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| Malaysia players jog at the Jaran Buraparat ground in Bangkok yesterday. |
MALAYSIA got a rude shock yesterday when they arrived at the Jaran Buraparat ground for their first training session in Bangkok.
It was a deplorable, padi field-like pitch with no changing room, toilets or other basic amenities.
The field was uneven and had puddles of water while the goal netting was torn in patches. An official also found a broken bottle.
The pitch, nestled between two expressways, is mainly for public use and also for district-level competitions. Even a school field in Malaysia looks better than this training ground.
The national team could not conduct their normal drill or test strategies as national coach K. Rajagobal feared that the condition of the pitch could injure his players.
In contrast, Thailand were given good training facility in Kuala Lumpur for their practice at the Maybank Sports Complex in Bangi, two days before the AFF Suzuki Cup semi-final first leg match.
Malaysia have lodged an official complaint with Asean Football Confederation and Thailand FA (TFA) on the matter.
As it is now the off season in Thailand, TFA could have arranged for the Malaysia team to train at a stadium.
Team manager Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal was upset with such treatment from the concerned parties.
"The FA of Malaysia (FAM) was gracious to Thailand when they were in Kuala Lumpur. I am disappointed," said Subahan yesterday.
"We gave them a police escort, a proper training ground and even granted their request for closed door training but they gave us a padi field. I think we have better conditioned fields in villages in Malaysia.
"We deserve better treatment. Why did they give us a public field? Everyone here watched us train. Furthermore, some of our players could have got injured. It is quite sad as they should have known better."
Asked whether the hosts were trying to sabotage Malaysia's preparation for the return leg, Subahan said they had demonstrated unsportsmanlike behaviour.
"We have wasted a day as the boys could not train properly. It is very unfortunate. AFF tried to look for an alternative but it was too late to move to another ground," Subahan added.
Rajagobal said his team could not practise tactical play yesterday.
"I am upset. I did not expect this. I did not want to push the players for fear of injuries.
"They needed to get a feel of things but I guess they would only get it tomorrow (today) during official practice at the venue," he said.
The coach, however, was non-committal when asked whether the hosts were trying to sabotage his team.
"Definitely, it has disrupted our training today (yesterday). I also wanted to evaluate the condition of our injured players," Rajagobal added.
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| The Malaysia team training on the roof top of their hotel in Bangkok yesterday. Pic by Fariz Iswadi Ismail |
Read more: AFF SUZUKI CUP: Simply deplorable! - Soccer - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/sports/soccer/aff-suzuki-cup-simply-deplorable-1.184693#ixzz2EpazJTEY
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