Harimau Malaya Bersiap Sedia Untuk Pra-Olimpik 1980

Sebagai persediaan untuk Kelayakan Sukan Olimpik Moscow 1980, pasukan Malaysia memulakan tahun tersebut dengan beberapa perlawanan persahabatan antarabangsa. Pasukan-pasukan yang dijemput termasuk Zurich Grasshoppers, Red Star Belgrade, Arab Saudi dan China. Pada akhir tahun 1979, Malaysia telah bertemu dengan New York Cosmos dan Sweden. 

FAM bercadang untuk menjemput lebih banyak pasukan tetapi pada masa itu, Piala Malaysia sudah bermula dan pemain-pemain terpaksa membahagikan masa antara pasukan negara dan negeri. 

Sebelum menentang pasukan terkemuka dari Switzerland, Zurich Grasshoppers, ketua jurulatih Karl Weigang mengadakan latihan pusat untuk skuad pra-Olimpik negara pada bulan Disember. Mereka kemudian berkumpul semula pada Januari 14, dua hari sebelum perlawanan, untuk persiapan akhir. 

Zurich Grasshoppers muncul sebagai pemenang perlawanan setelah menghasilkan dua gol manakala Malaysia tidak dapat menjaringkan sebarang gol. Pasukan Switzerland tersebut mula menyerang bertubi-tubi pada separuh masa pertama dan hanya memerlukan 10 minit untuk menjaringkan gol pertama. 

Walaupun Malaysia menggantikan enam pemain dan dapat menguasai bola pada babak kedua, ia tidak cukup untuk mengalahkan Zurich Grasshoppers yang menjaringkan gol kedua mereka pada minit ke-77. 

Pada 7 Februari, Malaysia bertemu dengan Red Star Belgrade. Pasukan Eropah tiba penuh dengan keyakinan. Presiden pasukan mereka menyatakan bahawa mereka “menjanjikan banyak aksi di gawang dan banyak gol.” Dengan kemenangan 9-0, mereka menunaikan janji tersebut. 

Kawalan Malaysia di tengah padang agak lemah tanpa kehadiran Shukor Salleh yang berada di Bangkok bermain dengan pasukan NEB (National Electricity Board). Santokh Singh kembali ke Harimau Malaya untuk perlawanan ini tetapi memberi persembahan yang hambar apabila diletakkan di posisi tengah padang.

Sementara itu, James Wong tidak bermain akibat kecederaan. Walaupun rakan penyerang Sabah beliau, Hassan Sani menunjukkan prestasi yang baik, kombinasi cemerlang mereka diperlukan untuk menjuang kemenangan. Begitu juga dapat dikatakan untuk kapten Soh Chin Ann, yang turut menyerlah walaupun Santokh diletakkan di bahagian tengah padang.

Selepas kekalahan besar ini, adakah Malaysia bersedia untuk berentap di Kelayakan Sukan Olimpik 1980? Pasukan kebangsaan mempunyai dua lagi perlawanan persahabatan yang dijadualkan pada 12 & 16 Mac menentang Arab Saudi dan China. Nantikan untuk mengetahui sama ada mereka berjaya pada perlawanan tersebut. 

Pasukan penuh Malaysia: R. Arumugam, Jamal Nasir, Soh Chin Ann, Wan Jamak Hassan, D. Davendran, Shukor Salleh, S. Pushpanathan, Hassan Sani, Ramli Junit, Bakri Ibni, Abdullah Ali, Hamid Ramli, Ong Yu Tiang, Santokh Singh, Mohd Som Abidin, Kamaruddin Mohd Noor, Kamal Khalid, Khalid Ali, Wong Hung Nung, Fadzil Ismail, Tukamin Bahari, Isa Bakar, K. Kanagarajah, Safie Abd Hamid

(Kredit foto asal: AllSports)

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Harimau Malaya Gets Ready for the 1980 Pre-Olympics

In preparation for the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games Asian Qualifiers, Malaysia’s pre-Olympic football team began the year with a series of international friendlies. This included matches with Zurich Grasshoppers, Red Star Belgrade, Saudi Arabia and China. Previously in 1979, Malaysia met with New York Cosmos and Sweden. 

FAM planned to send out more invitations but the Malaysia Cup was well underway in early 1980 and players had to divide their time between their respective teams. 

Before they went up against leading Swiss team, Zurich Grasshoppers, coach Karl Weigang held centralised training for the pre-Olympic squad in mid-December. They later reconvened on January 14th, two days before the match, for final preparations. 

Zurich Grasshoppers emerged as winners of the friendly match after securing two goals while Malaysia scored none. The Swiss team started attacking strongly in the first half and landed a goal 10 minutes in. 

Although Malaysia switched out six players in the second and grew more possessive of the ball in the second half, it was not enough to defeat the Grasshoppers as they scored their second goal in the 77th minute. 

Next up on February 7, Malaysia met with Red Star Belgrade. The team arrived confidently, with their president stating that “we promise plenty of goalmouth action and a lot of goals.” And with a 9–0 win, they delivered. 

Malaysia’s midfield was weakened by the absence of Shukor Salleh, who was away in Bangkok playing with the NEB (National Electricity Board) team. Santokh Singh returned from a short break for the match but positioned at midfield, he struggled to deliver his best. 

Meanwhile, James Wong was out due to injury. Even though his fellow Sabahan striking partner Hassan Sani was in fine form during the match, their magical combination was much needed to prevail the fight. Same was said for skipper Soh Chin Ann, who continued to shine despite Santokh being placed in midfield.

After a great loss, was Malaysia ready for the 1980 Olympic Games qualifiers? The national team had two more friendlies scheduled on March 12 and 16, against Saudi Arabia and China. Stay tuned to see if they managed to produce a comeback.

Malaysia’s full squad: R. Arumugam, Jamal Nasir, Soh Chin Ann, Wan Jamak Hassan, D. Davendran, Shukor Salleh, S. Pushpanathan, Hassan Sani, Ramli Junit, Bakri Ibni, Abdullah Ali, Hamid Ramli, Ong Yu Tiang, Santokh Singh, Mohd Som Abidin, Kamaruddin Mohd Noor, Kamal Khalid, Khalid Ali, Wong Hung Nung, Fadzil Ismail, Tukamin Bahari, Isa Bakar, K. Kanagarajah, Safie Abd Hamid

(Original photo credit: AllSports)