Soh Chin Aun can't wait for 'glamour' clash

Football: Malaysia's Soh Chin Aun can't wait for 'glamour' clash

Soh Chin Aun, one of Malaysia's greatest footballers, refused to give a prediction.

Current national coach K. Rajagobal would not let himself be drawn into talking too much about the fixture.

Ismail Ibrahim, coach of Malaysia's Young Tigers, felt it was too close to call.

Perhaps they all didn't want to talk about a Malaysia-Singapore clash because the ASEAN champions still have to overcome Chinese Taipei in the first round of the Asian Zone World Cup qualifiers.

The Lions, handed a bye by FIFA because of their higher ranking at the time of the draw in March, lie in wait in the second round.

Malaysia's pedigree suggests they should handle their first-round opponents easily, to set up a mouth-watering Causeway derby with their arch-rivals, and Soh knows very well the atmosphere that envelopes such matches.

Speaking to MediaCorp over the weekend, Soh, famously nicknamed the "Towkay" during his playing days, said: "Whenever the two teams meet, tension is always high and no one wants to lose, neither the players or the fans.

"And it's not only when the national teams meet, even when Malaysian states played Singapore in the Malaysia Cup, the stadiums were packed and the atmosphere would be very different.

"It has always been a very glamorous moment in a player's career either in Singapore or Malaysia, and I expect it will be the same this time."

Malaysia will play their first round double-header on June 29 (home) and July 3 (away). The second round tussle with Singapore will be on July 23 (Jalan Besar Stadium) and 28 (in Kuala Lumpur).

The stakes are high for Singapore. After a shock first-round exit at last December's AFF Suzuki Cup, coach Radojko Avramovic named seven uncapped players along with 11 others that used to be on the fringe of previous national squads in his provisional 33-man roster.

But Rajagobal, who steered Malaysia to victory in the tournament - their first ASEAN crown - does not expect a different Singapore side.

"They say Singapore is rebuilding, but the core players are still there, including Daniel Bennett and Shi Jiayi, and they come with a wealth of experience," he said.

"Anyway, I want my players to stay focused on our first game against Chinese Taipei, and to respect our opponents.

"The important thing is to get that job done, and then we'll have enough time to think about Singapore."

Singapore and Thailand share the record of three ASEAN titles each, but Malaysian football is on a high.

Twenty years after their last triumph, Malaysia's men won SEA Games gold again, at the 2009 tournament in Laos.

Then came their Suzuki Cup triumph 12 months later.

But Young Tigers' coach Ismail, a former Malaysian international, felt the form book will not matter, if the two arch-rivals do meet.

He said: "Past titles are in the past. The games will be decided on the day by the players on the pitch. We are traditional rivals and there's pride at stake."

The clash at Bukit Jalil Stadium on July 28 will be Soh's 61st birthday, which may well be a good omen for Malaysia.

Rajagobal hopes so, as he admitted his men will be under pressure to deliver the goods.

He said: "There is a lot of history in Singapore-Malaysia games, and there is definitely pressure on my team. Once you win (any title), you're expected to perform at a higher level."

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~