I think why the Malaysian football team is not good enough is due to the football system in the country.

First of all, we don't have very good leagues and youth system. In Europe and probably in Japan or Korea, kids join the youth academy of a club since young and they get built on from there from good coaches (the coaching quality is also important). When they reach that age like 17 or 18, if they're good enough, they play and if they are not, they probably move to another club.

Take a look at Barcelona's la Masia academy for an example. It was completely revamped in the 1980s and look what it has done. It's beginning to pay off now and at the moment, Liverpool FC is doing something similar and their youngsters have been pretty decent. Everyone in La Masia lived together, near the Nou Camp, grow up playing since probably under 15 to play the Barcelona way which we see now. Gerard Pique, Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas, Mikel Arteta, Pepe Reina, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Victor Valdes, Pedro, Sergio Busquets and even probably Christian Tello all came through La Masia.

Obviously, we're no where near that but the point is, we don't encourage the sport enough. I heard a story from my friend about this hockey player. Malaysians, as you know are pretty good at hockey and there was this kid who was arguably the best in the country. Then, he got injured one game and he was out for about 6 months plus. Here's where it gets disappointing, he wasn't taken care off well enough by the staff or the club or the nation's medical doctor so he eventually just gave up and retired from the sport. I mean, look how easy it is to lose a potential star?

In Europe and other Asia nations, they look after their players and give them the best they can. Not here. You've heard stories of Kaka injuring his spine and was told he may not be able to play football when he was a teenager but he made a full recovery and was Player of the Year 2007. There was also a story of Steven Gerrard's right toe getting stuck in a garden fork and the doctors wanted to cut it off but the Liverpool team said 'No, he's a good player and we want it' when he was like 7 years old!!

And, i remember rightly FAM stopped allowing foreigners to come and play a few years ago. How are we going to improve if we don't play with others?

Another thing is the mentality of us Malaysians. Because the standard of the league at home is so poor and the money you earn isn' that good, most prefer just to be something else, be it a student who continues studies or work in the office. They don't have the motivation to even play in Malaysia. And honestly, with alot of politics in the league, some don't even bother!

I personally don't see any local teams play but I've managed to see the National Selection XI play when Chelsea, Man United, Arsenal and Liverpool come and oh my goodness, terrible.

I know alot of Asians are smaller in stature but football is not about size or strength. Granted, strenght, size, pace and all help in the sport but it's all about the brain. The best players in the world are mostly small in comparison to the average footballer. Look at Messi, Xavi and Iniesta.

I've said it before and I will say it again, football goes much more than strength, pace and kicking balls. You need to have the brain in terms of anticipation, awareness, positional play and so on and that's what the Japanese or Koreans have to compensate for their lack of size.

I don't know much about the sports school in Malaysia but what is also important is what happens after that ..

Maybe hockey wasn't a good example but I was just saying, a teen with alot of potential was easily forgotten when he got injured. I mean, it could be the same for the other sports in the country.

You will see rewards if effort to improve the sport is put in. We're not going to improve at all if everyone has the same thinking of 'only put money when we're good in the sport'. Won't get anywhere without doing anything IMO.

Even the facilities can be improved. The FAM place in Kelana Jaya is the place where the Malaysian team trains (i heard) but the field is rubbish. Full of thrash around it as well. I mean, it should at least have some standard because it's where the national team trains! I used to play on the RSC field every week and that field is 10x better!

Yeah. We need to groom players since they are 8 as you said but like I've said before, how many parents are actually willing to risk their kids concentrating 100% on football when the standard of football here is so poor and there's not much of a living they can make out of it. My dad was very supportive of me in football ( I used to play for RSC between 11 to 15) when I was younger but I don't think he'll ever want me to make it my career though I often joke about being a professional student, rather than a student in a university, lol. Whereas in Europe, you see parents trying to get the best deals possible from clubs wanting to sign their kids like Messi and Gerrard for example.