Wednesday 12 December 2012

Not really a field day for Malaysia


The training field is in bad shape. Inset: The roofless stands are about the only facilities available.

THEY call it a stadium but it looks like a padi field in the middle of nowhere surrounded by almost zero facilities.
So bad was the pitch at Jarun Burapharat “Stadium” that no professional side – be it club or country – would conduct training there. In fact, even amateur teams will think twice before using the field.
Understandably, national team manager Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal went on attack mode when asked to give his take on the pathetic field provided by FA of Thailand (FAT) for the Malaysian team who are in Bangkok for the second leg semifinal of the AFF Suzuki Cup.
“It is like a padi field. In Malaysia, some villages have better fields. FAT should have given us a better venue to train. We are very disappointed with the field provided.
“We have lodged a complaint with the Asean Football Federation (AFF) and FAT. But it is too late. We are scared to have full-fledged training here as we can’t afford further injuries,” said Subahan.
In addition to the pitch conditions, there were few, if any, facilities that would normally be provided to visiting teams. It was an area that was open to public with the only facility being a couple of roofless stands.
On top of that only one half of the field could be used as the other half was beyond a level playable by school kids.
There were no locker rooms, changing rooms or even a toilet!
It was the total opposite of how Thailand were treated for the first leg in Kuala Lumpur. The War Elephants trained at Maybank Sports Complex in Bangi, where it had all the facilities a team could ask for.
National coach Datuk K. Rajagobal had to abandon his plans today to conduct an 11-a-side training routine. All the Tigers could do was a light training session, something they had already done in the morning.
“We gave them (Thailand) excellent treatment … the police escorts, mini stadium and what not, but this is what Harimau Malaya gets when we come here,” Subahan added.
“The coach wanted to work on some tactical aspects of the game but we can’t as this field is too public. I don’t know if this is one of their strategies to defeat us but it is surely another wasted day.”

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