KUALA LUMPUR – Pau Marti Vicente needs to be brave in experimenting with his squad rather than relying on familiar players, said former national goalkeeper Syed Adney Syed Hussein.
The Liverpool-born player’s comments follow the head coach’s recent call-up of 26 players for training ahead of friendlies against Laos and India, which will prepare Harimau Malaya for the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup from December 9 to January 5 across multiple host nations.
Pau Marti’s squad largely includes players from recent tournaments like the Merdeka Cup and the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, with key players from JDT and Terengganu FC.
Fans, however, criticised the 41-year-old Spaniard for selecting 38-year-old JDT player Natxo Insa, who was later replaced by Zhafri Yahya of Kuala Lumpur City due to an injury.
Speaking to Scoop, Syed Adney encouraged Pau Marti and the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to take risks, citing Indonesia’s head coach, Shin Tae-yong, who selected an under-22 squad for the AFF Cup.
“The AFF Cup isn’t a FIFA-sanctioned event, so I wonder why Pau Marti isn’t experimenting more in the friendlies. We’re still seeing the same faces, while Indonesia has taken bold steps for the future,” said Syed Adney.
“We should stop treating the AFF Cup as if it’s a major tournament and resist fan pressure for immediate wins. When will we start seeing more young players?
“During my time with coach B. Sathianathan, he helped us all transition into senior team players, and from there, we improved. These are the kinds of experiments that Pau Marti could consider.”
Syed Adney also noted that Pau Marti may see qualities in certain players during training that are not visible to fans, which could explain the choices like Pahang FC’s Sergio Aguero, despite his recent struggles in the Super League.
“I just hope that players like Zhafri, who haven’t had much game time, will finally get a chance in the upcoming friendlies and make the AFF Cup squad,” said Syed Adney, who represented Malaysia from 2007 to 2011.
Former national fullback P. Gunalan also praised the selection of Nooa Laine, hoping his strong form with Selangor FC will carry over to the national team.
“Laine has been exceptional for Selangor, but he needs to work on positioning and urgency with the national squad.
“He’s sometimes overshadowed in midfield and hasn’t yet reached his club performance level here,” said Gunalan.
Malaysia, currently ranked 133rd in the FIFA rankings, recently drew 1-1 with Auckland City and suffered a 4-0 loss to New Zealand. – November 12, 2024