ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

FOOTBALL writer Eric Samuel, gives FA of Malaysia an advise on security management read here ,of course none of us condone such shameful act by the Kelantan Fans, if this trend continues, there will come a time, KAFA migh need to find extra cash just to pay the fine that will be imposed by FAM.

FAM displinary board meets today at 3pm at Wisma FAM and I will not be suprised if Kelantan is suspended from the M-League next season based on what happened at the final.

TRYING TO SCORE POINTS ?

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has to be held responsible for the damage estimated at RM214,000 caused by Kelantan fans to the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil last Saturday as it had rented the premises, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek said."Although the FAM promised a percentage from its gate collection, it has to be held responsible for any damage," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby.

Ahmad Shabery said FAM would be notified of the total damage estimated by the Bukit Jalil Stadium Corporation as well as the cost of repairing the damage caused by disappointed Kelantan supporters after their team lost 1-3 to Negeri Sembilan in the Malaysia Cup final.

Asked about suggestions to limit the number of fanatic supporters and those with bad records from entering the stadium, he said the move would be contrary to the concept held by the sports industry."The development of a sport is linked to spectators, and if we take stern action which makes it difficult for the public to watch, the sport will not do well," he said.

Ahmad Shabery said spectators bought tickets to help boost a team's revenue and the popularity gained could attract good sponsorship from private companies and broadcast rights, as was happening in the West.

CONGRATULATIONS NEGRI SEMBILAN

After a long wait, Negeri Sembilan succeeded in lifting the prestigious Malaysia Cup when they beat Kelantan 3-1 in the final at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil Saturday night.The last time Negeri Sembilan won the cup was 61 years ago when it was then known as the H.M.S. Malaya Cup in 1948.

The 'underdog' status clearly was not reflected in the game put up by the squad led by Wan Jamak Wan Hassan when they opened accounts as early as the 18th minute.Shahurain Abu Samah sent a powerful shot in the penalty box which beat Kelantan goalie, Mohd Halim Napi after an error by defender Mohd Zamri Ramli that sent the approximately 15,000 Negeri Sembilan supporters into frenzy.

Stunned by the goal, Kelantan raised the level of their game in front of at least 70,000 of their supporters by launching several raids that failed to break through the opponents' defence led by Mohd Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak and Mohd Syukor Adan.

Negeri Sembilan too had several opportunities to widen their scoreline through Hairuddin Omar, who was on loan from T-Team, who had at least three chances to score but was foiled by Mohd Halim, and the 1-0 score ramained at half-time.In the second half, the 'Red Warriors' substituted two of their strikers, Horhisham Hassan and Mohd Nizad Ayub with Che Hishammuddin Hassan and Mohd Khalis Jamlus, who were more experienced.

However, Negeri Sembilan appeared to be the more fierce side with Hairuddin scoring the second goal in the 46th minute after breaking free from the Kelantan defence.In the 58th minute, Negeri Sembilan confirmed their victory when national striker Mohd Zaquan converted a penalty kick after Shahurain was brought down in the box.

The goal prompted a large section of the Kelantan supporters to leave the stadium with some of them burning flags, banners, chairs and letting off firecrackers.The Red Warriors' lethal striker, Indra Putra Mahayuddin eventually scored for Kelantan in the 93rd minute (extra time) after taking the free kick from outside the penalty box, thus emerging as the top scorer in the Malaysia Cup series with 11 goals.

Commenting on the match, Wan Jamak said the early goal was certainly needed by any team playing in the final and Shahurain succeeded in achieving it."The goal would determine the direction of the team and could immediately change their rhythm of play," he told reporters after the match.

The former national coach said the Negeri Sembilan players had proven that they had the resilience and mental strength to face the thousands of their opponents' supporters."I was certainly confident of victory based on the previous matches played by the team in the Malaysia Cup competition but I did not want to be over-confident," he said, adding that he was proud of the Negeri Sembilan record as the only team who had never lost in the Malaysia Cup matches.

Meanwhile, Kelantan coach B.Sathinathan said the second goal scored by Negeri Sembilan had broken the spirit of his players.Meanwhile, a Kelantan supporter was detained on suspicion of attempting to start a fight after the game.A police spokesman said the incident occurred at about 12.05am at the Bukit Jalil LRT Station.It was learnt that the man, in his 30's, tried to provoke the Negeri Sembilan supporters. The suspect was taken to the police station for further investigation.-- BERNAMA

ANY GIVEN SATURDAY

SO this is it, the big moment for Kelantan and Negri Sembilan has finally arrived. Kelantan were Malaysia Cup runners- up in 1955 and 1970, while Negri Sembilan won the Cup in 1948 and runners-up in 2000 and 2006.

Indeed, this Malaysia Cup is special for both teams. Read Eric Samuel's preview here.

For me personally, it is a great moment for two former national coaches. I had the privillege to know Wan Jamak who worked with me in the corridors of FAM and Kelantan Coach B.Sathianathan whom I have known for years. Wan Jamak resigned after the 1997 loss to Laos.

These two coaches are unique in their own way, they know each other's strengths and weaknesses very well. I hope it will be an interesting final, a final that will send a message out reinforcing that football in the country is very much alive and 'kicking', and not in the pits.

This inspiring video is dedicated to Wan Jamak and Sathianathan, who went through misery and challenges during their times in FAM. All the criticism that was directed at them, is coming to fruition today.

To the players, this is time and moment to fight for every inch on the field.

JAIHO will be at the Stadium seated among the Kelantanese fans in his Malaysian Jersey.

JAIHO Malaysia!

