Friday, August 14, 2020
Malaysia's 1972 Olympic Adventure
KAMUNTING: The stocky body has become pencil-thin, the trademark thick moustache has turned grey, along with his hair. The muscular legs that sent fear into the hearts of strikers are now withered and he is in a wheelchair.
Wearing a grey Adidas shirt that matched his hair, he was calm, but the moment the subject turned to the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, the face of Datuk Namat Abdullah lit up.
Even at 74, the memories of that historic feat – when Malaysia featured in Olympics football for the first time – are fresh in his mind.
In 1971, Malaysia had topped the Olympics qualification group, beating South Korea (1-0), Japan (3-0), China (3-0) and the Philippines (5-0) to qualify for the Games.
“I still remember the Olympics very clearly, we were the first Malaysian team to qualify but there was no big fanfare about it, ” said Namat.
“In fact, we did not even get new jerseys or sparkling boots – we were just a bunch of kampung players ready for the fight of their lives.
“Nowadays, players have several jerseys to choose from but we did not even get one. I wore the national jersey that I had in 1968. It was a four-year old jersey but we wore it proudly at the Olympics, ” said Namat, who received RM10 daily as allowance during the Olympics.
“Even our hosts, the West Germans, noticed our old boots during training. I was using an Adidas La Plata, it was more than a year old. I used to repair my boots at a workshop in Penang Prison, where I worked.
“The Germans were gracious. They gave us two pairs of boots each. I remember we went to this Adidas shop there. Just imagine the excitement. We got to choose a six-stud boot for soft grounds and a 13-stud one for hard surface.”
The Malaysians may have been grateful to the Germans for the Adidas 2000 boots, but on the field, the fierce rivalry remained.
The little-known team from Malaysia comprising Namat and his brother Shaharuddin, M. Chandran, Othman Abdullah, Soh Chin Aun, Khoo Huan Khen, Hamzah Hussain, Wan Zawawi Wan Yusof, V. Krishanasamy, Ibrahim Salleh, Harun Jusoh, Wong Kam Fook, Ali Bakar, Mohd Bakar, Lim Fung Kee, Wong Choon Wah, Rahim Abdullah, Looi Loon Teik and Bahwandi Hiralal and led by team manager Datuk Harun Idris certainly made heads turn – even holding the hosts, who had big names like Ottmar Hitzfeld and Uli Hoeness, for almost an hour before losing 0-3.
The team, coached by Jalil Che Din, eventually finished third in their group – they beat the United States 3-0 but lost 6-0 to Morocco.
“Chandran was the captain, I was the vice-captain and we fought hard against West Germany, the first half was magical as we didn’t give them any space to score, ” said the defender, who with Chandran and Chin Aun formed an impregnable Malaysia wall.
“But they pressured us in the second half and we collapsed after the first goal (in the 56th minute).
“The referee said we played like Brazil, even the German players were shaking our hands, and patting our backs.
“Nothing is impossible for any players if they work hard at it.”
Namat (seated, second from right) with the 1972 Olympics squad.
It was the only time a Malaysian football had played in the Olympics. The team led by Chin Aun and legendary striker Mokhtar Dahari qualified for the 1980 Olympics in Moscow but Malaysia did not go because of a boycott.
“There has been so much spoken and written about Mokhtar and the 1980 team. Our team have been forgotten. But football is not about one player or hero. Everyone in the team is equally important, ” said Namat.More importantly, Namat remembers the wonderful ties he had with his team members although they were of different races and religions.
“We ate together, visited one another.
“We were a family and there was no one better than the other.”
When his playing career ended, another door opened as he took up coaching with the national team but that did not last long.
“Players need to respect their coaches. If there is no discipline, it will not work. I was frustrated as a coach as not many listened and I gave up, ” said Namat, who then decided to play tennis for Penang Prisons before eventually giving up competitive sports.
The years have taken their toll as his body has grown quite fragile, especially after a stroke. He was diagnosed with intestinal cancer two years ago.
But the years have also brought him much experiences, and Namat said Malaysia should not give up on striving for excellence at the highest level and believed there are ways to restore the glory days of Malaysian football.
“We can revive leagues at different levels in the country. There were many leagues in districts and states before, ” he said.
“Juniors need to have a thriving league too.
“There are many coaches now, but they should not just stand outside the field and give orders. They should not cekak pinggang (hold their waists) but turun padang (get on the field). There are more specific coaches in the team now. Hopefully, they will not outnumber the players, ” he joked.
Seriously, though, what he would like to see is more quality players and passionate fans.
“Players of this era are distracted by big money and different lifestyles but it can be managed with the right attitude, ” he said.
“During one of the Merdeka Tournament matches, the fans broke the gates to enter Stadium Merdeka to watch the team play. They were so passionate. We need fans who are with the team, in victories and defeats.”
Namat himself is an ardent fan of Liverpool and is just so grateful that he got the chance to see his team win the Premier League title after 30 years.
“Those days, we used to watch all the late night matches on television – in black and white, ” recalled Namat, who has a supportive wife in Datin Mahani Sulaiman. He also has seven children and 16 grandchildren.
“The game has evolved, others have progressed. Everything is not the same anymore. I just hope for Malaysian football to change in the right direction, ” he added.
