FAM President "No Decision Yet on Malaysia's Next Boss"
Dato' Ab Ghani Hassan says outside coaches bring valuable expertise and can lift local coaches too, but results in World Cup and Asian Cup qualifying will drive the final call
Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Dato' Ab Ghani Hassan says expertise is the main reason the association is open to bringing in a foreign coach for Harimau Malaya, though he stressed that no appointment has been made and that a local coach remains an option.
He made the comments in a recent interview with Astro Arena reporter Zulhelmi Zainal Azam, just as the national team's coaching future is in focus.
Ab Ghani said foreign coaches arrive with experience and know-how gained overseas, and that Malaysian football benefits when they get the chance to lead the national team. He added that local coaches stand to gain as well, because the knowledge and exposure they pick up makes them better at their jobs.
“But we must admit that these foreign coaches are, in a way, transferring technology,” he said. “They bring their knowledge here, and hopefully they can also apply their experience to help the other coaches in our country.”
The FAM chief said results will weigh heavily on the decision, particularly with World Cup and Asian Cup qualifying ahead. He said that is why a collective process will decide whether the next coach is a local or an outsider.
“We want good results, especially as we are going to face World Cup and Asian Cup qualification,” Ab Ghani said. “So even with a local coach, if it can be done, we carry on. If we need a foreign coach, we will think about making that decision.
“This is not my decision alone. We will discuss what is best for Harimau Malaya. Then, when there is a particular name, it will be proposed to the FAM Executive Committee meeting for approval.
“For now there is nothing yet. We are still observing and studying who the next Harimau Malaya coach will be.”
Reports have previously linked a Japanese coach with the permanent job. Ab Ghani did not name any candidate, but he confirmed that Tan Cheng Hoe will stay on as interim coach for now.
Cheng Hoe was handed the job on 25 June after FAM terminated the contract of Australian coach Peter Cklamovski. Harimau Malaya chief executive Rob Friend also left in June as the association restructured. Cheng Hoe previously led the national team from 2017 to 2021 and guided Malaysia to the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup final.
Ab Ghani is newly elected, and he challenged Harimau Malaya to win the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup in September. They did not manage that, but the interim coach's record is a talking point.
Malaysia finished third, the only team in the tournament to stay unbeaten without conceding a goal, with three wins and a draw from four matches and 10 goals scored. A 6-0 win over Singapore in the final group game was their biggest victory over the Lions since 1978, but they missed out on the final on goals scored, level on seven points and goal difference with group winners Indonesia, who had scored 11 to Malaysia's nine.
Cheng Hoe said after the tournament that he would give everything to the national team for as long as he has the association's trust.
Credit Photo : FAM
