Saturday will feature the latest installment in the football soap opera between Indonesia and Malaysia at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.
It might not be the oldest rivalry in Southeast Asia, that honor belongs to Singapore and Malaysia, and dates back to the 1920s when they started going toe to toe in the Malaysia Cup.
The romantics may have fancied a LionsX11 v Selangor final. Back when Singapore competed annually in the Malaysia Cup a meeting between these two old foes was always one of the more anticipated fixtures. They clashed in the first final back in 1921 and have won the title 56 times between them, being runners up a further 34 times.
PETALING JAYA: Negri Sembilan are hitting top gear and coach Mohd Azraai Khor Abdullah is grinning
from ear to ear. The defending champions started off with a lacklustre 1-1 draw with Felda United
in their opening Group C match but proved their title aspirations by whipping Sime Darby 4-0 in
their second match on Saturday.
Today's post is not the usual blog but is the entry for "Are You One of Crazies" competition
organised by Carlsberg, Nuffnang and Churp Churp. Here goes.
Starstrucked
I would readily admit that I'm one who's crazy about football, if not the craziest. I guess
there's no better place to start than how it began.
Today's post is not the usual blog but is the entry for "Are You One of Crazies" competition
organised by Carlsberg, Nuffnang and Churp Churp. Here goes.
Starstrucked
I would readily admit that I'm one who's crazy about football, if not the craziest. I guess
there's no better place to start than how it began.
Malaysia Cup
Johor v Kedah 0-2Sabah v Perak 0-0Sime Darby v Terengganu 0-3PKNS v Negeri Sembilan 1-2Sarawak v
Kelantan 0-2Johor FC v Felda United 0-2T Team v Selangor 1-0PDRM v KL 0-3
Just one home winner in the opening round of the Malaysia Cup and even that saw one of the
favourites, Selangor, go down 1-0 to a goal by Alias!
You could throw a rock from JB to Singapore. If you had a strong arm. And were standing in the
middle of the causeway. And a large pigeon suddenly swooped down from the Malaysian side, plucked
the stone from your hands and carried it over to Singapore before dropping it on the miserable
buggers who stamp passports for a living.
Sabah are due to host Queens Park Rangers this week in a friendly designed to promote the London
team's sponsors' flights to East Malaysia.
It has not been a particularly enjoyable season for the team nicknamed Hawks or Rhinos as they
finished 13th in the 14 team Malaysia Super League and must go into play off to avoid the drop.
Reports today suggesting Deltras Croatian defender Mijo Dadic is set to sign for Malaysia Super
League champions Kelantan.
If true then Dadic, pictured playing for previous club Persiba Balikpapan, will be teaming up with
fellow Croatian Bojan Hadak who coached him during his first spell in Malaysia with MyTeam.
Reports today suggesting Deltras Croatian defender Mijo Dadic is set to sign for Malaysia Super
League champions Kelantan.
If true then Dadic, pictured playing for previous club Persiba Balikpapan, will be teaming up with
fellow Croatian Bojan Hadak who coached him during his first spell in Malaysia with MyTeam.
Ahead of the Malaysia Cup Sabah have appointed David McCreery as their new coach. The former
Manchester United and Newcastle United legend was most recently coaching in Myanmar with Magway
FC.
I interviewed David back in March. Catch that chat in the Jakarta Globe.
(P.S: If you access this site via "come.to/matchpix", please click the "Facebook" icon after you
click "HERE" when you want to view the album as that will redirect you to the album, thank
you)
Causeway Challenge 2012 - Singapore 2-2 Malaysia 8/6/12
The Lions were saved from the skin of defeat with a Qiu Li's stunner in the dying minutes of the
match with plenty of questions to be answered by Coach Raddy over his selection policy.
Steve Darby has slammed Terengganu's sacking of coach Mat Zan Mat Aris saying he 'was amazed'. The
team from the north east of Malaysia sit third in the Super League but were recently dumped out of
the FA Cup by Premier League side Sime Darby.
'The results at Terranganu have been excellent, ' says Steve talking to Jakarta Casual, ' last year
they won the FA Cup, runners up in league and Malaysia Cup and this year reached semi final of FA
Cup and in the top 3 of the M league!
Terengganu coach Mat Zan Mat Aris, one name, has quit. The team are third in the Malaysia Super
League, 10 points behind leaders LionsXII but with three games in hand. However that doesn't seem
to be enough for the team from the North East who were surprisingly knocked out of the FA Cup semi
finals by Premier League side Sime Darby (no relation to Steve) and have only won one in their last
five Super League games.
I understand Gombak United coach Darren Stewart is being linked with a move to Johor ahead of next
season's Malaysia Premier League.
Aussie Stewart is in his third season with The Bulls and many felt the team would have won some
silverware in 2010 had the fates not conspired against them so cruelly.
"It is hoped that given time more fans who have attended LionsXII matches at Jalan
Besar will continue to go to the S-League stadiums." said S.League CEO Lim Chin in this
morning's TODAY article "Sizzling action, fizzling figures" (screen grab below).
courtesy of Mediacorp TODAYI really hope that I share the same optimism like what Mr Lim has
envisaged, but unfortunately, I couldn't do so.
"If the LionsXII win the league, the Malaysia Cup and the FA Cup, we will have a problem. We all
want a competitive league but we have to be fair to the Malaysian teams." (Original)
So says a member of the Football Association of Malaysia.It's a bit like having a party, inviting
someone at the last minute then getting upset when they seduce the girl of your dreams.
