PETALING JAYA (Jan 24, 2007) - A huge carrot has been dangled in front of the Malaysian football team to turn the tables on Singapore in the second leg Asean Football Championship semifinal clash at the National Stadium on Saturday.
The Malaysians stand to walk with a whopping half a million ringgit if they emerge winners of the tournament.
The cash comes from various sources but the main one being the champion's purse of USD$80,000 (RM300,000). Then there's the RM100,000 offered by the Mentri Besar of Selangor, Datuk Khir Toyo.
Nike, the FA of Malaysia's recently signed apparel sponsor and also a sponsor for this tournament, have also offered RM100,000 to the Malaysians if they win the title.
It's a tall order for the Malaysians but the lure of the cash could make the difference. But in order to collect on the cash, the Malaysians must first get past Singapore, the defending champions of the region's most prestigious tournament.
Singapore have been one of the most impressive teams in the tournament thus far, and they showed their character when they came back and levelled the score at the Shah Alam Stadium last night. Despite the huge turnout at the stadium, Noh Alam Shah squared the game in the 73rd minute.
The equaliser was a major setback for the Malaysians as they will now have an even harder task of advancing to the final. And with an expected capacity crowd backing the home team, it will take a herculean effort from the Malaysians to stage a stunner in Singapore.
Malaysian coach Norizan Bakar said that what's important was that his team did not lose. "It's still an open game ... we did not lose tonight. The draw means that Singapore will also be under pressure, we can beat them," said Norizan.
And Norizan was right, for Malaysia have gone to Kallang and mauled the Lions in their own den, but that was four years ago in the 2002 Tiger Cup competition. Malaysia won 4-0 then.
http://aseanfootball.org/afc/news_d.asp?id=64
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