KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian football fans have expressed their unhappiness with the performance of the national team at the Under-23 Asian Cup in Doha.
The FA of Malaysia (FAM) had announced a lofty target of winning a ticket to the Paris Olympics through Doha, but their team lost all their group matches instead, 2-0 to Uzbekistan, 2-0 to Vietnam and 2-1 to Kuwait.
The Young Tigers failed to win a single match, failed to win a single point and ended up bottom of Group D. The team scored only one goal and conceded six.
Many fans feel that the Malaysian team failed to deliver what was expected of them and vented their frustration on FAM's Facebook page.
"Alhamdulillah.. a proud achievement and it's a historic moment where a national team scored a goal at the Asian level .. hopefully it will be recorded in the Form 1 history textbook," said Mohd Rahmat Dol.
"FAM needs to be revamped 100 per cent. If not, it's hard for football. Better to fly kites," posted Lee Ros.
"Is this the future of our national senior players? Is it right to take heritage or naturalized players?" posted Aideel Kota.
"Congratulations FAM... The current players are much worse compared to previous squads.. Everyone wants to only improve their own club. In the end, there are no sharp local strikers for the country, then they get criticised. You're the ones ruining our football development. With no match fitness, a long league break before facing major tournaments... what madness," posted Arjuna Malaya Sr.
"FAM and MFL need to take immediate action on the direction of these upcoming local young players, where are they headed?
"This is the effect of a lengthy league break even though there are important tournaments for both senior and junior squads; the players were lethargic. The league structure leans too much towards commercialization with an influx of import players but no tangible results.
"And FAM needs to overhaul their organizational structure," said Mat Aiman.