| Nickname(s) | Harimau Malaya (Malayan Tigers) |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) | ||
| Sub-confederation | AFF (Southeast Asia) | ||
| Confederation | AFC (Asia) | ||
| Head coach | K. Rajagopal | ||
| Asst coach | Tan Cheng Hoe Faozi Mukhlas Martin Stano |
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| Captain | Mohd Safiq Rahim | ||
| Most caps | Soh Chin Aun (252)[1] | ||
| Top scorer | Mokhtar Dahari (125)[2] | ||
| Home stadium | National Stadium, Bukit Jalil | ||
| FIFA code | MAS | ||
| FIFA ranking | 148 | ||
| Highest FIFA ranking | 75 | ||
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 170 (April 2008) | ||
| Elo ranking | 147 | ||
| Highest Elo ranking | 15 (14 December 1978) | ||
| Lowest Elo ranking | 169 (October 2007) | ||
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| First international | |||
| Malaya 2–3 South Korea (Singapore; April 13, 1953)[1] |
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| Biggest win | |||
| Malaya 15–1 Philippines (Jakarta, Indonesia; August 27, 1962) |
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| Biggest defeat | |||
| Malaysia 2–8 New Zealand (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; November 16, 1967) Thailand 6–0 Malaysia (Bangkok, Thailand; December 1, 1968) India 6–0 Malaysia (Singapore; August 26, 1971) Morocco 6–0 Malaysia (Ingolstadt, Germany; August 31, 1972) China PR 7–1 Malaysia (Bangkok, Thailand; December 20, 1978) Malaysia 0–6 Uruguay (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; June 1, 1985) Indonesia 6–0 Malaysia (B.S. Begawan, Brunei; August 2, 1999) |
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| Asian Cup | |||
| Appearances | 3 (First in 1976) | ||
| Best result | Round 1; 1976, 1980, 2007 | ||
The Malaysian national football team (Malay: Pasukan bola sepak kebangsaan Malaysia) nicknamed Harimau Malaya, as the Malayan Tiger, is the national team of Malaysia and is controlled by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). Before 1963, the team represented the Federation of Malaya and was known as the Malaya national football team.
To date, the most significant successes of the team has come in the regional AFF Suzuki Cup (formerly known as the 'Tiger Cup'), which Malaysia won in 2010 for the first time in history. In 2010, Malaysia beat Indonesia 4–2 on aggregate in the final to capture the country's first major international football title.
Malaysia owned many top players since the creation of the Federation of Malaya such as the legendary Mokhtar Dahari, which led Malaysia into their golden age during the 1970s until the 1980s. Before Mokhtar, The Malaysian King of Football, Datuk Abdul Ghani Minhat was the most famous and respected footballer in the whole Malaya during the 1950s until the 1960s. Malaysia's 15–1 victory over the Philippines in 1962 is currently the record for the highest win for the national team and the record has never been broken ever since. In the current generation, Mohd Safee Mohd Sali is considered by Malaysians as their best striker.
In the FIFA World Rankings, Malaysia's highest standing was in the first release of the figures, in August 1993, at 75th. Malaysia's main rival on the international stage is their geographical neighbour, Indonesia and Singapore, and past matches between these two teams have produced much drama. According to history, The most successful football club in Malaysia is Selangor FA
Malaysia and a few countries such as Thailand and Vietnam is the only national team in the ASEAN stage that has not use any naturalized players as East Timor, Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore did for their national team.
To date, Malaysia is the current ASEAN football champions after winning the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup.
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Before the establishment of Malaysia on September 16, 1963, the Malaysia national football team was known as Malaya national football team. Malaya's biggest achievement in football was becoming the bronze medalist in 1962 Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia after defeating South Vietnam 4–1.
After the establishment of the Malaysian Federation in 1963, the team became known as the Malaysia national football team. Malaysia qualified for the 1972 Olympics in Munich, beating Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Philippines en route. Although they managed to defeat the United States 3–0, they lost the other 2 matches by losing 3–0 to West Germany and 6–0 to Morocco. Two years later, Malaysia won their second bronze medal at the 1974 Asian Games after defeating North Korea 2–1. The team went on to qualify twice in a row for the AFC Asian Cup, in 1976 and 1980. Malaysia qualified again for the Olympics in 1980 in Moscow, but joined the boycott of the games. The team also won the Merdeka Tournament 3 times, became runner-up 4 times and being third place 2 times during the 1970s.
