As a Badminton-loving nation, seeing a 7-0 scoreline midway during a game won’t bother a Malaysian much as it means the game is half way through and it is still possible to claw yourself back from the deficit.
But that scoreline at halftime of a football match begs the question whether one deserves to even step onto the football field.
Tragically, that was actually the halftime score when Malaysia last set foot in Abu Dhabi and played against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a World Cup Qualifier in 2015, getting themselves annihilated 10-0.
To suggest that the match is the lowest ebb in Malaysia’s football history is a massive understatement. After several rolled heads and a regime change, the Malaysian national football team, or Harimau Malaya (Malayan Tigers) as they’re known locally, returns to the Middle Eastern country, hoping to earn their redemption.
Yet, this is not the same Harimau Malaya that was massacred by The Whites, nor is it the same side that failed to exact their revenge in an earlier repeat of the encounter in September 2019.
The current squad have been described as one of the best Malaysian sides ever assembled in recent years, notably with the inclusion of three naturalized players for the first time in its history. One of them being Brazilian born Guilherme De Paula, who anxiously awaits to make his Malaysian debut later this week.
But long before making the journey towards becoming a naturalised Malaysian, De Paula could be found playing in the lower tiers of Brazilian football.
Like most Brazilian footballers that left South America to pursue their footballing dreams, it was with FC Milsami Orhei in Moldova that De Paula was able to make his mark by scoring 15 goals in 50 games and helping them capture the Moldovan Supercupa in 2012.
He also spearheaded the team’s attack in their Europa League campaigns, managing to score a goal in the competition.
When he moved to Malaysia in 2015 to play for Selangor, the fans regarded him as the archetypal samba football jock; an unknown quantity with a burly physique that hoped to kickstart a plummeting career.
Setting aside the stereotypes, De Paula shone at his new club by scoring at every turn, even helping them clinch the Malaysia Cup at the end of that season. He was even handpicked for a special Malaysian XI side that played against Tottenham in an exhibition match that year.
As history would have it, that would not be the last time De Paula was part of a Malaysian lineup.
The exhibition match was followed by standout performances in the following years, especially with Kuala Lumpur FC, with whom he signed with in 2017, as he banged in the goals for them on a weekly basis. In one match, he scored an impressive six goals, a feat no other player has been able to accomplish since.
By the end of 2019, De Paula was second in Kuala Lumpur’s all-time goal scoring record with a whopping 66 goals, just a goal shy from equaling the club record. Notwithstanding his blistering form, no one would have seriously entertained the thought of him kitting out in the Black and Yellow of Harimau Malaya at the time.
The overriding sentiment in Malaysia, apropos of naturalising foreign players, was not to open the Pandora’s Box at the expense of local talent development and growth. But all that changed when Mohamadou Sumareh, a Gambian footballer who had been living in Malaysia since adolescence was granted citizenship, thus opening the door for his inclusion into the national side.
It marked the beginning of a new era in Malaysian football as it no longer resisted such concepts and had succumbed to the demands of modern football and broader trends emerging in the Asian game.
In the wake of Sumareh’s nationality change, and the advantage naturalisation brings as a mechanism sanctioned by FIFA, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) established its Naturalisation Committee in 2019, hoping to reap immediate benefits.
It became a watershed moment as FAM’s volte-face appeared as a case of “if everyone else is doing it, why can’t we”?
With FAM and eventually FIFA paving the way for De Paula to don the hallowed Malaysian jersey, he was immediately beset upon, particularly by the purists who for the longest time resisted the idea of Harimau Malaya’s “100% local” outlook being blemished with the inclusion of naturalised foreigners and thus joining the ranks of their bitter regional rivals who had gone down a similar path.
This was in addition to his age, as De Paula will turn 35 in his debut year for Malaysia, minimising the potential returns from his recruitment.
But for some, the decision came with merits, given how Malaysia’s striking department has been in a rut as local forwards continue to grapple for competitive game time in a domestic league dominated by foreign strikers.
It has been years since a Malaysian forward was able to have made a successful impact in the international game. Not since the time of Safee Sali has the country witnessed a classic and effective Number 9 player that was a bonafide game changer.
Perhaps Malaysia’s best hope lies with Luqman Hakim Shamsudin, a 19 year old who currently plies his trade with KV Kortrijk in Belgium, but who needs several more years to develop and accomplish himself on the global stage.
In the case of De Paula, despite his age, he has shown no sign of rustiness in front of goal thus far and remains hungry to score at every game. For good measure, he recently signed for Johor Darul Ta’zim, Malaysia’s biggest and most successful club, with the AFC Champions League being his coming out party for them later this month.
De Paula also adds physical strength to the national team, which plays a big part in determining how effective a player can be on the pitch. Other than his ability to accurately shoot from a good distance, his addition will allow Malaysia to benefit from situations involving set pieces and movements during offensive transition plays.
Syafiq Ahmad, who is currently tasked to lead Malaysia’s attack, did score the goals that mattered during the World Cup qualifiers in 2019. Yet, for analysts, he is not in the mould of a Target Man that appears to be the missing puzzle in Malaysia’s offensive line.
Within the brief period that they have been together, De Paula will be left with little choice, other than to instantaneously gel with his teammates, absorb the coach’s tactics and come out on top by the end of this international break.
The recent friendly against Bahrain witnessed the unveiling of Kosovan-born Liridon Krasniqi, one of Malaysia’s recently naturalised acquisitions, in its midfield.
Despite his stellar performances in the middle of the pitch, opinions on social media were divided. Some were even bold enough to rebuke him simply because of the manner in which he “stood out”. Naturally, it provided a glimpse into what to expect for De Paula come his debut against the UAE.
With the heavy burden of vindicating his naturalisation and refining Malaysia’s blunt attacking department strapped onto his back, that match will serve as a make or break moment for him.
Everyone in the Malaysian football fraternity can unanimously agree that naturalisation itself can never be the panacea for Malaysian football’s ills. On the flip side, what is of critical importance now is the future of youth development and unearthing of local talents, given how the COVID-19 pandemic has critically impaired the ecosystem surrounding grassroots football.
In a country where immediate results and glowing achievements on the field matter, the FAM now faces a greater conundrum, in the event that excellent youth players are difficult to discover in a pandemic stricken environment:
“To naturalize or not to naturalize, that is the question.”
To allay fears and concerns over Malaysian football’s naturalisation drive, the President of FAM, Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin alluded that the policy remains as a short term solution, in such that competing in the AFC Asian Cup in 2023 will no longer be a distant possibility.
The anticipation is for such accomplishments to generate interest from the corporate sector and ultimately, partnerships in development investments. With short term success, the foundations for the future generation of Harimau Malaya players would be better laid, and at the same time, keeping their aspirations and enthusiasm high.
In the meantime, Malaysia’s duel against the UAE this week would be De Paula’s opportune moment to shine and prove that “age ain’t nothing but a number”. If he finds a place in the sun, whatever misgivings everyone has had over FAM’s decision to naturalise him will be forgotten.
Significantly, if this “cosmopolitan” Harimau Malaya outfit, comprising of local talent, mixed heritage and naturalised players creates history by advancing to the next round of the qualifiers, the São Paulo native’s name, together with the rest of his teammates, will forever be etched in the annals of Malaysian football among its greatest.
Photo: New Straits Times Press
Listen to Episode 69 of The Asian Game podcast as we preview the resumption of FIFA World Cup qualifying and talk to Swedish-Malaysian defender Junior Eldstål
