Never so much did defeat feel like a moral victory for Malaysia as they narrowly lost to the United Arab Emirates in Tuesday’s 2018 World Cup qualifier, their final international match of the year.
The UAE finished third in January’s Asian Cup, knocking out defending champions Japan on the way to the semi-finals.
In September, Omar Abdulrahman and the Emiratis ran rings around the Malaysians in a record 10-0 hammering in Abu Dhabi.
Tuesday’s more respectable 2-1 loss unfolded on the same Shah Alam Stadium pitch where angry fans fired flares in September, causing a subsequent World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia to be abandoned.
As a result, the home match against the UAE was played behind closed doors.
The UAE were 2-0 ahead after the interval but Baddrol Bakhtiar’s headed goal on the hour from a Safiq Rahim free-kick turned the qualifier into a contest.
Missing fans, including the volatile Ultras Malaya, the match had more of a training ground feel to it, which undoubtedly helped the jittery home side.
“Fearful Malaysia,” rang out the pre-match headlines after Ong Kim Swee’s men had returned to Kuala Lumpur from a recent 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Palestine.
The headlines were more optimistic the morning after the dogged display against the UAE.
“One helluva fight,” boasted the Star. “No disgrace this time,” chimed in the New Straits Times.
The Malaysians were able to earn back a modicum of respect after the UAE game.
Yet, despite the improvements, one still feels that the next embarrassing defeat or crisis is just around the corner.
The next qualifier in March is away to Saudi Arabia, who put 10 unanswered goals past Timor-Leste in their qualifier in Dili on Tuesday night.
No doubt the arrival of a new national coach — someone like ex-Manchester United assistant boss Rene Meulensteen or Belgian junior maestro Luc Eymael, both of whom are reportedly among the 50 applicants — will be seen as a new dawn for Malaysia. The appointments of the senior and U23 positions are due before the end of next month.
But one man won’t change much. The fact is that Malaysia need to follow the example of the likes of Japan, Australia, and, indeed, the UAE, in putting a uniform structure in place. That would mean that all Malaysian teams — from age group sides to the national squad — play the same system and with an identical philosophy.
Last week, Australia marked the 10-year anniversary of their qualification in Sydney for the 2006 World Cup, which is, rightfully, seen a major breakthrough.
But, more importantly, a decade ago was when the Aussies put plans in place to ensure a possession-based 4-3-3 formation was played across the board.
In the last 10 years, Australia have appeared in three World Cups, won the 2015 Asian Cup and the AFC Champions League (through Western Sydney Wanderers in 2014) and overseen a robust A-League.
And, yet the country has a smaller population than Malaysia (an estimated 24 million compared to 31 million) and soccer is dwarfed by the popularity of at least three other major sports.
The UAE have enjoyed success at even more rapid rate than Australia.
After their glory years of the 1990s when they qualified for Italia 90 and finished second at the 1996 Asian Cup, they fell upon dark times. They failed to score a goal in the 2011 Asian Cup and their Fifa ranking fell to a worst ever 138th.
But the appointment in early 2012 of Mahdi Ali as senior coach turned around their fortunes.
Working with many of the same players he managed at youth levels, Mahdi qualified the senior team to the 2012 London Olympics and won the 2013 Gulf Cup before their 2015 Asian Cup success. More importantly, he helped put structures in place to ensure uniformity across the board.
Given Malaysia’s annus horribillis — a 10-0 thrashing, three 6-0 defeats and sanctions from Fifa for crowd trouble — it may seem almost impossible to turn things around, even in a country where football will always be the number one sport.
A step at a time, Harimau Malaya can build on the wreckage of 2015. But don’t expect the new coach to be a miracle worker.
He is merely the interior decorator of a house that must first have strong foundations in place: a universal Malaysian football philosophy, including a more integrated junior structure, a thriving Malaysia Super League, and, of course, national players who can consistently re-produce the same commitment they showed on unnaturally quiet Tuesday evening in Shah Alam.
Jason Dasey is senior editor of football website ESPN FC (formerly ESPN Soccernet) which now has a Southeast Asia edition.