In 1994 as Malaysian football was embroiled in one of the biggest bribery scandals in the country. With the dearth of mainstream interest and lack of funds, Malaysian football has failed to repeat the achievements of the 1970s and 1980s, despite the recruitment of Claude LeRoy. Harris came with strong credentials, having assisted Terry Venables at FC Barcelona and Allan Harris as coaches.
In the second half of 2004, FAM selected Bertalan Bicskei, former Hungarian goalkeeper and national coach, to succeed Allan Harris.
Bicskei led the national side to third place at the regional Tiger Cup competition, but was demoted to youth development duties by FAM for his actions during a friendly against Singapore in Penang on June 8, 2005. Bicskei, disgusted by the standard of officiating, threw a bottle onto the pitch before confronting a Singapore player. In September 2005 the contract was terminated after mutual agreement.[3]
Norizan Bakar became the next head coach of the Malaysian team. He guided the Malaysian squad to the ASEAN Cup semifinals in 2007, where Malaysia lost through penalties to Singapore. Norizan's position as the head coach was criticized by the Malaysian football community, fans and officials alike, after the team's performances during the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, where Malaysia lost to China 1–5, Uzbekistan 0–5 and Iran 0–2.
After the removal of Norizan Bakar, B. Sathianathan took over as head coach. Although he guided the squad to win the 2007 Merdeka Tournament, Malaysia once again failed to qualify for the World Cup after losing 4–1 and drawing 0–0 with Bahrain in the qualifying round.
In 2008, Sathianathan once again guided the team to the final of the 2008 Merdeka Tournament. However, Malaysia lost through penalties to Vietnam. Sathianathan also led Malaysia to the semi finals of 2008 Myanmar Grand Royal Challenge Cup. However, Malaysia then shockingly lost 4–1 to eventually winners, Myanmar.[4]
During the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup, Malaysia started their campaign with a 3–0 win over Laos, but were defeated in the second match by Vietnam with a score of 2–3 and were finally eliminated when they lost 3–0 to Thailand in the final match of the group stage. This was the first time that the Malaysian squad had not passed through the group stages in 12 years.
In the 2011 Asian Cup qualifiers, the Malaysian team lost 0–5 to the United Arab Emirates. This defeat was the final straw in the eyes of the Malaysian supporters, and in February 2009, the contracts of Sathianathan and manager Soh Chin Aun were terminated.[5] Former U-20 Malaysia and Kelantan coach, Datuk K. Rajagopal was selected as the new head coach for Malaysia. He took over on July 2009.
| 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup winners second leg of final starting line-up. |
On July 2009, Datuk K. Rajagopal was named the new coach of Malaysia replacing B. Sathianathan as head coach of Malaysia. K. Rajagopal was also the coach of the Under-23 Malaysia.[6] K. Rajagopal's first duty was against Zimbabwe which Malaysia won 4–0.[7] Rajagopal also coached Malaysia in two games against the visiting English champions, Manchester United, losing in both matches 2–3 and 0–2. During his duty as the coach of the Under-23 team, K. Rajagopal led Malaysia to their fifth SEA Games gold medal and also led Malaysia to qualify for the second round of the 2010 Asian Games as one of the best four third-placed teams after a lapse of 32 years.[8][9]
During the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup, Malaysia had 14 players at the age of under-23 while the other players were over 23. Malaysia were in group A with host Indonesia, Thailand and qualifiers winner, Laos. Malaysia began their campaign with a embarrassing loss of 5–1 against Indonesia. Malaysia bounced back from their defeat and later drew Thailand and beat Laos 5–1. As runner up of group, Malaysia qualified to the semi finals to meet Group B winners and defending champions Vietnam.[10] In the first leg of the semifinal, Malaysia won 2–0 at home soil and later drew the second leg advancing to the final with an aggregate of 2–0 .[11] Malaysia went on to the finals to meet favourites Indonesia who were unbeaten in all their matches. On the first leg of the finals, Malaysia won 3–0 at home. Malaysia scored twice through Safee Sali and once by Mohd Ashaari Shamsuddin on a night National Stadium, Bukit Jalil was filled over capacity for the first time since it was built. The match attracted so many people that after tickets were sold out, policemen manning the gates were seen allowing friends and relatives into the stadium causing people having to trespass onto the cable bridge above the electronic display besides standing on the aisles and corridors to secure a view of the game. On the second leg of the finals that was held in Jakarta, Malaysia lost 2–1 to Indonesia but the final aggregate was 4–2 to Malaysia, hence giving the title to Malaysia.
