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Malaysia captain to Lions: 'You are nothing' without foreign players
Is our national football team over-reliant on foreign 'imports'? Malaysia skipper Safiq Rahim thinks so. The 24-year old declared yesterday that without the squad's five foreign-born players, the Lions are 'nothing'.
The statement comes just three days ahead of the return leg of the second-round World Cup Qualifier between Singapore and Malaysia. The two teams will meet once more on Thursday, after their last meeting where Singapore beat their Malaysian opponents 5-3.
STOMPer SGBoleh commented:
"I think this is just an epic case of sour grapes.
"It is true that Singapore's World Cup hopes are bolstered by our five foreign-born players, but I think this is really just a lame attempt to try to weaken our morale with mind games before Thursday's match.
"Naturalised players are nothing new in the world of professional sports. Even in the English Premier League, a large proportion of players are not born in England.
"I for one am behind our Lions. If anything I hope our local players take his criticism to heart and work hard on Thursday, that will really shut them up."

Is our national football team over-reliant on foreign 'imports'? Malaysia skipper Safiq Rahim thinks so. The 24-year old declared yesterday that without the squad's five foreign-born players, the Lions are 'nothing'.
The statement comes just three days ahead of the return leg of the second-round World Cup Qualifier between Singapore and Malaysia. The two teams will meet once more on Thursday, after their last meeting where Singapore beat their Malaysian opponents 5-3.
STOMPer SGBoleh commented:
"I think this is just an epic case of sour grapes.
"It is true that Singapore's World Cup hopes are bolstered by our five foreign-born players, but I think this is really just a lame attempt to try to weaken our morale with mind games before Thursday's match.
"Naturalised players are nothing new in the world of professional sports. Even in the English Premier League, a large proportion of players are not born in England.
"I for one am behind our Lions. If anything I hope our local players take his criticism to heart and work hard on Thursday, that will really shut them up."

