Lord Dikelilingi Legenda Bola Sepak Malaysia

Setelah membimbing Pahang menjulang Piala Malaysia pada tahun 1983, Frank Lord diberi kepercayaan sebagai jurulatih skuad kebangsaan.  

Antara tugasan penting jurulatih yang berasal dari England ini termasuk persiapan pasukan menghadapi Kelayakan Sukan Olimpik 1984 di Los Angeles, Amerika Syarikat. Pasukan kebangsaan berjaya melepasi pusingan pertama namun perjalanan pasukan bimbingan Lord tersekat di pusingan kedua saingan kelayakan pada April 1984. 

Walau bagaimanapun, sebelum saingan kelayakan tersebut, anak-anak didikan Lord berjaya merampas Piala Ovaltine 1983, pertandingan tahunan bersama Singapura pada ketika itu, setelah berputih mata pada kedua-dua tahun sebelumnya. 

Pasukan bola sepak negara sering kali mendapat liputan meluas media tanah air. Komik humor ‘Gila-Gila’ turut “demam” apabila menyiarkan tentang Pestabola Merdeka 1984 di muka depan keluaran No: 143 (15 Ogos 1984).

Seperti dalam foto, lakaran kartunis yang tidak asing lagi Jaafar Taib menggambarkan Frank Lord bersama bintang-bintang bola sepak negara yang bakal menghadapi kejohanan piala jemputan tertua di Asia yang berlangsung pada 21 Ogos hingga 9 September 1984.

Adakah anda kenal legenda-legenda yang bersama Lord?

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Lord Surrounded by Malaysian Legends

After guiding Pahang to lift the Malaysia Cup in 1983, Frank Lord was entrusted with the responsibility of coaching the national squad.

Among the important tasks of the coach from England was to prepare the team for the 1984 Olympic Games Qualification in Los Angeles, United States. The national team managed to advance past the first round but their journey was stuck in the second. However, before the Olympic Qualifiers, the team under Lord were champions of the 1983 Ovaltine Cup, an annual competition against Singapore at the time, after losing the previous two editions.

The national football team often received extensive coverage in the country’s media. Humour magazine ‘Gila-Gila’ also had the “fever” when its front page featured the 1984 Merdeka Tournament in issue number #143 (15 August 1984). As shown in the image, the sketch drawn by well-known cartoonist Jaafar Taib depicts Coach Frank Lord with the national football stars who were about to compete in the oldest invitational cup tournament in Asia, which took place from 21 August to 9 September 1984.

Do you know who are the football legends featured alongside Lord?