Malaysia won the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup title for the first time in their history under the management of Datuk K. Rajagopal.[12]
After the successful year on 2010, Malaysia had high hopes for qualifying and winning friendly matches in the upcoming tournaments such as the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification. The Malaysian under-23 team, had been taken over by Ong Kim Swee and his Under 21 team, Harimau Muda A. Malaysia coach, Datuk K. Rajagopal had arranged a friendly match against Hong Kong which is ranked 145th. K. Rajagopal says that Malaysia should play a match once a month.[13] On the under 23 side, Ong Kim Swee arranged two friendly matches against Thailand under-23 and Singapore under-23 in a preparation for the 2012 Olympics qualifiers. Malaysia U-23 lost narrowly 2–1 to Thailand U-23 and won 2–0 against Singapore U-23.[14][15]
On 4 February 2011, FAM announced that they would call up the Malaysian/Australian player that is currently playing for Bonnyrigg White Eagles, Brendan Gan. Even though Brendan was born and raised at Australia, He could play for Malaysia through parentage as his father is a Malaysian Chinese from Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.[16][17]
Malaysia's 2011 campaign started off brilliantly with a 2–0 win against Hong Kong. Malaysia was scored by Mohd Safiq Rahim on the 44th minute and Mohd Amirul Hadi Zainal on the 92nd minute.[18] FAM wanted to boost the morale for the national team by hosting a major tournament. On 19 February 2011, the ASEAN Football Federation announced that Malaysia and Thailand will be the preliminary host of the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup.[19]
From the 1970s to 2007, the national team kit was manufactured by Adidas who also sponsored the national team kit. Since 2007, the official Malaysia team kit has been manufactured by Nike, an association which will last until 2011. The home kit's design of black and yellow stripes is a throwback to the kit used by Malaysian national team of the 1920s. The great national team of the 1970s also sported similar stripes, which are supposed to be reminiscent of the stripes of a tiger, the symbol of Malaysia's national football team.
The new home kit also sports black shorts and yellow socks. The new away kit features a blue jersey, white shorts, and blue socks, with a representation of the Malay ‘keris’ at the bottom left corner of each shirt.
In November 2010, Nike Malaysia created a new football kit for the Malaysians specially made for the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup. The home kit's design of black and yellow stripes that is shaped by black row of lines. The away kit features plain blue front and red and white at the edge of the sleeves. Nike put the Malaysian flag as their logo instead of putting the Football Association of Malaysia logo, as was the case for the great national team of the 1970s.[20]
Wisma FAM is a Training Facility and the main headquarters for the Football Association of Malaysia located at Kelana Jaya, Malaysia. The Facility is founded by the Football Association of Malaysia with it purpose to serve as the Football Association of Malaysia main headquarters and also serves as a training ground for the National Football teams of Malaysia.
The Facility has also serves as a meeting point, A room for press statement and the facility also contain small apartment rooms for the national players. Ticket matches can also be sold here at Wisma FAM.
Malaysia home matches and some away matches (depending on the location and the broadcast station) are shown live or delayed on Astro Arena and RTM. All matches are broadcasted with full Malaysian commentary with Datuk Haji Hasbullah Awang.
