KUALA LUMPUR: The annual Golden Boot award is much coveted by footballers in the M-League. For the winners, it will enhance their reputations and boost their value as stars, leading to bigger wages.
However, of late, some winners of these glamorous awards are unhappy with the “golden boot” that sits in the cabinets of their homes.
Former Golden Boot winners Nizaruddin Yusof (2009 Super League) and Ashari Samsudin (2010 Super League), along with Haris Safwan Kamal (2009 Premier League), complained that their “boots” have literally lost their shine.
The trio claimed that the boot’s gold paint had either peeled off or faded.
As they kicked up a fuss over the poor quality of the “golden boot”, the FA of Malaysia (FAM) have made it clear the national body is no King Midas with a what-do-you-expect stand.
The footballers can’t expect the “golden boot” to be really worth its weight in gold.
The quality of the replicas for such awards varies from one country to another. It can be made of brass alloy electroplated with gold or it can be an actual boot sprayed with gold paint.
The fact is no FA in the world will want to give award winners, year after year, a whole boot made of pure gold. A golden boot probably weighs about a kilo, so it would be very expensive to do so.
The quality of the “golden boot” handed out to the individual winners in the M-League can be different every season.
Last year, the Malaysia Football League (MFL) presented cheap inferior models to the winners. However, following an outcry, it was quickly replaced with better ones.
Nizaruddin lamented that he was embarrassed to show his friends and relatives his golden boot as it was in bad condition.
FAM do not want to comment on the issue because they don’t have the records of the vendors contracted to make them.
The national body also feel that the “golden boot” and medals may degrade over the years, and their longevity depends on how and where they are kept.
Nizaruddin and his fellow winners should take pride from the fact that the golden shine may fade from their prestigious boot, but their reputation is forever.
Being the top scorer in a league is the highest distinction or recognition a footballer can get.
Players who win it not only become popular among fans, but are also guaranteed of lucrative salaries for the following season.
The trophies can degrade if not taken care of properly by the winners.
Often, professionals or amateurs leave their trophies and awards unattended, storing them in their cabinets for years without polishing or getting experts to shine them.
Even gold wedding rings need to be cleaned every year to make sure the shine stays.
So, did these players treasure or take measures to ensure the good condition of their Golden Boot awards?
Even if they did, it also depends on how they cleaned it and whether it was sent to a professional.
Players from the M-League cannot expect to get medals of the similar quality of the Ballon d’ Or or the trophies given out to individual winners of major leagues in Europe.
Basically, if your trophy collection in your cabinet is something you take great pride in, you better take great care of it.
If your trophy shows signs of fading, take it to a specialist. Don’t try to repair it yourself. You may end up causing more damage to it.
A specialist will have all of the tools and equipment to restore it as if it was brand new.
For all the winners of the Golden Boot award in the M-League, the prizes may fade but your names will shine forever in the record books.