Excerpts from an interview with Lim Teong Kim conducted by The New Straits Times not so long long ago which pinpointsExcerpts from an interview with Lim Teong Kim conducted by The New Straits Times not so long long ago which pinpoints the problem with our football development. I had the chance to play with Teong Kim representing Malaysia B in the Lion City Cup in Singapore way back in the early 80s. Teong Kim was the first Malaysian footballer to play in Europe when he turned out for German club Hertha Berlin in 1987. He was a member of the national team that won the 1989 Sea Games gold medal and is now based in Germany coaching Bayern Munich's youth teams.
Q: Your overall assessment of the infrastructure in Malaysia?
A: How can people talk about football where there is no proper infrastructure? The current infrastructure is 30 years behind time. Malaysian football will not develop unless the infrastructure here improves. What we have and what I have seen here is not good enough. Maybe it was good enough 20 or 30 years ago but not at the present time. In Bayern Munich, for example, there are seven fields and other facilities are also top class. We have 11 youth teams in age-groups between eight and 23, with more than 100 players. The club allocates E2 million (RM9.7 million) annually for its youths teams. The system is almost the same with other clubs in Europe.
We don't have that in Malaysia. Instead, the government and local councils are taking away football fields. I used to play football in my youth days in Bandar Hilir, Malacca. It had three fields but now malls have been built on them. What do we get by building malls? Does it help in the development of a sports culture in Malaysia? We need proper infrastructure in Malaysia. Taxpayers' money, which the government wants to use to send the national team to Europe, should be allocated to building facilities for football. If you want kids to play football then you have to invest in it.
Q: Who should be responsible for developing youth football in Malaysia?
A: The states should play a bigger role in developing youth football. They should do the work and run the programmes but infrastructure must be there first. Sports schools like Bukit Jalil and Bandar Penawar should be supplementary ingredients in this case.
Q: What do you think of the Malaysian League?
A: It is ridiculous not to have foreign players in the league. It does not help in the development of local players. How are Malaysian teams going to compete against bigger Asian clubs in the Champions League and AFC Cup? A Malaysian team cannot rely on local players against clubs with foreign players. It is a huge loss in revenue as they are not good enough to compete against the best in Asian.
Why did FAM decide on barring imports from the league? Is it because some teams could not afford foreign players? The association should allow those who can afford to hire them. One cannot look at all teams in the league as equal. Teams, who do not have money for development and foreign players, should be left out. It should be left to the respective clubs on whether to hire foreign players. This is professional football. You cannot tell Bayern Munich not to have foreign players as they need their services in the domestic league and Champions Leagues. The revenue of the club depends on Bayern's first team's performance in the Bundesliga and Champions League and if they don't do well, the club cannot generate income.
Q: Should local football rely on foreign coaches?
A: Yes, because foreign coaches have comprehensive knowledge about the game. I am not saying that local coaches are no good but we need foreign help to take our football to another level. If our ambition is to develop good players, then we have to hire good coaches. For instance, Japan are now Asian giants because they hired top-notched foreign coaches to develop their game at the start.
Q: Will you consider a coaching job in Malaysia?
A: I have been linked before with FAM and state teams but it was only speculation. I will consider working in Malaysia but first several conditions of mine must be accepted. What I want is infrastructure. I will consider a job here when there are proper facilities. The government should start by developing proper infrastructure for a few state teams before developing the rest.. It is a slow process but the nation will gain in the long term.
Q: Are you still with the Bayern Munich youth team?
A: Yes I am. I am attached to the Under-19 team as assistant coach. It is my third season now. I have been with the club since 2000 and then I was the coach of the Under-12 team before moving up the ranks. I have worked with two players, when I was coaching the Under-13 and Under-14 teams before, who are now in the Bayern Munich senior side. They are striker Thomas Muller and centreback Bad Badstuber. The duo were not as gifted as some of their teammates in the youth teams but they made it big because of their dedication to training and matches. Muller could be representing Germany in the World Cup.
Q: Your overall assessment of the infrastructure in Malaysia?
A: How can people talk about football where there is no proper infrastructure? The current infrastructure is 30 years behind time. Malaysian football will not develop unless the infrastructure here improves. What we have and what I have seen here is not good enough. Maybe it was good enough 20 or 30 years ago but not at the present time. In Bayern Munich, for example, there are seven fields and other facilities are also top class. We have 11 youth teams in age-groups between eight and 23, with more than 100 players. The club allocates E2 million (RM9.7 million) annually for its youths teams. The system is almost the same with other clubs in Europe.
We don't have that in Malaysia. Instead, the government and local councils are taking away football fields. I used to play football in my youth days in Bandar Hilir, Malacca. It had three fields but now malls have been built on them. What do we get by building malls? Does it help in the development of a sports culture in Malaysia? We need proper infrastructure in Malaysia. Taxpayers' money, which the government wants to use to send the national team to Europe, should be allocated to building facilities for football. If you want kids to play football then you have to invest in it.
Q: Who should be responsible for developing youth football in Malaysia?
A: The states should play a bigger role in developing youth football. They should do the work and run the programmes but infrastructure must be there first. Sports schools like Bukit Jalil and Bandar Penawar should be supplementary ingredients in this case.
Q: What do you think of the Malaysian League?
A: It is ridiculous not to have foreign players in the league. It does not help in the development of local players. How are Malaysian teams going to compete against bigger Asian clubs in the Champions League and AFC Cup? A Malaysian team cannot rely on local players against clubs with foreign players. It is a huge loss in revenue as they are not good enough to compete against the best in Asian.
Why did FAM decide on barring imports from the league? Is it because some teams could not afford foreign players? The association should allow those who can afford to hire them. One cannot look at all teams in the league as equal. Teams, who do not have money for development and foreign players, should be left out. It should be left to the respective clubs on whether to hire foreign players. This is professional football. You cannot tell Bayern Munich not to have foreign players as they need their services in the domestic league and Champions Leagues. The revenue of the club depends on Bayern's first team's performance in the Bundesliga and Champions League and if they don't do well, the club cannot generate income.
Q: Should local football rely on foreign coaches?
A: Yes, because foreign coaches have comprehensive knowledge about the game. I am not saying that local coaches are no good but we need foreign help to take our football to another level. If our ambition is to develop good players, then we have to hire good coaches. For instance, Japan are now Asian giants because they hired top-notched foreign coaches to develop their game at the start.
Q: Will you consider a coaching job in Malaysia?
A: I have been linked before with FAM and state teams but it was only speculation. I will consider working in Malaysia but first several conditions of mine must be accepted. What I want is infrastructure. I will consider a job here when there are proper facilities. The government should start by developing proper infrastructure for a few state teams before developing the rest.. It is a slow process but the nation will gain in the long term.
Q: Are you still with the Bayern Munich youth team?
A: Yes I am. I am attached to the Under-19 team as assistant coach. It is my third season now. I have been with the club since 2000 and then I was the coach of the Under-12 team before moving up the ranks. I have worked with two players, when I was coaching the Under-13 and Under-14 teams before, who are now in the Bayern Munich senior side. They are striker Thomas Muller and centreback Bad Badstuber. The duo were not as gifted as some of their teammates in the youth teams but they made it big because of their dedication to training and matches. Muller could be representing Germany in the World Cup.
