DIEGO MARADONA DIES AFTER HEART ATTACK

Diego Armando Maradona, one of the greatest football players of all time, died on Wednesday at the age of 60, plunging his native Argentina and football fans around the world into mourning.

Renowned along with Pele as one of the finest players ever to grace the field, the Argentine World Cup-winning captain had undergone brain surgery this month and died of a heart attack. Maradona will forever be remembered for his “Hand of God” goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final in Mexico City, when he pushed the ball into the net. Minutes later he swerved through the helpless English defenders for a superb second goal, capping a victory that perfectly encapsulated the mixture of brilliant skill and often outrageous behaviour that ran through his life.

Pele described Maradona as a “dear friend” and the 80-year-old Brazilian said he hoped they would “play together in the heaven” one day.

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Gary Lineker, who was a member of the defeated England team in 1986, said Maradona was “arguably the greatest of all time” but referred to that infamous goal by tweeting: “After a blessed but troubled life, hopefully he’ll finally find some comfort in the hands of God. #RipDiego.”

Lionel Messi led the tributes from modern-day players to his fellow Argentine, saying: “He has left us but he will never leave us because Diego is eternal.”

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez announced three days of national mourning in the South American country. Local media first reported Wednesday that Maradona had suffered a serious setback in his bid to recover from the surgery earlier this month to remove a clot lodged between his brain and skull.

Family members were summoned to his home north of Buenos Aires before the announcement of his death was made. Grieving fans later gathered at the Obelisk landmark in the center of Buenos Aires and at Boca Juniors’ stadium, the Bombonera, where Maradona played from 1981-82 and 1995-97.

MALAYSIA CUP 2020 CANCELLED

The Malaysian Football League (MFL) have called off the Malaysia Cup. MFL made the decision to cancel the remaining matches of the Malaysia Cup today following the National Security Council's (NSC) decision to reject their appeal to allow the competition to resume in states not under the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO).

On Wednesday, Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismal Sabri Yaakob said the NSC could not make an exemption for the Malaysia Cup, although there were only seven more matches left to play to complete the season.

"We respect the decision by the NSC. We included options to complete the tournament in accordance to the SOPs in place in our appeal to the NSC. However, we understand that the county is now fighting a battle against Covid-19," MFL CEO Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan in a statement today.

"Our board have decided to cancel the competition as we cannot resume the tournament beyond this month. This is because players and coaches are contracted until Nov 30.

"Teams will have issues such as additional expenses if we resume the tournament in December."

Meanwhile, Ghani confirmed that Terengganu, who finished third in the Super League, will now be awarded the AFC Cup slot following the cancellation of the Malaysia Cup.

JDT WIN MALAYSIA SUPER LEAGUE TITLE AGAIN

 

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Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) won their seventh consecutive Super League title after trouncing Sabah 4-1 at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri yesterday. JDT got their goals through Diogo Luis Santo (38th minute), Safawi Rasid (57th, 81st) and Leandro Velazquez (84th) while Sabah got their consolation goal through Dennis Buschening (74th).

After claiming their eighth win of the season, the Southern Tigers have bagged 26 points, nine more than nearest challengers Perak (17 points) in the 12-team standings. JDT still have one more match to go while Perak have two games in hand. The defeat, however, has put Sabah, who have nine points, in danger of being relegated.

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Meanwhile, Petaling Jaya City FC escaped from the relegation zone after an emphatic 4-2 roasting of UiTM FC at UiTM Stadium, in Shah Alam. The four goals of PJ City FC were scored by R. Barathkumar in the 46th minute, Anawin Jujeen (48'), R. Kogileswaran (66') and Washington Brandao in the 75th minute to overpower the two goals by the hosts’ Gustavo Dos Santos in the first half injury time and the 79th minute.

Penang crushed Kelantan United FC 4-0 at City Stadium and clinched this season’s Premier League title following a goalless draw between Kuala Lumpur and Perak II at Manjung Municipal Council Stadium. Terengganu FC II edged Sarawak United FC 1-0 at the State Stadium while Selangor 2 defeated Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) FC 2-1 at Petaling Jaya City Council Stadium.

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M-LEAGUE WILL BE BACK, FA CUP IS CANCELLED

It was announced that the suspended 2020 season will finally be resumed on August 26, with only the seven remaining fixtures of the 2020 Super League and Premier League 'first half' set to be played out. While the FA Cup has been cancelled, the Malaysia Cup will still be contested after the league is concluded, albeit in a knockout format.

The 2020 Malaysia FA Cup is the 31st season of the Malaysia FA Cup, a knockout competition for Malaysia's state football association and clubs. The winners would have secured a place for the 2021 AFC Cup group stage. 59 teams are involved in the competition.

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M-LEAGUE TO RESUME IN SEPTEMBER

The Malaysian Football League (MFL) is planning to resume the Malaysia League in September. However, all matches will be played behind closed doors.

