By ERIC SAMUEL
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia will not adopt a defensive game plan against Manchester United.
Coach K. Rajagopal said that he wanted his players to enjoy the game at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Saturday and there was no need to place all 11 men behind the ball to get a pretty scoreline.
“What defensive approach? And against Manchester United?” he asked at the post-match conference after Malaysia edged Zimbabwe 1-0 in a friendly international at the Shah Alam Stadium on Tuesday.
Rajagopal said that Malaysia were beaten 0-6 when they last played against United at the National Stadium in 2001.
Then, he added, Singapore’s Danish coach Jan Poulsen was at the stadium taking down notes to prepare the Lions against the English side.
“In the end, their defensive game plan back-fired and Singapore were whipped 8-1. We should believe in our players and hope for the best,” said Rajagopal.
“United are a great team. I am sure the match will draw a huge crowd and the fans will want to see an entertaining game. We have nothing to lose from this high-profile match and what’s wrong in letting our players go out there and enjoy the game.”
It will be interesting to see how the new-look national team, who have only four seniors players, handle themselves against the Red Devils.
Rajagopal has opted for a young national team and the majority of the players, including goalkeeper Syed Adney Syed Hussein and striker Norsharul Idlan Talaha, are from the national Under-23 squad preparing for the Laos SEA Games in December.
No comments:
Post a Comment