BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
The Malaysian FA (FAM) will not continue their pursuit of former Johor Darul Ta'zim head coach Mario Gomez, announced its president Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim on Thursday.
According to Tunku Ismail, who is also known as TMJ to fans, the Argentine's salary demand is too high and the association will start looking at other candidates.
"I was informed that Mario Gomez has denied asking for a high salary. We offered him USD25,000 but he asked for USD40,000.
"Isn't he asking for more than what we have offered? No problem, we will look for another individual who really wants to be the Malaysia coach," said Tunku Ismail as posted on the FAM social media.
The Crown Prince of Johor also hit back at those who have criticised his decision to appoint current Super League leaders Kedah head coach Tan Cheng Hoe, as the assistant head coach at the national team setup.
"I have set a policy whereby the foreign [head] coach (at the national team) must be assisted by a local coach. Isn't Tan Cheng Hoe currently a good local coach? I'm trying to find the best partnership for the national team but the fans are saying 'don't take him', 'pick someone else'.
"We started the project and asked for a shortlist of names, and Tan Cheng Hoe was listed and seen as the best coach at the moment.
"Isn't picking the best to lead the national team our priority? Do you all really love the national team? And do you all really want changes? What do you all actually want?" questioned Tunku Ismail.
The JDT owner then launched into a tirade against those he claimed as resistant to change and prefer to stick to the status quo.
"Success is not impossible, but changing such a mindset is like a battle. In the past everyone demanded for changes, wanting this and that. Now changes are being done and we know the internal causes and problems. We know how we want to change the structure, know what needs to be improved, and at the same time, other teams need to be professional. There are teams that cannot be taken action against for committing offences because of their close relationships with the exco, who were voted by them into current positions. So, it has made the exco afraid of taking any action.
If we need to be considerate of everyone's feelings, then Malaysian football will not go anywhere. If we still cannot change the mindset and need to care about friends' feelings, where punishment cannot be dished out despite breaking rules and regulation, then we can forget about changes. For 30 years you complained about not being able to voice out on anything and not knowing about the association's latest news. Now that you know about it, you still want to complain."
However he ended his statement by adding that he will stick to his guns and keep on pursuing his efforts to improve Malaysian football.
"I will always do my job because I am not a person who only talks within social media but doesn't contribute at all to the development of national football.
"Good luck Malaysian football, good luck Malaysian football fans," Tunku Ismail signed off.
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