2010 Suzuki Cup finals preview: Of course, you realize that this means war.

Of course, you realize that this means war.

A preview of the Indonesia-Malaysia Suzuki Cup Finals

by rick olivares photo from AFF

This article appears in the Thursday December 23, 2010 edition of the Business Mirror.

To say that the 2010 Suzuki Cup Finals between Indonesia and Malaysia is an explosive matchup is an understatement. The games are a powder keg of emotion, simmering anger of alleged thefts of songs and dances, unfinished business, perceived slights and racism, and unrealized dreams between the two neighboring Southeast Asian countries. Remember the Soccer War or 100-hour war between El Salvador and Honduras that finally erupted after the results of a football match from July 14-18, 1969? This one has all the makings of it.

But in this age of globalization, shrinking borders, and peaceful co-existence, any shooting war between the two is just as unlikely as Nepal declaring hostilities with China.

The one thing that is sure is by the end of the 2010 Suzuki Cup finals, there will be a first time champion and a team that will continue its streak of futility.

The Young Tigers, as Malaysia’s national football team is known, are flush with confidence after their incredible ouster of defending champions Vietnam from the tournament. Now the game they have all been waiting for has arrived. Malaysia will host the first leg of the finals at Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur against old nemesis Indonesia on December 26. They are not only in search of their first Suzuki Cup title but also for revenge on the Merah Putih following that embarrassing 5-1 group stage loss that center back Muslim Ahmad describes as “ugly because we were like headless chickens running around with no purpose.”

But the chickens, er, Tigers, aren’t exactly slouches. Although they flirted with disaster after a scoreless draw in their second group game with Thailand, they barged into the semis with a 5-1 win over Laos.

“After the loss (to Indonesia), we sat down and talked to each other. And we vowed to beat Indonesia in the finals,” said team captain Safiq Bin-Rahim after Malaysia advanced to the finals with a 2-0 triumph and a scoreless draw over Vietnam in the home and away legs. “Now we are right where we expected to be.”

Malaysia booked a seat to the very first Suzuki Cup finals back in 1996 when the competition was still called the Tiger Cup but they lost to Thailand 1-nil in what was then a one-match finals format.

The Tigers have some championship experience as their current squad as mentored by Krishnasamy Rajagopal features many of their U-23 players who helped win SEA Games gold in Laos last year where they beat Vietnam.

Indonesia on the other hand beat the Philippines in both semifinal legs, 1-0 to book the last finals seat. The first match could have gone either way, but the second game was all Merah Putih as they dismantled the Filipino midfield and forced their twin strikers Ian Araneta and Phil Younghusband to beat them with solo sorties. The Merah Putih are perhaps the best football team in Southeast Asia to have never won the Suzuki Cup and now all that can change.

Indonesian coach Alfred Riedl, whose squad has scored 15 goals – the highest in the competition thus far – tried to downplay the “title favorite” tag when he said that, “We have a 50-50 chance. We beat Malaysia 5-1 in the group stage but they are now a different team.”

The time between the semifinals and finals gives much needed time for Irfan Bachdim and Arif Suyono to heal minor injuries. The Merah Putih has had the good fortune of hosting five consecutive matches at their homefield of the Gelora Bung Karno (three quarterfinals and two semis) that they took full advantage of. With many Filipino players playing in front of such a huge crowd for their first time in their footballing lives, the crowd noise sowed confusion which led to striker Cristian Gonzales’ header in the first match.

Both squads will have their hands full trying to contain one another. Malaysia’s Mohd Amri, Mohd Safee, and Norshahrul Idlan each have two goals. Indonesia’s Gonzales is the tournament leader with three goals while Bachdim, Firman Utina, Suyono, Bambang Pamungkas, and Muhammad Ridwan have all backed him up with two scores each.

The Tigers and the Merah Putih run 4-4-2 formations with the former highly dependent of ball possession by their midfield. The latter on the other hand, have formed an almost impregnable wall around Markus Harison Rihihini even when he is beat such as the near goal by James Younghusband that was turned away by Zulkifly Syukur. The Indonesians have bought into Reidl’s system where they mount quick counter attacks where they use the blazing speed of Oktovianus Maniani on the left wing or the barrel-chested Gonzales knifing through the middle as funneled by Irfan. Their buildup to the attack is frightening with Mohammad Nasuha able to join the fray and get back quickly should they be stopped.

Expect a tough and physical battle between the two teams where they will defend their homefield with everything in their arsenal. Malaysia hopes to exact revenge by making Indonesia pay a price when they go to Kuala Lumpur.

The 2010 Suzuki Cup Finals are on December 26^th (Malaysia) and the 29^th (Indonesia) at 7pm.