The 2011 Malaysian season kicked off back in January and for the members of the victorious Under 23 team that won the SEA Games on penalties in Jakarta last night they must wait a bit longer for their season to end.
They flew back to KL today after their 120 minute and penalty slog against Indonesia and tomorrow night they play Syria at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in KL in the Olympics Qualifiers.

Following on from Indonesia's poor start to their World Cup Qualifying campaign, two defeats against Iran and Bahrain, it was being mumbled in some corners that it might be better to drop the whole team and bring in the Under 23s as they prepare for their SEA Games campaign next month.
We've been here before.

Following football in Vietnam is so confusing. Putting aside the fact that 83.982% of the players are called Nguyen they have all these pre season competitions which are nigh on impossible to keep track of.
According to Viet Football, who is able to keep track of these things, the following have been organised including one featuring an Indonesian team!

Malaysia's Olympic Games Qualifying campaign received a further boost when it was announced three of their young players had signed a two month loan deal with Slovakian side FC Vion Zlate Moravce.
Fadhli Shas, Zack Haikul and Irfan Faizal are part of the Malaysian team that have been based in Slovakia the last few months and obviously FC Vion, who are 3rd in the Slovakian league, liked what they saw and signed the three on a short term deal.

Three South East Asian teams will be listening carefully to this Saturday's World Cup draw. Their fate will be decided along with the other 17 remaining countries on the road to Brazil.
Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore will not be drawn against each other, that's for sure. Instead they will face one from each of the following 'pots'.

If you fancy getting along to see Indonesia take on Turkmenistan in the World Cup Qualifier this Thursday then tickets go on sale tomorrow in Jakarta at the stadium.
Category 3 - 30,000 IDRCategory 2 - 50,000 IDRCategory 1 - 100,000 IDREast VIP - 150,000 IDRWest VIP - 250000 IDRVVIP - 500,000 IDR
Indonesia got a 1-1 draw in the 1st leg last Saturday so are in with a good chance of reaching the next round if they can do the business over the Turkmen.

Malaysia's quest for Olympic glory is sure gonna be a tricky one. After overcoming Lebanon and Pakistan the heat is being turned up as they join 11 other Asian nations in the draw for the next qualifying round.
Malaysia have been drawn with Syria, Bahrain and Malaysia in Group C. The winners of that group will go through to the London Olympics while the runners up will go into a play off with the winner of that going into another play off.

Costa Rica:
Costa Rica name rings a lot of sweet memories to me in football. One of my nicest memories of the game was attending 1989 Youth World Cup that was hosted in my home, Saudi Arabia. I remember attending one of the group stages games of Costa Rica vs. Columbia. And a the captain Ronald Gnzalez scored the 1-0 winning goal at the last minute from a beautiful free kick.

Costa Rica:
Costa Rica name rings a lot of sweet memories to me in football. One of my nicest memories of the game was attending 1989 Youth World Cup that was hosted in my home, Saudi Arabia. I remember attending one of the group stages games of Costa Rica vs. Columbia. And a the captain Ronald Gnzalez scored the 1-0 winning goal at the last minute from a beautiful free kick.

DOHA, Qatar — Saudi Arabia fired its second coach this month after closing out a disappointing Asian Cup campaign with a 5-0 loss to Japan. The Saudi Press Agency says Nassir al-Johar was fired and would be replaced by a "high profile" international coach. Al-Johar, who was brought in for his fifth stint with the [.

DOHA, Qatar Jordan came back from a goal down to beat Syria 2-1 Monday to qualify for the Asian Cup quarterfinals and deny Syria its first trip to the knockout stage. Striker Odai al-Saify scored the winning goal in the 59th minute, slipping past Syria defender Ali Dyab and chipping the ball over the [.

In the past, I used to dislike seeing an unusual country advance in football. In 1994 I said, I cannot stand seeing the Americans win in football. In 1998, I was shocked when I saw a new team raise the World Cup, France.
Today, I am totally the opposite, I cheer and love when I see a new country develop their football.

I could not find a better picture to represent the conditions of the Saudi football today better than this one
Saudi Arabia officially was the first team to exit Asian Cup 2011 after two defeats from Syria 1-2 and Jordan 0-1. It is not a big issue to lose a game or two, but, the way Saudi lost and the whole set-up of the team and the journey this team has taken since 1994 World Cup till today, is the real issue.

DOHA, Qatar — Ten-man Japan struggled past Syria 2-1 in a high-octane and controversial Asian Cup group match Thursday to keep alive their hopes of reaching the knockout rounds. Captain Makoto Hasebe opened the scoring for the three-time champions in the 35th minute but Syria pulled one back from a penalty controversially awarded against goalkeeper [.

An Italian walks into a bar in Tokyo and asks for a local brew, but not wishing to disappoint, the barman discreetly pours the visitor a Peroni instead.

It's a plausible scenario in a country like Japan, where citizens are eager to please and equally desperate to avoid criticism.

Perhaps that's why the Japanese press were quick to turn a blind eye to another poor performance from the Samurai Blue at the Asian Cup in Qatar, as Alberto Zaccheroni's men laboured to a 2-1 win over a spirited but technically inferior Syria.

For the second time in three days, a path was created from the left-hand flank, or close to it, and the ball intended for the head of an attacker landed in the net without touching another soul. This little cross even if Baha'a Abdulrahman would swear on his mother it was a shot was the decisive goal which sent Saudi Arabia to their ultimate Asian Cup demise.

Qatar had a great game vs. China and the 22 years old player Yousef Ahmad scored both goals, the first goal was a stunning great one. Game ended 2-0 but it could have been much more.
This summarizes the difference between the Saudi and Qatari team. The first changed the coach as they lost 1-2 vs.

The action continues apace in the Asian Cup, so not much time for reflection on the opening draw with Jordan before the Samurai Blue face Syria on Thursday. Japan of course struggled somewhat against Jordan, and despite huge amounts of possession were distinctly unthreatening for large amounts of time.

DOHA, Qatar — Saudi Arabian football chiefs sacked coach Jose Peseiro on Sunday immediately after his demoralised side slumped to a shock 2-1 defeat at the hands of unfancied Asian Cup outsiders Syria. The 2007 finalists and three-time champions announced that Nasser Al Johar will take over from the 50-year-old Portuguese for the remainder of the [.

DOHA, Qatar — Syria shocked 2007 finalists and three-time champions Saudi Arabia 2-1 at the Asian Cup on Sunday in Group B, piling yet more pressure on their underfire coach Jose Peseiro. Syria, who had to hold on for grim life in the end and survived several scares, had Abdulrazak Al Husein to thank for [.

DOHA, Qatar — Three-time Asian Cup winners Saudi Arabia desperately need a winning start in Group B on Sunday against Syria to convince the doubters they have what it takes to banish the pain of four years ago. Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro is under huge pressure back home to deliver after he clung on to [.

I continue posting some of historical goals in previous Asian Cups. I decided that I will write about the games after I see few games. Usually, Asian Cups are difficult to predict. Not all teams take it with same seriousness. In general, I think it should go to the FarEast or Australia.
Anyhow, from the memory of great goals, I start with the last goal scored in 1984 Asian Cup, by the Saudi legendary player, Majed Abdullah.