KUALA LUMPUR: The national football team should justify their use of 14 naturalised players (including heritage and foreign-born) by at least reaching the second round of the ongoing AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.
That is the view of Malaysian sports experts when asked to comment on the national squad's heavy use of naturalised players.
Malaysia have the highest number of naturalised players among all squads competing at the Asian Cup.
Effendi Jagan Abdullah, a licensed Fifa match and player agent, said the use of naturalised players has become the norm for countries looking for a "quick fix".
"I think we should at least be reaching the second round," said Effendi when contacted today.
"It would be different if we have only two or three naturalised players in the squad, but we have 14 which is more than enough to fill in the first 11.
"My view is that the use of naturalised players has become a trend now. Everybody is looking for a quick fix.
"If it works out then it is good for these countries, but if it doesn't it will demoralise the local players who are not getting a chance to play for their national team."
Effendi added that only a small number of Asian countries are actually bringing in naturalised players of top quality.
He stressed that age is also a factor.
"At the moment, only teams such as Qatar and United Arab Emirates (UAE) are actually going for quality naturalised players," he said.
"As for our own (naturalised) players, some of them are better than our own local players but for the most part I don't see anybody who is truly outstanding yet. Romel Morales, who I represent, has yet to earn his first cap.
"We should be looking more closely at their backgrounds and see the quality of the leagues they have been playing in previously.
"Age is also important, if we use players who are in their early to mid 30s, they won't last very long.
"Singapore went on this path a few years ago (utilising aging naturalised players) and where are they now?"
Effendi said that a study should be done to understand the long-term impact of using naturalised players in the national team.
"We have to take into account the overall picture and conduct a study on this," said Effendi.
"The national team reflects the level of quality our national league has and its ability to produce players.
"I personally would like to see a fair amount of local players being given their chance in the national team.
"I think seven local players and four naturalised players in the first eleven would be a fair ratio."
Sports analyst Datuk Dr Pekan Ramli echoed Effendi's sentiments, adding that he views the Asian Cup as a possible turning point for Malaysia in regards to the use of naturalised players.
"Ultimately they are naturalised players, regardless of whether they have 'heritage' status or not," said Pekan.
"It has become a practice (among nations). For the short term it is a way for us to increase our rankings with the limited talent we have at the moment but for the long term I don't think it is good for Malaysian football.
"I believe the Asian Cup could become a turning point for us.
"If we do well at the Asian Cup and reach the second round or further, it will become a new benchmark for us and we will likely continue to use naturalised players for the next edition of the Asian Cup as well as the World Cup qualifiers.
"But if we don't do well, then it could be time to rethink our approach.
"The use of naturalised players has already been questioned internally in other countries and the same could happen here."
Malaysia, drawn in Group E, will play Jordan in their Asian Cup opener on Monday followed by Bahrain (Jan 20) and South Korea (Jan 25).
National team naturalised players (including heritage and foreign-born): Corbin Ong (Barbados), Dion Cools (Belgium), Brendan Gan (Australia), Stuart Wilkin (England), Dominic Tan (Singapore), Matthew Davies (Australia), Natxo Insa (Spain), Daniel Ting (England), Junior Eldstal (Sweden), Darren Lok (England), Mohamadou Sumareh (Gambia), Edrick Dos Santos (Brazil), Romel Morales (Spain), Paulo Josue (Brazil).