KUALA LUMPUR: Liverpool football legend John Arne Riise has called for a significant shift towards grassroots development to raise the standard of Malaysian football.
Riise, known for his powerful left foot and dynamic play during his time at Liverpool, said the key to long-term success lies in nurturing young talent from an early age with improved facilities and coaching.
“They should start earlier with the academy, when kids are younger. You have a better chance to live like a pro player and have the best facilities.
“Then you need the right coaches, from the academy through to the first team,” he said today at a press conference for the Battle of the Reds, a friendly match between former Liverpool and Manchester United stars at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on Saturday.
The former left-back said that despite the various challenges facing Malaysian football, he is optimistic about it’s future.
“It’s not like you can push a button and it just changes. It takes time to change things. If you start lower down and work throughout the years, things will get better.”
The Norwegian also suggested that Malaysia could benefit from an infusion of European coaching expertise to develop its football infrastructure.
“It’s essential to have many European coaches come here, live, start academies, and build players up. Then you will see what happens, but it takes time,” he added.
Malaysian football faced disappointment as its Under-23 team was eliminated early from the Under-23 Asian Cup following consecutive 2-0 defeats to Uzbekistan and Vietnam in their group matches in Doha last week.
Meanwhile, the senior team is currently ranked third in its 2026 World Cup/2027 Asia Cup second round qualifying group, having most recently lost 2-0 to Oman on March 26.
Harimau Malaya will face group leaders Kyrgyzstan on June 6 and Chinese Taipei on June 11, requiring wins in both games to stand a chance of progressing to the third round. - FMT
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