KUALA LUMPUR: It’s in a land of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes that the Malaysian football team produced the biggest shock of the Asian Games yesterday.
In the aftermath of the Lombok earthquake, the Malaysian team brought mighty South Korea crashing down 2-1 in their Group E match in Bandung.
Malaysia’s triumph was of such a great magnitude that it “would register 7 and above on football’s Richter scale”.
South Korea came to the Asian Games with a huge reputation, with three aces, among them Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min, from the senior team that eliminated defending champions Germany from the recent Russia World Cup.
The last time Malaysia were able to overcome South Korea in the Asian Games were 44 years ago.
And the Koreans showed their might with a 6-0 thrashing of Bahrain in their first match of the Asian Games.
Despite the fearsome reputation of the Koreans, the Malaysians were not about to quake with fear, not when they showed their ability with a fine 3-1 win over Kyrgyzstan in their opening match.
Indeed, the national Under-23 team, who built their game on a strong foundation of tactical discipline, showed no inferiority complex at all when playing the Koreans.
By the end of the first half, Malaysia had plundered two goals through the Dungun-born Safawi Rasid, and making the defending champions look second best.
Coach Ong Kim Swee attributed the victory to his players’ great fighting spirits and their disciplined game.
“Credits to everyone in the team. Our team were determined and fought hard even though we were not really able to play like what we had wanted. This showed we have great mentality.”
A week before the Asian Games football competition, the Malaysian team indicated what they are capable of with an impressive 2-0 win over a highly rated United Arab Emirates in a friendly at Shah Alam Stadium.
Seven months ago, at the Asian Under-23 Championship in China, the Harimau Malaya were already starting to show their stripes when they defied the formbook to reach the quarter-finals.
Malaysia have topped their group and booked a place in the last 16 following the win over South Korea, with one match to spare — against
Bahrain on Monday.
If the Liverpool team used to boast of an SAS attack, the Malaysian team now have their own SAS attack in Safawi Rasid, Akhyar Abdul Rashid and Syafiq Ahmad who were so devastating against Kyrgystan.
Kim Swee’s boys may just be the “golden generation” that the country has long been hoping for.
