Malaysian Super League
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The Malaysian Super League is the top flight of football in Malaysia. It replaced the M-League as the highest division a professional football team in Malaysia can participate in.
Introduced in 2004, the Malaysian Super League catered only to the top eight football teams in the country. The bottom two teams at the end of the season are usually relegated to the Malaysian Premier League. The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) also decided to privatize the league and created MSL Sendirian Berhad (or MSL Proprietary Limited) to oversee the marketing aspects of the game.
The league used to have eight teams and teams would play three rounds of matches (21 matches in total). The first two rounds were played on a home/away format while the third round would be hosted by the stadium which had the bigger attendance during the first two rounds.
With only eight teams in the league, position movements were radical. Successive losses would condemn teams to a relegation dogfight. Similarly, successive wins would put a team in contention for the title. Notable examples include:
1) In 2005, Perak was rooted at the bottom of the table (with 12 points from 3 wins, 3 draws & 8 losses) after 14 rounds (which was already two-third of the season), relegation dangers seemed imminent back then. However, 6 straight wins that followed propelled them into direct contention for 2nd place with Pahang (the defending champions then) on the last day of the season. They eventually lost that game, but still finished in a respectable 3rd place.
2) In 2006, Selangor MPPJ was leading the table (with 21 points from 7 wins, 1 draw & 2 losses) after 10 rounds (which was almost half of the season), winning the title to follow up their famous victory in 2003 Malaysia Cup was certainly on the cards. However, 8 losses in a row subsequently left them in deep relegation troubles. Their place in the Super League was only saved with 2 straight wins in the final rounds of the season. In the end they finished in a disappointing 5th place.
From 2007 the league will have 14 teams, and all teams will play each other only twice (26 matches total).
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[edit] History of league football in Malaysia
A football league competition involving the representative sides of the state football assiociations was first held in Malaysia in 1982. When it began, it was intended primarily as a qualifying tournament for the final knock-out stages of the Malaysia Cup. However over the years since then, the league competition has gained important stature in its own right.
Initially the only teams only allowed to participate in the league were the state FA's sides, teams representing the Armed Forces and the Police, and teams representing the neighbouring countries of Singapore and Brunei (though Singapore pulled out of the Malaysian league after the 1994 season following a dispute with the FAM over gate receipts, and has not been involved since). In recent years, top Malaysian club teams have also been admitted to the league competition.
Between 1989 to 1993 and 1998 to 2003, the football league in Malaysia was divided into two groups:
- 1) First Division: Malaysian Premier-One League
- 2) Second Division: Malaysian Premier-Two League
Between 2004 to 2006, the professional football league in Malaysia was divided into three groups:
- 1) First Division: Malaysian Super League
- 2) Second Division: Malaysian Premier League Group A
- 3) Second Division: Malaysian Premier League Group B
Between 1994 to 1997, there was no second level league as the top two leagues were combined.
Prior to the introduction of the current set-up, the top league competition in Malaysia was known as the Semi-Pro League (1989-93), and the M-League (1994-2003).
[edit] 2004 season
Expectations were high for the new league. However, after a few matches, it was evident that this league had nothing new to offer. Pahang romped to the title, having secured the services of the nation's top players.
A plus point was the surprisingly strong finish of club side Public Bank. At this time, the Football Association of Malaysia were trying to promote clubs as the future of Malaysian football.
| Place |
Club |
Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Pahang | 47 |
| 2. | Public Bank | 38 |
| 3. | Perlis | 36 |
| 4. | Perak | 36 |
| 5. | Penang | 27 |
| 6. | Sabah | 17 |
| 7. | Sarawak | 16 |
| 8. | Kedah | 15 |
Sarawak and Kedah relegated to Premier League
[edit] 2005 season
Like Pahang before them, Perlis won the title easily, leaving the defending champions a huge 10 points behind. Penang escaped relegation on goal difference, having let in 4 goals less than Public Bank. The best club side was MPPJ.
The end of the season was marred by turmoil after Public Bank announced it would pull out from the League, having been relegated. The team was eventually banned from all FAM competitions, per report.
| Place |
Club |
Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Perlis | 45 |
| 2. | Pahang | 35 |
| 3. | Perak | 30 |
| 4. | Melaka Telekom | 28 |
| 5. | Selangor MPPJ | 27 |
| 6. | Penang | 25 |
| 7. | Public Bank | 25 |
| 8. | Sabah | 22 |
Sabah and Public Bank relegated to Premier League. (Public Bank subsequently withdrew from the 2006 Premier League citing financial difficulties and were banned from all FAM competitions for 5 years.)