The season was suspended on March 16, two days before the Movement Control Order (MCO) was enforced to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the September restart will also depend on the situation then. If the M-League is not allowed to resume in September, the season will be called off.

Due to time constraints, the home-and-away format for the Super League and the Premier League has been scrapped. Teams will now play each other only once, meaning the champions of the Super League and Premier League will be decided after 11 rounds of matches. According to MFL plan, the Super League and Premier League will start on Sept 1 or 2 and end on Sept 26 or 27.

The MFL has also changed the format of the Malaysia Cup by dropping the group stage. The 16-team competition, comprising 11 Super League teams and five Premier League sides, will now be a knockout tournament. The Malaysia Cup starts on Oct 17 or 18 and ends on Nov 7. However, this year's FA Cup and Challenge Cup have been scrapped.

MALAYSIAN LEAGUE POSTPONED OVER COVID-19 CONCERNS

The Malaysian Football League (MFL) and Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) today announced that all 2020 Malaysian League (M-League) matches scheduled from Monday (March 16) will be postponed due to Covid-19.

FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin announced the decision at a press conference after chairing a special meeting on the Covid-19 pandemic here today. However, Hamidin said all Premier League and Super League matches for this week (Friday-Sunday) will still be played but in empty stadiums (without spectators).

“The decision is taken in the interest of all players, teams and supporters involved directly with the national football arena.”

The meeting was also attended by representatives from the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH), National Sports Council (NSC), National Sports Institute (NSI), sponsors and M-League partners.

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Hamidin, who is also MFL president, said the decision also involved other local competitions organised by FAM and MFL – including the President’s Cup, Youth Cup, Malaysia Premier Futsal League (MPFL), as well as the M3 and M4 competitions.

On other development, Hamidin also confirmed there would be no player call-up for the national squad training camp and cancellation of friendly matches for the national squad during the FIFA international matches window this month.

“The national team will not have a friendly match and there will be no call-up to for centralised training as planned,”

Shopee had ceased ticket sales for the M-League matches following MFL’s announcement to play the matches behind closed doors due to Covid-19 concerns.

The e-commerce platform said those who had purchased tickets for Super League matches between Petaling Jaya (PJ City) FC and Terengganu FC; Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) against Felda United FC as well as the tie between Kedah and Selangor via the platform, can get a full refund latest by Wednesday.

NAKATA: THE GREAT JAPANESE FOOTBALLER

Hidetoshi Nakata is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. A quick, creative, hard-working, and offensive-minded central midfielder, with an eye for goal, Nakata was known for his technical ability, agility, vision, passing, and his ability to make attacking runs into the penalty area and score goals; he also possessed a powerful shot from outside the box. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest Japanese players of all time.

Born on 22 January 1977, Nakata began his professional career at age 18 with J1 League side Bellmare Hiratsuka (Shonan Bellmare). He played as attacking midfielder and the club won the 1995 Asian Cup Winners Cup, the first Asian title in the club history. Nakata was named Player of The Year by the Asian Football Confederation in 1997 and 1998.

After having represented Japan at the 1993 U17 World Championship and the 1995 U20 World Championship, Nakata was part of the U23 Japan squads at the 1996 Olympics, where Japan upset Brazil, and at the 2000 Olympics. His senior national team debut came in May 1997 against South Korea.

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Nakata was a key member of the Japanese side that qualified for the 1998 World Cup, scoring five goals in qualification matches and setting up all three Japan's goals in the qualification play-off against Iran. In 2001, he helped Japan to reach the final of the Confederations Cup. At the 2002 World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, Nakata played in all four matches and scored a goal in the win over Tunisia. Nakata played in all three matches for Japan At the 2006 World Cup. His performance against Croatia earned him a Man of the Match award.

As a professional footballer, Nakata joined Perugia in Italy's Serie A after the 1998 World Cup in France. In his first season in Italy, he scored 10 goals, which was his single-season highest total. After one and a half seasons at Perugia, Nakata moved to Roma for €21.7 million, and helped the team win the Scudetto (Serie A). In the summer of 2001, Nakata signed a four-year deal with Parma for a transfer fee of €28.4 million, a world record payment for an Asian player. Nakata played there for two and a half seasons and won the Coppa Italia in 2001-02 season.

In January 2004, Nakata joined Bologna where he played the remainder of the 2003–04 season before moving to Fiorentina, where he played the following season. In August 2005, he moved to Premiership side Bolton Wanderers on loan. During his season at Bolton, which would be the last of his professional career, he scored once in the league, in a 2–0 win over West Bromwich Albion.

Nakata announced his retirement at age 29 on 3 July 2006, after a ten-year career that included seven seasons in the Italian Serie A and a season in the English Premier League. In March 2004, Pelé named Nakata in his FIFA 100, a list of the top living footballers at the time. Nakata was the only Japanese, and one of only two Asian footballers to be named on the list.

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