Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has slammed the national football team, claiming that they don’t deserve famous coaches like Brazilian legend Zico or Arthur Antunes Coimbra.
This came after Malaysia’s national team devastating 10-0 defeat at the hands of United Arab Emirates (UAE), in which the public demanded for some foreign expertise instead of local coaches.
But Khairy said he wouldn’t have any problems funding for a famous coach if the national team’s performance indicate that they deserve such guidance.
When asked on whether Malaysia should follow Japan’s model in hiring famous individuals as a coach, Khairy said: “Our national team today does not deserve coaches like Zico. The day when we have a team that is worthy, only then I will invest.”
Khairy also added the fact that the national squad are not as bad as exposed during the 10-nil drubbing, but if this is the best Malaysia is going to get from its existing footballers, he dismissed the need to hire a foreign coach.
“If the car is second-hand or third-hand, the performance will be a bit better if we have an F1 driver, for an example. But in the end, that is what it is. We might as well focus on the future, develop young talents,” he told The Malay Mail.
Following the UAE loss, Dollah Salleh had resigned as the national team’s head coach, with Ong Kim Swee replacing him temporarily.
Days later, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah also announced his resignation as the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president.
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