Chapter 1 - The football scouting system (a)

I have a friend, his name is Yong Kuong Yong, and he is at the same age as me, born in 1988. He is a professional football player, playing for Kuala Lumpur FA in the Super League. You can see his name in the league’s website, jersey number 18: http://www.malaysiansuperleague.com/team_info.asp?t=SL&tid=30

He is born in Bukit Pelanduk, a village which I myself am from; it is in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan. This is a village full of passionate football players & fans, and has its own legacy and tradition.

Yong Kuong Yong celebrates after scoring for KLFA

Yong Kuong Yong was regarded as arguably the best football player this village has ever produced.

K. Rajagopal

In year 2009, at the age of 21, he signed his first professional contract for Kuala Lumpur FA. He was once called-in by K. Rajagopal (Malaysia’s current head coach of the national team), whom was then the under-23 national team head coach, for selection training in preparation for the SEA games, after fine performances for Kuala Lumpur FA.

My point is he is a very talented player.

But my second point, though, is the crucial one. Can you tell me at what age did Lionel Messi, Francesc Fabregas, Christiano Ronaldo signed their first professional contract? I’m not sure, but I’m sure it was before they had turned 21.

Okay, let’s not talk about them. I’ll talk about someone less famous. I’m a Manchester United fan. On the 5^th of April, 2009, Federico Macheda, who was 17 years old, wearing jersey number 41, on his debut for Manchester United, subbed-in late for the match in Old Trafford against Aston Villa, which United needed a win to win the title.

When the score was tied at 2-2, he scored a magnificent goal in the 93^rd-minute to help United claim a vital win, and United did win the title that year. You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1pgPFmXjC8&feature=related

These players got their first professional contracts at a very young age, probably around 18, latest.

Then, how can you explain a talented player like Yong Kuong Yong signing his first professional contract at the age of 21? 

One thing is for sure: if he was born in, not too far, Japan, he might be a well established professional footballer by now.

This short post is to give you a VERY VERY brief idea of the inefficiency of the football scouting system in Malaysia (which we will discuss to further detail in future posts), which is caused by the inefficiency of the Malaysian Football System as a whole (which we will also discuss to further detail in future posts).

PS: To my close friends, we have another example whom we are close to: our friend, Chong Kok Woon. However, Kok Woon's case is slightly different, which we will also discuss to further detail in future posts.

Introduction

Don’t let the recent resurgence of our international team fool you. Yes, in terms of the national team, we have enjoyed some success recently, but that doesn’t mean that our domestic league will improve.

Ewood Park, England.

We watched the EPL, La Liga and other European leagues. A lot of times, the stadiums were sold out, or at least with a good capacity crowd. Astro Supersport has started broadcasting the J-league of Japan, and I saw they have good crowds in every match, too.

Hell, even the Indonesian League had an average attendance of 12,533 in every match in the 2007/8 season.

Stadium Sultan Muhamd ke-IV, Kota Bahru, Kelantan.

The average attendance of the Super League (the highest professional league in Malaysia) in year 2008 was 6,914 in every match, slightly lower than J-league 2. And that was because of Kelantan, the only team that enjoys capacity crowds in Malaysia. If not for Kelantan, it might be lower than 4,000.

And if you do ask, not many Malaysians know that the Super League even exists, especially the newer generations. They may know about the national team, but not the Super League.

Why is that?

The older generations will tell you how Malaysian football was back in the days, not just the national teams, but also the state teams.

In future posts, I will first clarify various football governing systems to you, why Malaysia failed, and how should the FAM (Football Association Malaysia) improve it.

Please do not misunderstand, I am a life-long supporter of Negeri Sembilan FC, I’ve been to the stadium to watch some crappy football, and I kept going regardless of the low quality and the bad organization. I've been supportive of our domestic football.

Like most around me, I had no idea why our football was so bad, and never improves.

Until I’ve come to study in Melbourne, until I’ve experienced the football here, that I realized the differences. And that motivated me to do a lot of research on this issue, and some comparisons of various systems.

And now, I would like to share it with you. I’ll do it step-by-step, and slowly. It is actually a simple theory, but complicated to explain.

Hopefully, after understanding the whole issue, the football fans of Malaysia will know what is to be done, and will start to demand it from FAM.

Again, not many people have good ideas, apart from the usual “attitude, experience, professionalism”, about improving the situation. So, the purpose of this blog is to make known to all Malaysian football fans where the problem is, what to demand, and how it should be solved.

Please spread this to as many Malaysian football fans as you can, and help me to improve Malaysian Football. Thanks.

PS: Please note that I’m not an expert in this agenda, they are all mainly personal opinions after some research.