Malaysian Coach Quits taking the responsibility for the 10-0 Thrashing by UAE. See all goals here.

Dollah Salleh: I quit

BY SURYATI MOHD NOR AND T AVINESHWARAN

Dollah talking to his players at KLIA. Pix from FAM Facebook

 

SEPANG: Harimau Malaya coach Dollah Salleh has quit after the national team's humiliating 10-0 defeat to the United Arab Emirates in the World Cup qualifications on Thursday.

"I am responsible for the defeat and has taken the decision to quit as the national coach with immediate effect," Dollah, 51, told reporters at KLIA after returning with the team late Thursday.

With the thrashing in the qualifying second round Asian Zone Group A match at the Mohamed Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Malaysia hit a new all-time low in their football history.

It was the worst result for Harimau Malaya since going down to New Zealand 8-2 in an international match played in Kuala Lumpur almost 50 years ago.

The team will meet Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in the qualifications.

Most of the players were not surprised with the decision except for Razman Roslan, who told Dollah to stay on until the match against Saudi Arabia.

"I spoke to FAM secretary-general Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin and it went well. FAM accepted my resignation.

"As a coach, we want  to end well but this happened."

Dollah said he made up his mind to quit after the match and said that the fans would not have accepted the result.

"This is football, focus is on the coach, I have to accept my fate. 

"I expected defeat but not in that manner. I don't want to lie. My expectation was to lose just by a goal.

"You have to ask the players about their performance. I don't want to comment," he said.

Dollah's first achievement as coach was in 2003 when he won the Malaysia Cup with club side Selangor MPPJ.

He etched his name among Selangor fans when he guided the team to a triple in 2005 by winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Malaysia Cup.

In 2013, he helped Pahang lift the Malaysia Cup after 21 years by defeating Kelantan.

In June 2014, Dollah was appointed national coach and Malaysia was runners-up in the AFF Suzuki Cup.

However, results did not go his way after the tournament as Malaysia struggled against minnows, humiliated by war-torn Palestine 6-0 in an earlier qualifying match.

Dollah might quit after UAE capitulation

BY ERIC SAMUEL

THE STAR

 

PETALING JAYA: National coach Dollah Salleh is ready to call it a day.

The former international is likely to announce his resignation on his arrival with the national team at the KLIA in Sepang tonight (10pm).

Malaysia suffered their worst ever defeat, massacred by United Arab Emirates 10-0 in the 2018 World Cup qualifying second round Asian Zone Group A match at the Mohamed Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

Dollah when question about his fate with the national team hinted that he might quit the team.

“I don’t know but perhaps I should. Whatever it is we have to wait and see in two or three days,” said Dollah at the post-match conference.

On the game itself Dollah said he did not know what hit them.

“I don’t know what happened today, especially in defence. We let in easy goals. Three or four of them were conceded easily. UAE put up a good performance especially Omar Abdulrahman (No. 10). He is a great player and definitely ‘killed’ our players.

“I didn’t expect to let in 10 goals. I knew it wasn’t easy to win here and that’s why I have set a target to get at least a point. But the way UAE played ... I don’t know what happened to our players, everything went down he drain.”

“Like I said before, we only prepared for this match with in just three or four days. It was not easy to play the UAE because I have said they are the best team in Asia. Our players were exhausted after a packed league schedule and that’s why they can’t match the pace of our opponents,” said Dollah.

The debacle in Abu Dhabi was the worst result since going down to New Zealand 8-2 in an international match played in Kuala Lumpur almost 50 years ago.

The national team were dead and buried by half-time trailing 7-0.

The goals came from Mohaned Salem (15th), Ali Ahmed Mabkhout (22nd, 33rd, 75th), Ahmed Khalil (23rd, 29th, 70th, 78th), Habib Al Fardhan (25th) and Mohamed Ahmad Gharib Ali (40th).