KUALA LUMPUR: Hiring a top foreign coach won't guarantee success for Harimau Malaya if the quality of the players does not match the expertise of the man in charge, says football analyst Dr Zulakbal Abd Karim.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Elite Instructor said the national team needed a balance between the quality of players and the calibre of their coach to be competitive.
He likened the situation to Formula One, where even the best driver would struggle to win without a competitive car.
"We see this as a situation where we genuinely want to achieve something we have never achieved before. However, to realise that ambition, the driver and the machine must be of the same standard.
"If we have a capable and skilled F1 driver but the car is only an ordinary machine, the team will still not be able to win the race. Both elements must move in tandem and have strong continuity within the team.
"If we have prepared the players as well as possible, then the coach must also be among the best. This is important to ensure the coach can steer the team and lead it to an extraordinary level of success," he said.
Zulakbal said FAM had worked hard to assemble its best combination of local, heritage and naturalised players.
However, he said the team's results had yet to meet expectations, with Malaysia still unable to win at the Asean level.
"In terms of effort, FAM has worked hard to assemble a combination of local, heritage and naturalised players that is the best in Harimau Malaya's history.
"However, the results show that we have yet to win at least at the Asean level. This indicates that we have not fully reached the standard we had hoped for.
"That is why Harimau Malaya's management wants to find a coach with an exceptional track record. However, the appointment must be matched by the quality of the players on the pitch so that the effort truly bears fruit," he said.
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