KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 — Football legend Datuk Soh Chin Aun feels the national team should not play matches against low-calibre international opposition as there is nothing to gain.
Speaking on the sidelines of the “Soul of Sport” event at Soul’ed OUT Sri Hartamas on Saturday, the former national captain said the internationals are in dire need of improvement, and should not be used as fodder for lower-graded opposition.
“Playing lower ranked teams does not benefit us.
“You can’t learn much from them and when you lose it makes things worse,” said the former great whose interpretation of the libero role made him a Malaysian ori-ginal in the 1970s and 1980s.
Malaysia started their three-game Oceania tour against Papua New Guinea last Friday, and lost 2-0 courtesy of Tommy Semmy’s first half brace.
The visitors went a man down after 66 minutes when centreback Shahrom Kalam suffered an injury and had to leave, a departure that came after coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee had already made all six substitutions permitted in an ‘A’ international friendly.
Kim Swee had used new players and tested several in different positions.
The plan backfired and the 193-ranked Papua beat Malaysia for the first time. “Football is unpredictable,” opined Chin Aun. “Sometimes you’re on-form, sometimes you are off-form ”To pinpoint a reason for them playing bad is not easy.”
He elaborated: “You can’t really depend on the coach. A player must know his strengths and weaknesses. The next step is to capitalise on these good points and take stock of your shortcomings.
“The hardest step is how to use these points on a team basis and make it work for everyone.”
The tour continues with Malaysia playing New Caledonia, ranked 194 in the world, on June 22, and ends with a match against Fiji, ranked 186, four days later.
