'Harimau's overreliance on heritage players exposes structural flaws'

New Straits Times

18-07-2025

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's withdrawal from the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Nations Cup has exposed two deep-rooted problems within the national team setup — poor internal structure and overdependence on heritage or naturalised players.
This was stated by football legend Datuk Jamal Nasir following Malaysia's eyebrow-raising pullout from the Nations Cup.
Jamal expressed his concern over the way Harimau Malaya is being managed. He described the current structure as uncoordinated and overly reliant on individuals instead of a unified system.
There has been backlash from fans after head coach Peter Cklamovski — , instead of the national team CEO, Rob Friend or deputy CEO Stanley Bernard — announced Malaysia's withdrawal.
"Harimau Malaya are 'so-called' privatised and managed by certain individuals. So if the structure is haywire, it's not about FAM, but within Harimau Malaya itself," he said.
"Why doesn't the CEO speak? Why always the head coach? Perhaps something is going on in management that we don't understand."
Jamal said a proper national team setup should not be thrown into disarray just because a few key players (Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Facundo Garces and Gabriel Palmero) were unavailable.
"Why must we focus on just three or unavailable four players? Whether the tournament is inside or outside the FIFA calendar shouldn't be the issue. Unless we don't have a team at all, this shouldn't be a problem," he said.
Jamal feels that Malaysia's dependency on naturalised players is making the team fragile and unsustainable in the long run.
"We can't just rely on naturalised or heritage players all the time, they have their commitments too," he said.
"We need to believe in the other players. When certain players can't come, we collapse. It shows a lack of trust in the rest of the squad."
He viewed the Nations Cup as an ideal platform to build the Malaysia squad, especially against quality opponents like Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, and prepare for the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
"We need to be brave. Don't be scared to lose. This is the time to see our strengths and test ourselves competitively."
Jamal questioned the decision-making on the withdrawal and the handling of the affair. "When the invitation came, you need to sit down and plan properly, whether you can play or not, whether your players can be released or not," he said.
"Only when that's confirmed, then send the letter of confirmation to CAFA. Don't confirm first, then only ask questions later. That's unorganised. It opens the door for criticism that always goes unanswered."