Thursday 17 December 2009

..football..

..I thought tonight I saw something of old that I have never seen before..I used to see it when I was a kid..when I ambled up Merdeka Stadium to see Malaysia played..but that was in the sixties..I used to see it when I burnt my butt at 4 o'clock in the afternoon on the hot concrete seat of Stadium Sultan Mohamed IV, Kota Bharu watching my home team, Kelantan played..but that was in the seventies..since then I never bother to see...for, as far as this old coot is concern, when it comes to foot ball, there is nothing to see...

..but tonight for the duration of the game, I saw it again..the persistence..the spirit..the play your heart out without losing your cool attitude...and most important of all..I saw the pride of the boys for just the honour of playing for their country..it showed in there strides...it showed in their eyes..forget about the goal..it was just a fluke, aided by an injured keeper..it was the spirit that carried us through..that and some shrewd strategy by Raja..yes, Vietnam made a grave error in judgement for not substituting their keeper...false pride made them blind...they did not see what this old man saw from Bachok..that our boys were like baying wolves sensing blood..for they were, indeed, attacking like a pack of wolves against a stronger prey..

..but as Rizal Hashim said, it is victory at the lowest platform outside Malaysia..but for this old coot, it is enough..maybe there is hope, after all, for football..

7 comments:

Me said...

today is a football game of Malaysia and Vietnam, and after a few minutes Malaysia win the game, i came to my friends room and ask her 'agak-agak pasukan mana yang menang malam nih?' and they are laughing at me, i wondering why and find out, the game finish and Malaysia won the games.. hahahaha, :D

sot said...

I share the same sentiment as yours Pak mat. We love winners especially with Malaysia's most popular sport, Football. Its been 20 years since we last won gold in the SEA games. So no doubt this win is rather a very sweet one. I can see Utusan Malaysia splashing the news on the front page big time tomorrow, and the other newspapers as well for that matter. The win made us all proud. They play ball & focus on it. That what matters & at the end they got the reward. Lets treasure this moment together. Bravo guys !!

Anonymous said...

Pakmat...Still going through yr N3 Always expecting a new one from you and always feeling guilty for not unable to scribe something.
Yes football at stadium sultan muhamad in the late 60's and early 70's...Still remember our Quran class ended earlier, our guru, the town's imam need to be there before Asar, he perform his solat on that burning hot concrete seat.

MFT

Tok Bet said...

Very well said Pakmat....I am from the same era and saw myself in what you described above...and all those magic moments at the Merdeka Stadium watching the "Merdeka Tournaments"..

Unknown said...

..anatalia..pakmat glad to know that you are also interested in football..:)

..sot..yes, lets treasure the moment..hopefully we will be able to scale greater heights after this..

..mft..hah..that makes you my contemporary..all the more reasons for you to blog..draw on your experience..

..welcome to my pondok, Tok Bet..I went to yours..need some furniture..like the paintings tho..

rizal hashim said...

My my my PakMat, malu la...anyway I share the joy of the nation on winning this gold after a 20-year wait. Now we have to make that step up, Pak Mat. from sea games we have to make sure we reach the final of the AFF Cup pulak, then gradually make inroads into the Asian Games and the major tournaments like the Asian Cup. But if you ask my honest opinion, at best we can conquer SEA Games, nothing beyond! Thanks for your kind words, Pak Mat. I hope I did not disappoint you!

Unknown said...

..no lc, you did not disappoint me..but as I said, we, the ordinary citizens who love the game, will depend on you and others like you..ppl who are in it not so much for the pecuniary gain, but for the love of it..being in the inner circle, you can do what we cant..comment and criticise when and where it matters..and helped it blossomed out once more..