FREE BURGERS FOR THAI FOOTBALL TEAM

MAYBE the Malaysian Football Team can be sponsored by KFC. Why not, after all KFC Holdings is doing well. For a start they can sponsor the Under-23 team, since the team is performing based on friendly matches. Read the story below on how Thailand Football Team is ahead of us not only in terms of ranking but also sponsorship.

Thailand’s top soccer players will feast on free burgers as part of a three-year sponsorship deal with American fast food giant McDonald’s worth almost US$900,000, the country’s soccer president said yesterday.

McDonald’s will provide 25mil baht (US$747,000) for the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) and will offer 5mil baht in products in exchange for shirt sponsorship for the next three years, starting this month.

“This will be a great help towards our efforts to reach the 2014 World Cup Finals,” FAT president Worawi Makudi told Reuters.

“This funding will help develop our game, especially youth football, and all the players, junior and senior, will get to enjoy the food too,” he added.

Thailand’s national team, who are currently 110th in the FIFA rankings, signed a five-year kit sponsorship deal with US sports giant Nike in 2007 for an undisclosed figure.

The team have never qualified for the World Cup Finals and are now being coached by former England and Manchester United captain Bryan Robson

Meanwhile, Sweden, Poland and Denmark will play in next year’s King’s Cup tournament with hosts Thailand, a local newspaper reported yesterday.

The four countries will contest the annual round-robin tournament in the northeastern Thai city of Nakhon Ratchasima from Jan 17-23, the Bangkok Post quoted Worawi as saying. — Reuters

ARSENAL MOVES ON

Arsenal moved to the verge of qualifying to the knockout round of the Champions League on Wednesday after beating AZ Alkmaar 4-1 with two goals from captain Cesc Fabregas.

Samir Nasri and Abou Diaby also scored for the Gunners at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal lead Group H with 10 points. Despite the loss, AZ still has a chance to qualify from its last two matches because second-place Olympiakos lost 2-0 to Standard Liege.

The Dutch team has two points, Olympiakos has six and Liege has five.

"It was a brilliant performance because we dominated our subject technically, tactically, and overall we never felt under threat," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "We played with the needed confidence. Overall, I'm very happy."

Fabregas' weak shot in the 25th minute should have been stopped by goalkeeper Sergio Romero but beat him at the near post. Romero seemed surprised by Fabregas' shot and was slow to dive to his right, barely getting his fingertips on the ball. "The first goal our goalkeeper can do something more with that shot," AZ coach Ronald Koeman said. "But he (Fabregas) is a fabulous player."

Fabregas' first goal spurred AZ into action and the Dutch side pressed the ball further up the pitch. Maarten Martens surged forward in the 30th minute with a good run, but his shot was easily caught by Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia - his first save of the night. Two minutes later, midfielder Brett Holman fired a shot from distance but the ball swerved wide.

Arsenal's second goal came just before halftime when Nasri collected a throughball from Andrei Arshavin. The France midfielder shrugged off a defender and curled a low shot past Romero, who again got his fingers to the ball. It was Nasri's second appearance in all competitions this season since returning from a broken leg he sustained in preseason training.

Fabregas scored his second in the 52nd minute after AZ conceded possession and Arshavin's throughball found the Spain international, who curled a shot over Romero. AZ nearly scored five minutes later when Graziano Pelle latched onto a deep cross and his shot from close range struck the crossbar.

A quick counterattack led to Arsenal's fourth goal, after Eduardo da Silva's backheel flick found Arshavin. The Russia international blazed down the right before squaring a pass to Diaby on the left who fired a shot past Romero.

AZ pulled one back in the 82nd minute on a counterattack, with second-half substitute Jeremain Lens firing a low shot past Almunia.

"In the first 25 minutes, I thought the organization of the team was quite good," Koeman said. "But in front of goal we weren't able to do much.

It was the first time that Koeman lost to Arsenal in six matches dating back to 2003. In 2007, Koeman was manager of PSV Eindhoven when it eliminated Arsenal from the first knockout round of the Champions League.

"I don't think we'll qualify for the Champions League, but if we win two more games it's possible - it's not impossible," Koeman said. "It's very clear in the next game against Olympiakos we have to win."

GOMO INDRA GOMO KELATE

Kelantan striker Indra Putra Mahayuddin swept the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Best Striker awards at the 100 Plus-FAM National Football Awards.

The international striker who scored 14 goals en route to guiding Kelantan to their first ever Malaysia Cup final in almost 40 years, beat names like Mohd Nizaruddin Yussof from Perlis, Amri Yahyah from Selangor and Mohamad Zaquan Adha Abdul Razak from Negeri Sembilan for the title.

K. Devan who guided Selangor to the Charity Shield, FA Cup and Super League titles in his debut season, walked away with the Best Coach award while Selangor capped a superb season by winning the Best Team award.

Selangor also added another feather to its cap when skipper Amri Yahyah was named Best Midfielder for his sterling performances and goal scoring ability, since he was also Selangor's top scorer with 13 goals.Meanwhile, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) who expect a bumper crowd for the Malaysia Cup between Kelantan and Negeri Sembilan, said they had taken all the necessary steps to ensure safety of the fans as the meeting of the two teams in itself has a history of violence.

When Kelantan and Negeri Sembilan met in a first round FA Cup match at the Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium in Kota Baharu back in April, crowd trouble inside the stadium escalated into a riot outside the stadium which forced the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) and police to act.Subsequently, the FAM barred Kelantan from playing their matches at home."We will do everything possible to ensure the safety of the fans. We are working very closely with the police to make sure everything goes on smoothly," said FAM secretary-general Datuk Azzuddin Ahmad.-- BERNAMA