KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 — National coach Dollah Salleh has seen enough to convince him Malaysia is in need of naturalised players as a stop-gap measure.
With a continuous slide in the Fifa world rankings to No. 168, he believes naturalisation is Malaysia’s answer before the rot worsens.
“Yes, I hope so,” was Dollah’s response when asked if Malaysia XI’s 1-1 draw against Liverpool displayed how naturalised players could help the national team.
Five M-League imports — Thiago Junior, Patrick Wleh, Vincent Bikana, Charles Chad Souza and Zah Rahan Krangar — played for the Malaysian Selection at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Friday.
Wleh put the host team ahead after 12 minutes but Jordon Ibe’s cracker cancelled the lead in the 28th minute.
The hosts had several chances to take the lead but it was the performance of the defence, including goalkeeper Khairul Azhan Khalid which stood out - in stark contrast to the national team’s horrific defending in the 6-0 defeat to Palestine in the World and Asian Cup qualifiers at the same stadium last month.
“Thiago guarded the back very well. We all saw how the local players followed the guidance of the foreigners and performed as a unit,” said Dollah.
“Our weakness is physique and the foreign players can support us in that aspect. We need to consider naturalising players, especially in defence. Everyone saw the difference.”
The absence of Johor Darul Takzim’s array of national players allowed Dollah to give the likes of Razman Roslan, Nasir Basharudin, Khairul Azhan Khalid and Christie Jayaseelan more game time.
Dollah reckoned those missing “will have to fight for their places.”
“Some youngsters we brought in played well. The senior players will have to fight for their place now. Those who played showed how much they wanted to be in the national team,” he said.
