Safee Sali has been urged to make full use of the opportunity presented by Cardiff City to become the first Malaysian to break into the English leagues.
Former Malaysian great Datuk Soh Chin Aun and Ho Hon Seong, one of the few Malaysians in the late 1970s and early 1980s to venture abroad, said this rare chance for Safee is a sign of the rising standard of Malaysian players.
"This is a good chance for Safee. It shows that Malaysian football is improving. Although it is only a trial, it is not often a Malaysian player receives this kind of an opportunity.
"This is a good chance for Safee. It shows that Malaysian football is improving. Although it is only a trial, it is not often a Malaysian player receives this kind of an opportunity.
"This is also a good chance for him on a personal level to show what he can do.
"I hope he puts on a good presentation to show them that Malaysians can also play good football," said Chin Aun, after a press conference to announce the staging of the 1st Malaysia Day Ex-Internationals/States Soccer 9s in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Safee leaves for Cardiff on Monday for a two-week trial with the English Championship side where he will train with the Welsh club's first team in a bid to land a playing contract or a loan move from his current club Pelita Jaya.
Safee leaves for Cardiff on Monday for a two-week trial with the English Championship side where he will train with the Welsh club's first team in a bid to land a playing contract or a loan move from his current club Pelita Jaya.
There have been a few Malaysians who have blazed the professional trail abroad, including the likes of Wong Choon Wah, Chow Chee Keong, Chan Kok Leong, Yip Chee Kong and Hon Seong, who all played in the Hong Kong professional league 30 years ago.
But the first Malaysian to play in Europe was Lim Teong Kim in 1987 when he joined Hertha Berlin, then in the West German third-tier.
He also had an unsuccessful trial with Austrian club AK Graz in 1990.
Hon Seong, a former striker with Selangor and Kuala Lumpur and occasional left-back, said if Safee is successful, it will be a big challenge for him to adjust to the higher standard of football in England, let alone the environment.
"Up until now, Malaysian players have been afraid of making the move abroad because they are worried over how they will adapt. I think Safee is very brave to be going there but it is a good move for him.
"Even during my time, we only went as far as Hong Kong because nobody from Europe cared to look at us.
"Whether Safee lands a contract or not is beside the point. The most important thing is he makes good use of this opportunity," said Hon Seong, who had an aborted stint with Hong Kong's South China club in 1981 before returning home after four games due to a contractual dispute.
Besides Safee, Selangor's Safiq Rahim also has a pending trial with Cardiff which he will undergo after the Malaysia Cup.
Meanwhile, a veritable who's who of Malaysian football of the past will be featured in the Ex-Internationals/States Soccer 9s organised by the Ex-State and Ex-International Footballers Association of Malaysia at the Victoria Institution ground on Sept 16-17.
Organising committee chairman Bahwandi Hiralal said eight local teams and four teams from Brunei, Singapore, Thailand and Western Australia will be competing in the two-day event held to bring together former footballers from Malaysia and the region whilst also raising funds for the association.
Among the former national players who have been signed up were Subadron Aziz (KL), Jelani Wilastra (Penang), Hassan Sani (Sabah), Salehan Mohamed Som, Nasir Yusof (Johor), Husin Jaafar (Kedah), Azizol Abu Haniffa (Perak), Jalil Ramli (Sarawak) and Chin Aun (Malacca).
Malek Awab, Tay Peng Kee and Abdullah Noor are some of the former stars in the Singapore team.
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