From Thomas Samuel
Malaysia has qualified for the Under-23 (U-23) Asian Cup football tournament in Doha, Qatar, next year under the supervision of head coach E Elavarasan. Malaysia qualified previously in 2018 and 2022.
This is an achievement by all means, given the fact that Elavarasan only had around seven months to mould the team into a winning combination.
Elavarasan, who is also the assistant to senior national team coach Kim Pan-gon, has had a very successful coaching journey in the Malaysian Super League. His “Midas touch” has continuously achieved great success with the many teams he managed in the Malaysian league.
He has a knack for leading under-performing teams to promotion to a higher league, and is known to be a no-nonsense coach and disciplinarian on the field.
As the head coach of the U-23 national squad, he saw his squad win the Merlion Cup in Singapore, reach the semi-finals of the AFF U-23 Cup in Rayong, and most recently, achieved their target to qualify for the U-23 Asian Cup in Doha.
The news today that Elavarasan has resigned as the head coach of the U-23 national football team is shocking.
Questions arise as to why the sudden decision, after successfully guiding the team to qualify for the U-23 Asian Cup.
Just a few days ago, it appeared in the media that Malaysian football fans did not want Elavarasan to continue as the head coach of the U-23 squad.
It is unprecedented anywhere in the world that the views of one or two fans is given such prominence in so many local media reports.
And to add insult to injury, since when did the views of a few fans convinced the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to accept the resignation of Elavarasan?
Is there no expertise or personality at FAM to convince Elavarasan to stay on, or rethink his decision? Why the hurry in announcing his resignation, when a little bit more time would have given some hope for a change of mind?
The coincidences and collaborations in this plot cannot be ignored.
Is Elavarasan the victim of a plot by influential people behind the corridors of power at FAM? Why was he appointed to lead the national U-23 squad in the first place? Was the evaluation of Elavarasan’s appointment flawed from the beginning?
We continue to pride our history of making decisions over and over again that prove to be detrimental to the sports we all love so much.
Elavarasan had achieved the set target and should be retained for continuity. He should be evaluated after the U-23 Asian Games in 2024.
His resignation should be rejected by FAM.
Making abrupt decisions is surely not going to help improve the standard of football in Malaysia.
Thomas Samuel is the honorary secretary of the Ex-State & Ex-National Footballers Association Malaysia.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.