Monday, June 9, 2008

Soccerkids on TV3 part deux



I posted this on Apr 6...

I was honoured by the invite from TV3 to be a member of the panel of judges for the Soccerkids reality program back in December.

The show however only kicked off on TV in March 2008. It is on every Sunday at 7.30pm.

The ultimate game for the kids was a friendly with Japanese club side, Vissel Kobe.

The panel of selectors comprised FA of Malaysia technical director Robert Alberts, Lim Kim Chon, who was a member of the FIFA technical study group of the 2006 World Cup, national youth coach Aminuddin Hussein, TV3 sports editor Abu Bakar Atan and yours truly.

Our job was to pick the best player in each position.


The final episode was shown on Sunday, June 8, 2008.

It was sometime in December last year that this story appeared in the Malay Mail.

REMEMBER these names - Sufian Mat and Dhaanushan Raveenthiran.

Remember them because the duo could well be bossing the engine room for the future national football team.

The two lads, who have had the distinction of representing Malaysia in nternational tournaments such as the Saitama Invitational and the Danone Cup, stood out in TV3's Soccer Kids' highly anticipated match against Japan's Vissel Kobe at Petaling Jaya Stadium yesterday.

It was therefore not a surprise that Sufian, 11, was voted the best midfielder of the team by a panel of selectors comprising FA of Malaysia technical director Robert Alberts, Lim Kim Chon, who was a member of the FIFA technical study group of the 2006 World Cup, national youth coach Aminuddin Hussein, TV3 sports editor Abu Bakar Atan and The Malay Mail's Rizal Hashim.

Second in a family of five from Rantau Panjang, Kelantan, Sufian, whose mazy run into the box enabled Sharul Aiman Suhaimi to tap in the solitary goal the 42nd minute past Vissel netminder Junsei Fujita, dreams of donning the yellow and black strip one day.

"Football has always been on my mind since I was chosen to represent Kelantan in a tournament in Terengganu last year. I want to make a career out of football. My dream is to play for Malaysia at senior level," said Sufian who was voted the most valuable player of the game.

If Sufian stood out for his penetrative runs, nutmegs and dribbling skills against the Vissel side which had been playing together for three years, Klang lad Dhaanushan, 12, was captain personified with his organisational ability, range of passing and composure.

The best defender award went to right back Muhammad Irfan Zakaria, while Muhammad Aniis Ismail was chosen as the best goalkeeper. The best striker award went to Adam Aidil Iskandar Rosli. Each received a trophy and RM3,000 as well as a trip to Euro2008 to Austria and Switzerland. The coaches, led by Ong Kim Swee and Asri Ninggal, chose central defender, Muhamad Shahrul Hakim Rahim, as the Tiger Hero trophy winner.

Present to give away the prizes were group chief executive officer, Media Prima (television networks), Datuk Seri Farid Ridzuan, FA of Malaysia general secretary Lt Jen (R) Datuk Azzuddin Ahmad and TV3 general manager, entertainment, sports & recreation, Azhar Borhan.

Farid, who mooted the idea of Soccerkids, was kept on the edge of his seat throughout the match and did not dismiss the possibility of extending the programme for another year.

Equally excited was Azzuddin who said some of the players could be enrolled into the football programme at the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) next year.


I got this nice memento (pic) from Datuk Farid. So could there be light at the end of the tunnel for our football?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah bro...u could be right...

The could be a glimpse of hope in saving the national team...
But just make sure these bunch of kiddies are not being spoiled by cash and other prizes...
Let them train together...play friendlies..compete in the under-14Nike cup(The tournament that once boosted Akhmal Rizal)
Wonder wat happen to the Under -14..Piala Nike..any answers bro?
let them be coached by a good players( bring in a coach for each position)...drill them...
If the coach does not bear results then send him home...coz if u keep him too long problems start....
I watched the bunch play on TV3 soccer kids on Sunday....was impressed with the pace...skill...strength..
This was how the young messi,owen, aimar and henry started...
young talents..fresh blood....make sure u dun loose them FAM....open a file and keep track on their progress.....

The Blueberry said...

Jangan la pulak lepas ni Sufian dan Dhaanushan punya talents tenggelam dalam kemelut politik ya... Ohya BTW Titus James buat apa sekarang ya? Dah tak balik Malaysia ke?...

Unknown said...

Bang

Probably you can propose to FAM or TV3 or whatever to start look into their nutrition apart from the football technical skills. I believe if we are to start nutrition education from young we might be looking at future players with better physique than the current crops. Like it or not we can't compete internationally because our players are not tall and strong enough. I really hope that FAM will start scouting for 7-8 years old and start them young. Give them the right food and let them enjoy the football, let them develop the ball playing skills first before mixing in with organisational stuff.

Anonymous said...

hmm.. love this text..

Anonymous said...

Allow to help you?

Unknown said...

pemain remaja kite adalah pemain remaja terbaik di asia.mungkin 5 thun lagi kite akn jadi gergasi asia.soccerkids menewaskan pemain jepun,mssn kedah mendpat nmbor 17 dgn menewaskan kelab dari australia,ukraine,korea.kita udah ade peluang cume pemain ini prlu pendedahan dan memikat akademi bola sepak di eropah.fam prlu mengambil kira ini.hntr pemain ini ke eropah.eropah tu bukan di slovakia tapi di uk,germany atau spain.fam prlu lakukan scepat mungkin.