MyTeam

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MyTeam is motley bunch of footballers put together by ex-Malaysian footballer Serbegeth Singh. MyTeam took on the Malaysian national side in an exhibition match on May 28 2006, losing 1-2.

1 Idea
2 Selection
3 Match
4 Aftermath
5 External links

[edit] Idea

Malaysian politician Khairy Jamaluddin and radio DJ Jason Lo were the men behind the formation of MyTeam. The idea was to have 22 non-professional players selected from trials held across Malaysia competing against the Malaysian national squad.

It was hailed as a football revolution and a massive media campaign was launched to generate interest for trials and the match itself. The subsequent launch of MyTeam was held at the Kuala Lumpur Planet Hollywood.

[edit] Selection

Selections for a spot in MyTeam were opened to non-professional Malaysian footballers. Furthermore, partipants were required to be at least 17 years of age and had to be able to run 100 metres in less than 12 seconds.

Trials were held in all 13 Malaysian states and the top three trialists from each state were called up to Bukit Jalil, where further tests were conducted. From a total of 39 players selected from each state, 22 were called up into MyTeam.

[edit] Match

The match, held in the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, kicked off at 8.45pm on May 28 2006. Prior to the match, controversy was stirred up when the secretary-general of Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) likened MyTeam to a packet of 'instant noodles'.

There was also an element of mystery as there was a fair amount of speculation over the "national team" that would show up to play MyTeam. Some tipped FAM to send it's Under-20 side to play MyTeam. Others thought the senior Malaysian side would show up. In the end, the "Malaysia" that played MyTeam was a mixture of both the senior and under-20 sides managed by K. Rajagopal (coach for the under-20 side).

MyTeam stunned Malaysia by taking the lead first before succumbing to a 2-1 defeat. In two separate incidents that occurred between goals from both teams, MyTeam's captain and Malaysian striker Zaquan Adha were sent off.

Performance by both sides were farcical. MyTeam's players were overhyped and Malaysia's footballers could have passed off for amateurs.

[edit] Aftermath

The match did generate a considerable amount of interest, but many scorned this supposed "revolution of Malaysian football".

On a positive note, the senior team won the match, but on the negative side, Malaysia managed to play badly enough against a team of amateurs to embarrass themselves.

MyTeam has officially joined the Malaysian Premier League for the 2007 season after taking over an existing team called Perak UPB. They will be known for the upcoming season as UPB/MyTeam.