Next year sees a Singapore team competing in the Malaysia Super League, a throwback to the times
when they competed in the prestigious Malaysia Cup fondly remembered by fans of that
generation.
The Singapore Lions is a team being specially built to compete north of the causeway, the season
starts in January, and is being slowly, almost painfully, put together piece by piece.
Despite a poor start to the season, a defeat and a draw, LionsX11 are still attracting plenty of
interest among those who recall the 'good old days' of Malaysia Cup. Over 7,000 filled a newly
expanded Jalan Besar Stadium for the opening game with Kelantan while this report suggests ticket
sales are going well ahead of the next game against KL.
Tickets for the daftly named LionsXII, sorry but it is a daft name, opening game in the Malaysia
Super League against Kelantan go on sale this Friday. Again the Singapore FA have this nonsense
idea that tickets will only go on sale to Singaporeans and Permanent Residents which means if I
wanted to go I couldn't.
Not a headline you're ever gonna read in England.
There was widespread disappointment in Malaysia when it was announced ticket prices for today's
Malaysia Cup Final between Negeri Sembilan and Terengganu were set at 50 RM, compared to 30 RM for
last year's showpiece.
Fans protested on line and off and there were threats the game would be boycotted.
Criminally I have not been keeping up with the Malaysia Cup over recent days. We're at the semi
final stage now with the second legs being played tomorrow. As things stand:
Selangor v Terengganu 0-2T Team v Negeri Sembilan 2-4
Is an all Terengganu final on the cards? NS's home advantage following their 4-2 win over the ever
so daftly named (takes a deep breath) Terengganu PBDKT T Team makes it unlikely but this is
Malaysian football after all so we'll see.
LionsX11 managed to turn around a 2-1 deficit in their opening Malaysia Cup tie away to Pahang to win 2-0 on the night at the Jalan Besar Stadium. last night.
After their tepid 0-0 at home to Johor FC which had boos echoing round the stadium, the fans got behind the team last night in the right way as goals in each half from former Persib and Home United striker Shahril Ishak booked their passage in their debut season.
LionsX11 have made it out of what looked a less than taxing group stage of the Malaysia Cup but their fans have been less than happy at their less than cavalier approach.
Going into the final group stage game LionsX11 hosted Johor FC while Johor FA played PKNS across the border. LionsX11 and Johor FC were assured of qualification if they avoided defeat.
The Malaysia Cup kicks off tonight and LionsX11 are enjoying some positive coverage in the local
papers. But it nearly refers to the heady days of 1994.
One reason Singapore football struggles to attract interest these days is because many folk are
still wrapped in the bubble of '94 and that includes teenagers who were not born yet.
LionsX11 are back in the Malaysia Cup and in their opening group they sure won't be able to
complain too much about the travelling with two teams from Johor across the causeway and a team
from Selangor up by KL to get past.
22/08 Johor FC v LionsX11
25/08 LionsX11 v PKNS
28/08 Johor v LionsX11
01/09 LionsX11 v Johor
04/09 PKNS v LionsX11
14/09 LionsX11 v Johor FC
Ticket prices are more expensive than the recently finished Malaysia Super League.
OK the Malaysian season has finished. The Malaysia Cup will be drawn at the end of July and will
start after Ramadhan.
Kelantan won the Super League and the FA Cup. They are still going strong in the AFC Cup, facing
Arbil home and away in September.
The Malaysians have decided it has been a few years since they last changed the format of their
league so in 2013 the top flight will have 12 teams instead of the present 14 so we have a mad rush
to escape the drop.
(This entry is formulated based on the transcript of the media release issued by X-League, one of
the partners of this blog.)
(P.S: The images depicted in this blog entry are provided by X-League.)
Not just futsal, the new facilities include eateries and a supermarket within reachThe Woodlands
region, located at the north of Singapore, will see a new futsal league kicks off in the month of
March.
The Malaysian football league may not have many teams. Just 14 in the top flight Super League and
12 in the Super League. But when you add the FA Cup and the Malaysia Cup what you have is a
domestic season that begins in January and finishes at the end of October. Then the best players
get to prepare for the SEA Games or the AFF Cup depending which year we are in.
KUALA LUMPUR: National skipper Safiq Rahim will get his long overdue chance to impress at
Malaysian-owned English Second Division side Cardiff City.
The 24-year-old Selangor midfielder leaves for Cardiff today with high hopes of achieving a
first for Malaysian football and take his football career to new heights.
After Arsenal, Liverpool and that other club, forget their name, toured Malaysia earlier this year,
chances are the visit of Bangladesh won't excite too many people beyond the migrant workers that
build the country.
On Sunday though the Bangladesh national team will play a friendly against Malaysia Cup winners
Negeri Sembilan.
Malaysia Cup Final
Terengganu v Negeri Sembilan 1-2 (Ashaari Samsuddin; S Kunalan, Hairuddin Omar)
The Negeri's second win in three years, they also reached last year's final but were beaten by
Kelantan. Malaysian football done and dusted until January when we can expect to see foreign
players line up for the first time in three years.
I was watching the NDP rally that ended moments ago and thought would like to add my
less-than-a-dime thought having saw a clip of the 1994 Malaysia Cup Final win over Pahang by the
Singapore team.
The Prime Minister was quoting someone who shared with that moment as a 17 year-old by saying that
"it was not about the victory then, but more for the fact it was a time when strangers come
together and stand unison before the team.