According to the Football Association of Malaysia, Malaysia have around 10 sponsors. Primary sponsors include Nike, Astro Arena and 100plus. Local sponsor includes Telekom Malaysia, Air Asia, Majlis Sukan Negara, RTM, Malaysia Airlines, Sime Darby and Resorts World Genting.[21]
Ultras Malaya is the official supporting group for the national team of Malaysia. It is the largest supporter club in Malaysia dedicated to the Malaysia national team. They are known for its fanaticism and their support towards the Malaysia national team. Throughout every international match, They will always appear in every Malaysian game. They sometimes travel together in away games to places such as Singapore.
Ultras Malaya main colors are black with mainly yellow football Scarf and Yellow Banners to represent the beloved Malaysia national football team color, Black and yellow. Ultras Malaya also brings flares, drums and the Jalur Gemilang.[22]
Ultras Malaya is famous for bringing a massive Malaysian flag and a giant Malaysian home football kit in every Malaysian home match.[23][24]
Malaysia's home stadium is the Bukit Jalil National Stadium. The stadium capacity is 100,200 (non-seated) or 87,411 (seated)[25] which makes it the largest stadium in Southeast Asia, and the 9th largest football stadium in the world. Malaysia's previous national stadium was the Merdeka Stadium before the Bukit Jalil sports complex was constructed.
The stadium hosted the Opening and Closing ceremonies and the Athletics competitions of the 1998 Commonwealth Games. There were many other sports venues that were built for the Commonwealth Games, such as Bukit Kiara Sports Complex and the National Sports Complex, Malaysia.
Malaysia also uses other stadiums for their matches such as the KLFA Stadium, the MBPJ Stadium and the Shah Alam Stadium.
| Year | Round | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Did not enter | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1934 | Did not enter | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1938 | Did not enter | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1950 | Did not enter | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1954 | Did not enter | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1958 | Did not enter | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1962 | Did not enter | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1966 | Did not enter | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1970 | Did not enter | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1974 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1978 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1982 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1986 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1990 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1994 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1998 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2002 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2006 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2010 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2014 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2018 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2022 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Total | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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| AFC Asian Cup record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
| 1956 | Did Not Qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1960 | Did Not Qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1964 | Did Not Qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1968 | Did Not Qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1972 | Did Not Qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1976 | Group stage | 5/6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 1980 | Group stage | 6/10 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| 1984 | Did Not Qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1988 | Did Not Qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1992 | Did Not Qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1996 | Did Not Qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2000 | Did Not Qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2004 | Did Not Qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2007 | Group stage | 16/16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
| 2011 | Did Not Qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2015 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Total | Best results: Group stage | Appearances: 3/15 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 20 |
| Asian Games record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
| 1951 | Did Not Enter | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1954 | Did Not Enter | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1958 | Group stage | 12/14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| 1962 | Third Place | 3/8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 9 |
| 1966 | Group stage | 15/17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 1970 | Group stage | 16/16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 1974 | Third Place | 3/15 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 13 |
| 1978 | Round 2 | 7/14 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 1982 | Group stage | 14/16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 1986 | Group stage | 15/18 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 1990 | Did Not Enter | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1994 | Group stage | 11/18 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 11 |
| 1998 | Did Not Enter | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | Best results: Third Place | Appearances: 12/16 | 36 | 9 | 4 | 23 | 59 | 68 |
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FIFA 'A' international matchesBelow is a list of all FIFA 'A' international matches Malaysia have played against FIFA recognised teams.[26][27][28][29][30][31]
Recent resultsFurther information: Malaysia national football team results
For a detailed list of 2012 schedule fixtures and results refer to 2012 in Malaysian football
PlayersCurrent squadThe following 24 players were selected by coach, Datuk K. Rajagobal for the international friendly match against Saudi Arabia and Philippines on 24 February and 29 February 2012.[32] Caps and goals updated as 16 November 2011 after the match against India Current squadThe following 24 players were selected by coach, Datuk K. Rajagobal for the international friendly match against India on 13 November and 16 November 2011.[33] Caps and goals updated as 16 November 2011 after the match against India Recent call upsThe following players have been called up for the national team in the past 12 months. Previous squads
Coaching staffBelow is the registered officials for the Malaysia Senior Team.[34]
Coaches
1.^ – managed the team on a one-off basis as caretaker manager See also
References
External links
Titles
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