaysia Selangor FA
12 (0)
Mohd Asraruddin Putra Omar March 26, 1988 (1988-03-26) (age 22) Malaysia Selangor FA
21 (0)
Midfielders
K. Gurusamy November 20, 1988 (1988-11-20) (age 22) Malaysia Harimau Muda A
9 (0)
Gary Steven Robbat September 3, 1992 (1992-09-03) (age 18) Malaysia Harimau Muda A
0 (0)
Mohd Faizal Abu Bakar September 20, 1990 (1990-09-20) (age 20) Malaysia Kedah FA
3 (0)
Mohd Khyril Muhymeen Zambri May 9, 1987 (1987-05-09) (age 23) Malaysia Kedah FA
38 (7)
S. Kunanlan August 22, 1986 (1986-08-22) (age 24) Malaysia Negeri Sembilan FA
8 (0)
Amar Rohidan April 23, 1987 (1987-04-23) (age 23) Malaysia Perlis FA
5 (0)
Ahmad Fakri Saarani July 8, 1989 (1989-07-08) (age 21) Malaysia Perlis FA
17 (2)
Mohd Safiq Rahim July 5, 1987 (1987-07-05) (age 23) Malaysia Selangor FA
29 (4)
Strikers
Izzaq Faris Ramlan April 18, 1990 (1990-04-18) (age 20) Malaysia Harimau Muda A
0 (0)
Baddrol Bakhtiar February 1, 1988 (1988-02-01) (age 23) Malaysia Kedah FA
18 (5)
Norshahrul Idlan Talaha June 8, 1986 (1986-06-08) (age 24) Malaysia Kelantan FA
29 (9)
Mohd Zaquan Adha Abdul Radzak August 3, 1987 (1987-08-03) (age 23) Malaysia Negeri Sembilan FA
32 (8)

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months.

Name Date Of Birth Club Caps (goals)2
Goalkeepers
Mohd Syamsuri Mustafa February 6, 1981 (1981-02-06) (age 30) Malaysia PBDKT T-Team FC
42 (1)
Syed Adney Syed Hussein November 29, 1986 (1986-11-29) (age 24) Malaysia Kelantan FA
25 (0)
Mohd Helmi Eliza Elias January 20, 1983 (1983-01-20) (age 28) Malaysia Kedah FA
18 (0)
Mohd Farizal Marlias June 29, 1986 (1986-06-29) (age 24) Malaysia Perlis FA
9 (0)
Defenders
S. Subramaniam August 31, 1985 (1985-08-31) (age 25) Malaysia Kelantan FA
15 (0)
Irwan Fadzli Idrus June 2, 1981 (1981-06-02) (age 29) Malaysia KL PLUS FC
55 (1)
Mohd Daudsu Jamaluddin March 18, 1985 (1985-03-18) (age 25) Malaysia Kelantan FA
20 (0)
Rosdi Talib January 11, 1976 (1976-01-11) (age 35) Malaysia PBDKT T-Team FC
82 (3)
V. Thirumurugan January 9, 1983 (1983-01-09) (age 28) Malaysia Kedah FA
24 (0)
Mohd Fauzi Nan January 20, 1980 (1980-01-20) (age 31) Malaysia Perlis FA
34 (0)
Mohd Muhaimin Omar March 17, 1989 (1989-03-17) (age 21) Malaysia Terengganu FA
0 (0)
Muhamad Khaironnisam Sahabudin Hussain May 10, 1979 (1979-05-10) (age 31) Malaysia Felda United FC
71 (2)
Midfielders
Mohd Amri Yahyah January 21, 1981 (1981-01-21) (age 30) Malaysia Selangor FA
63 (35)
Mohd Bunyamin Omar January 7, 1989 (1989-01-07) (age 22) Malaysia Selangor FA
2 (1)
Indra Putra Mahayuddin September 2, 1981 (1981-09-02) (age 29) Malaysia Kelantan FA
58 (15)
Mohammad Hardi Jaafar May 30, 1979 (1979-05-30) (age 31) Malaysia Selangor FA
29 (4)
Muhammad Juzaili Samion May 18, 1981 (1981-05-18) (age 29) Malaysia Felda United FC
29 (0)
Azi Shahril Azmi September 20, 1985 (1985-09-20) (age 25) Malaysia KL PLUS FC
17 (0)
Muhammad Shukor Adan September 24, 1979 (1979-09-24) (age 31) Malaysia Negeri Sembilan FA
64 (6)
Mohd Nor Farhan Muhammad December 19, 1984 (1984-12-19) (age 26) Malaysia Kelantan FA
19 (0)
Strikers
Mohd Ashaari Shamsuddin June 7, 1985 (1985-06-07) (age 25) Malaysia Terengganu FA
17 (4)
Mohd Nizaruddin Yusof November 10, 1979 (1979-11-10) (age 31) Malaysia KL PLUS FC
61 (20)
Hairuddin Omar September 29, 1979 (1979-09-29) (age 31) Malaysia Kelantan FA
63 (13)
S. Chanthuru December 14, 1990 (1990-12-14) (age 20) Malaysia Kelantan FA
1 (0)
Abdul Manaf Mamat April 8, 1987 (1987-04-08) (age 23) Malaysia Terengganu FA
11 (2)
Farderin Kadir January 30, 1987 (1987-01-30) (age 24) Malaysia Selangor FA
5 (0)

