Driving back home yesterday, I terdengar someone (radio news) blaming Malaysia’s Asian Cup performance or failure on “lack of talent”! I totally disagree. I rasa we Malaysians are full of talent but we never get to “polish” it…hmmmm but who’s to blame?
All in all, world-class athletes are not born overnight. A lot of work, planning and fine-tuning goes into producing athletes that can perform on a global arena. Talent alone will not get you there.
Here’s what I think….

1. The Football Association – Althetes like Michael Ballack or Ronaldo do not rely on talent alone. They need a body or organization to harness their progres, to help and guide them along. Only then will they have a chance to reach their potential.
2. Lack of competition – Sorry to say but most Malaysian athletes are weak mentally as they hardly compete on a consistent basis. Setakat pertandingan daerah sekali setahun is not going to be enough to instill the “killer instinct”.
3. The athletes – In fact I believe there are numerous players that never make it to the big stage because
4. Malaysia? – Can we blame Malaysia so perhaps not being be able to provide the potential athletes with enough talent? I don’t think so…..is our culture to blame? hmmm maybe…but again I don’t thats the problem. What about the fact that we Asians are physically inferior? Yes but why not make sure of sport science effectively thats widely used for Korean or Japanese athletes to make them stronger and fitter..
   

   More strength + fitness = an increase in mental strength 2!

Conclusion?
For me world class athletes are not born overnight they need to be diasuh over years. Asuh means – guidance, development, training and competition to make them into a well-rounded athletes. World-class athlets bukan bermaksud athlete terbaik dunia but athletes that can compete on the world stage.