The Malaysia national football team is the national team of Malaysia and is controlled by the Football Association of Malaysia.
The Malaysian national team are nicknamed the Tigers, as the tiger is a national symbol of Malaysia. Their main regional rivalries are against Singapore and Indonesia. Before 1963, the team represented the Federation of Malaya and was known as the Malaya national football team.
History
Before the establishment of Malaysia in September 16, 1963, the Malaysia national football team was known as Malaya national football team. Malaya's biggest achievement in football was becoming the bronze medalist in 1962 Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia after defeating South Vietnam 4-1.
After the establishment of the Malaysian Federation in 1963, the team became known as the Malaysia national football team. Malaysia qualified for the 1972 Olympics in Munich, beating Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Philippines en route. Although they managed to defeat the United States 3-0, they lost the other 2 matches by losing 3-0 to West Germany and 6-0 to Morocco. Two years later, Malaysia won their second bronze medal at the 1974 Asian Games after defeating North Korea 2-1. The team went on to qualify twice in a row for the AFC Asian Cup, in 1976 and 1980. Malaysia qualified again for the Olympics in 1980 in Moscow, but joined the boycott of the games. The team also won the Merdeka Tournament 3 times, became runner-up 4 times and being third place 2 times during the 1970s.
In 1994 as Malaysian football was embroiled in one of the biggest bribery scandals in the country. With the dearth of mainstream interest and lack of funds, Malaysian football has failed to repeat the achievements of the 1970s and 1980s, despite the recruitment of Claude LeRoy. Harris came with strong credentials, having assisted Terry Venables at FC Barcelona and Allan Harris as coaches.
Source : Wikipedia.com
