It didn’t take long for Tunku Ismail to get the ball rolling after being appointed as the new Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president but it appears that his reign has arrived at its first stumbling block.
The Johor Crown Prince held a meeting with a large number of sports editors and journalists earlier today, where he revealed that a contractual dispute could effectively end TMJ’s hopes of hiring Mario Gomez to be the new national team head coach.
“There is a possibility Mario Gomez may not be Malaysia coach. He wants more money than what he was getting at JDT but it may not be possible,” he was quoted as saying by FourFourTwo.
“JDT was a club and the finances were different … here (at FAM) we are looking at ways to tighten up the finances. Talks are still underway. Gomez hasn’t given a yes or a no yet,” he added.
This comes as a blow – albeit a minor one – since TMJ had earmarked Gomez to be the national team boss for a considerable amount of time now. In fact, it was one of the first few things TMJ revealed at his first press conference as the new FAM president.
At the same time, this could also put Tan Cheng Hoe in an odd situation. Gomez had requested for Tan Cheng Hoe to be his assistant coach, and the Kedah boss went on to tender his resignation earlier this week, besides expressing his desire to join TMJ’s revolution at Wisma FAM.
“It is up to Tan if Gomez doesn’t become the coach. If he still wants to be involved in the national set-up, there is a place for him,” TMJ went on to add, as quoted by FourFourTwo.
Either way, it’ll be interesting to see TMJ’s shortlist for back-up options, should Mario opt to reject FAM’s offer. What are your thoughts on the matter? Let us know by commenting below!
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