First XI calculations for Rajagopal

Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) have announced 25 players selected for the national squad for two (meaningless?..and now cancelled) friendly matches this month, including one against Oman. Here are among the possibilites and could be's of our national football team following their most dissapointing exit by Singapore in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers last week:

(Including some notes for Datuk K Rajagopal):

Ashaari Shamsuddin: Not sure about his attitude during training sessions but Ashaari's goal-scoring abilities are proven in the Malaysian league or at international level. A beautiful finish against Indonesia in that AFF first leg semi-final at Bukit Jalil, should have been enough to convince us that he is a first XI material. Ashaari looks like an individualist at times, but his goal instincts and finishing technique were clearly missed against Singapore. Never mind his loner kind of attitude during training.

Badrol Bakhtiar: Badrol's considerable work rate and an eye for goal were not really appreciated by Rajagopal. No doubt the Kedah player struggled against the matches against Taiwan after coming off from an injury plagued season. However, Badrol was still good enough to see action against Singapore. On a hind-sight, Badrol is a better choice than fellow SEA Games gold medallist, Fakri Shaarani.

Ismail Faruqi: He was boo-ed by the crowd against Singapore. Faruqi is that kind of player; love him or hate him. I certainly love his courage and confidence in taking on the Singapore players, even in tight situations. A wee bit too much at times; hence the jeer! However, Faruqi can bring a lot of difference to our national team attacking play from mid-field which were at times, too predictable.

Nor Hafiz Zamani Misbah: Zamani has not really proven his real talents with the national team, mainly hampered by injury or the bashings by China, Iran and Uzbekistan when he was a team member in the 2007 Asian Cup. Still Zamani's reading of the game can provide the calming influence which are badly needed to strengthen the defence. Many were convinced by Zamani's ability to hold the defence as proven against Chelsea on July 21.

Farizal Marlias: Goalkeeper on a comeback mission. Also played against Chelsea and marked his return as a national team member with some fine saves to deny the likes of Kalou, Anelka and Drogba. Khairul 'Apek" Fahmi seems to be the number one No 1 at the moment but Farizal is set to replace Sharbini Allawi as Malaysia's number two goalkeeper.

Datuk Rajagopal's line-up for the national team's first XI in the two matches against Singapore were questioned by some die-hard fans. Lets hope Rajagopal really look into various options before deciding to stick only to his 'trusted' players. The national team that did well in the SEA Games and the Asean Championships, need a different dimension now. Also sincerely hope that the so-called football reporters in the country understand the transformation needed to make the Malaysian team stronger and able to play football with a higher level of quality.