Press boxes that exists in all stadiums across the world isn’t exactly the professional place, like many would imagine it to be. Yes, it’s filled with plenty of journalists and reporters trying to get messages across to the people out there, but at the same time, there’s plenty of bickering, with arguments flying around everywhere. I vividly remember being in the Perak stadium press box back in 2012, watching the game between Selangor and Perak and one of the journos found an apt way to describe the enigma of the Red Giants: “Consistently inconsistent.”
It made perfect sense. Selangor has always been and still is the most successful side in Malaysian football history, a bit like the Real Madrid of Malaysia, except for the fact that they’ve been far too erratic in recent times. But when 2014 arrived, there was new-found optimism, primarily due to the arrival of Mehmet Durakovic as their new head coach. The conservative approach that was propagated under Irfan Bakti’s reign was far too stale for the fans, so Durakovic’s arrival was touted to be revolutionary. Even more so, when Selangor FA proceeded to snap up names like Paulo Rangel, Farizal Marlias and Andik Vermansyah. The conundrum was on the verge of being broken, and a metal chain seemed to be uniting the fans and players alike. Dandy.
But what happened yesterday [Wednesday], approximately 10 months into the supposed new beginning for Selangor, certainly does not reflect any of those optimism. Fans gathered at the SUK training pitch in Shah Alam and confronted the players for what transpired in the first leg of their Malaysia Cup quarter finals tie against Felda United. And to be honest, I could almost concur with their frustration as well.
For a side that finished second in the Super League table, losing heavily against a lower division side on home turf is absolutely baffling to say the least. I get the point of Felda actually have a pretty decent squad that could perhaps trump some Super League sides, but we’re still talking about a decent gap in quality here. Paulo Rangel, who has arguably been one of the best players in Malaysian football this year, was a shade of himself in that match against Felda. And the same applied with EVERY other player as well. Losing to a Premier League side on home turf would be fine. But getting hammered 4-0, while you virtually struggle to muster any response during the game, is nothing but shambolic.
Every single time Felda scored a goal, none of the Selangor players depicted positive body language. Considering the fact the fact that any battle is usually half-won within the mind itself, Selangor’s utter downfall in those 90 minutes seemed inevitable by plainly observing their body language. Fans kept cheering them on, hoping for an antiphon but all they got was a nonchalant portrayal of disbelief.
So when fans rallied around the players to question their performance and the potential theory of match-fixers being involved in it, I could certainly understand their sentiments. I’m not deriving any accusations here, and Selangor skipper Bunyamin Omar has since rejected those claims and accepted responsibility for what was a sheer poor performance from the team. Apologies are appreciated, but it won’t be enough as Friday edges ever closer.
This time around, they head to Temerloh. A treacherous mountain with steep terrain awaits them over there, but these guys have got no option but to climb. It won’t be easy; they will be required to overturn a 4-goal deficit, which will probably be impossible to a certain extent. There will be blind optimism within certain sects of the Selangor followers, but a huge chunk of them will be looking for something else. All they want is a response, and a strong one as well. Mehmet Durakovic and his men will have to keep this in mind when they step onto the battlefield on Friday.
Because ladies and gentlemen, it’s do or die for Selangor.
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