2 Caps and goals for FIFA 'A' international matches.

Coaching staff

Manager Malaysia Datuk Redzuan Sheikh Ahmad
Head Coach Malaysia K. Rajagopal
Assistant Coach Malaysia Tan Cheng Hoe
Fitness Coach/Physical Trainer Slovakia Rustov Bozik
Goalkeeping Coach Malaysia Mohd Faozi Mukhlas

Previous squads

National Team Coaches

Period Coach
April 2009–present Malaysia K. Rajagopal
August 2007 - February 2009 Malaysia B. Sathianathan
November 2005 - July 2007 Malaysia Norizan Bakar
August 2004 - September 2005 Hungary Bertalan Bicskei
February - March 2004 Malaysia K. Rajagopal (tem.)
January 2001 - July 2004 England Allan Harris
October 1998 - December 2000 Malaysia Abdul Rahman Ibrahim
August 1998 Tunisia Hatem Souisi (1998 Tiger Cup)
January 1996 - October 1997 Malaysia Wan Jamak Wan Hassan
July 1995 Tunisia Hatem Souisi (Merdeka Tournament)
February 1994 - December 1995 France Claude LeRoy
January 1992 - August 1993 Australia Ken Worden
January - December 1991 Malaysia Rahim Abdullah
September 1990 Malaysia Ahmad Shafie
1989 England Trevor Hartley
1988 Malaysia M. Chandran
1988 England Richard Bate
1987 Malaysia Abdul Rahman Ibrahim (SEA Games)
1986–1987 Slovakia Jozef Venglos
1985–1986 Malaysia Mohamad Bakar
1983–1985 England Frank Lord
1982–1983 Malaysia M. Chandran
1981 Malaysia M. Kuppan (Korea President's Cup)
1981 Malaysia Jalil Che Din (Merdeka Tournament)
1980 Malaysia Mohamad Che Su (Merdeka Tournament)
1979–1982 West Germany Karl-Heinz Weigang
1978 Malaysia Chow Kwai Lam
1974 Malaysia Jalil Che Din (Asian Games)
1973–1977 Malaysia M. Kuppan
1972 Malaysia Jalil Che Din
1970–1971 England Australia Dave McLaren
England Harold Hassall
Malaysia Abdul Ghani Minhat
Malaysia Peter Velappan
Malaysia C. De Silva
West Germany Otto Westphal
Singapore Choo Seng Quee
Malaysia Edwin Dutton
Malaysia Neoh Boon Hean

References and notes

See also

External links