Can the roar of the young Malaysian tigers bring back the glory days of the 70s and 80s when Malaysia ruled the stage in Asian football?
These were among questions Malaysian football fans who watched the Malaysian side achieve a memorable win in the AFF Suzuki Cup by beating Indonesia 4-2 on aggregate in the two-leg final, would be asking themselves.
Possibilities of Malaysia making the grade in Asia can become a reality if the national team continued to perform like what they did in the AFF Suzuki Cup competition.
Defeat after defeat at regional tournaments and failure after failure at international tournaments has seen Malaysian football remain in the doldrums for a long time, raising the ire of fans.
Probably the disappointment and criticism that they had to bear all these years had spurred and helped them to become more determined players, especially the young squad, under coach K. Rajagobal.
Furthermore, looking at the preparations and performance of the players one can notice a new breed of youngsters who have shown courage, determination, discipline and team work to overcome their opponents, ingredients that were missing in the past.
Compared with previous teams, young players like striker Safee Sali, Safiq Rahim, S. Kunalan, Norshahrul Idlan Talaha and goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat performed well under extremely difficult conditions.
In defence, Muslim Ahmad, Asraruddin Putra Omar, Mohd Sabre Mat Abu and Mohamad Fadhli Mohd Shas not only showed maturity in their game but held their fort well against an Indonesian side that was playing like men possessed, in front of their roaring 90,000 fans.
Throughout the AFF Suzuki Cup competition and especially during the first leg final at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil and the second leg final at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, the players showed nerves of steel to overcome the Indonesian side that was the pre-tournament favourite.
People usually said Malaysian football was on the decline but now the dream of fans has finally come true and after watching them win the AFF Suzuki Cup, Malaysians can continue to dream of more success.
Malaysia's win was a yardstick to new players and should spur them to greater heights as this would help retain the number of fans.
Given the right exposure and tutelage, it would not be impossible for Malaysia to match Asian powerhouses like Japan and South Korea.
Coach Rajagobal must also be given ample time to mould and prepare a team that would be able to achieve success in international tournaments.
The squad must also be maintained and not disbanded after one or two defeats or the coach changed just because of one or two defeats.
Manchester United's decision and patience to give manager Sir Alex Ferguson enough time has seen him build a team that was able to achieve success after success over the years.
Similarly, Rajagobal should be given ample time to emulate a similar feat.
Malaysia Boleh!
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