[edit] 2006 Season
Negri Sembilan emerged champions with one match to spare. They garnered 40 points from 21 matches. With this title, they finally erased the painful memory of losing the 1996 M-League crown having topped the table for most of that season.
Their nearest rivals were Malacca Telekom with 33 points. Having been in the title contention for most parts of the season, they were the best positioned club side after Public Bank in 2004.
| Place |
Club |
Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Negri Sembilan | 40 |
| 2. | Melaka Telekom | 33 |
| 3. | Perak | 30 |
| 4. | Perlis | 30 |
| 5. | Selangor MPPJ | 29 |
| 6. | Penang | 28 |
| 7. | Pahang | 27 |
| 8. | Selangor | 18 |
Pahang and Selangor consigned to Playoffs for places in 2007 Super League
[edit] 2007 Season
The 2007 season of the Malaysian Super League kicked off on 16 December 2006. It was supposed to have involved the top six teams from the 2006 Super League plus the champions of both Premier League groups.
However, Selangor MPPJ pulled out from the league at the last minute. The FAM decided not to look for a replacement team, so the Super League went ahead with only 13 teams instead of 14 (as originally planned).
The 2007 season features Negri Sembilan FA (defending champions), Melaka Telekom, Perlis FA, Perak FA, Selangor MPPJ, Penang FA, Pahang FA, Selangor FA, Kedah FA (Premier League Group A champions), Malacca FA (Premier League Group B champions), Brunei DPMM, Johor FC, Terengganu FA and Sarawak FA. None of the teams which finished in the bottom two of the Super League in the 2006 season will be playing in the Premier League as a result of the league expansion.
The league table as of the halfway point of the season on 24 March 2007. Teams have played 12 matches unless stated:
| Pos. |
Team |
Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Perak | 25 |
| 2. | Kedah* | 25 |
| 3. | DPMM FC | 24 |
| 4. | Perlis FA | 23 |
| 5. | Terengganu | 22 |
| 6. | Pahang | 17 |
| 7. | Penang | 17 |
| 8. | Selangor | 14 |
| 9. | TM FC* | 12 |
| 10. | Negri Sembilan* | 11 |
| 11. | Johor FC | 10 |
| 12. | Malacca | 6 |
| 13. | Sarawak* | 2 |
(*) Sarawak, Negri Sembilan and Kedah have played 11 matches each while TM FC is on 10 matches
[edit] Criticism
The MSL has had its share of criticism throughout its history.
Constant Format Changes
The reasons given for the formation of MSL was the need to improve the standard of football in Malaysia. However, MSL was criticized by local press. Many called it a variation of the older M-League but with fewer teams in the top division. Many also disagreed with the fact that the league format changed almost annually and it is a problem which persists until today. The MSL has gone through two format changes in its short history spanning three-years. The FAM decided to expand MSL to accommodate 14 teams instead of 8, which was the number of league teams in MSL's first three seasons.
Foreign Players
The professionalism of some teams have also been questioned. Most MSL teams view foreign players as a necessity and as a result, most teams usually fill up their rosters with unknown foreigners. Malaysian teams usually sign foreigners based on their credentials alone or based on performances during trials. It is not uncommon for foreign players to be released after just two or three matches or be kept on the sidelines for an entire season.
The latest case of unprofessionalism involved Ivan Ziga, a Slovakian player who plays for Sarawak. Ziga claims his contract was terminated nine-months early without any explanation. He also claims he was not paid. He has taken his plight to the Football Association of Malaysia but received no reply until Ziga threatened to take the case to FIFA.
Ziga's case is not uncommon in Malaysia, with most other cases involving African players who are either not paid or left stranded when their contracts are terminated early without any proper explanation given by teams.
Even so, these unknown foreigners are heads and shoulders ahead of most local players. Of the ten top goalscorers in the MSL for the 2006 season, only one is a Malaysian, Mohd Hardi Jaafar and even he occupies the 10th spot.
As of March 2007 a 'local' player is on top of the charts, though DPMM Brunei FC's Mohammad Shahrazen (like his team) is actually from Brunei.
[edit] Past League Champions
| Year | Champions |
|---|---|
| 2006 | Super League: Negri Sembilan
Premier League: Kedah |
| 2005 | Super League: Perlis
Premier League: Selangor |
| 2004 | Super League: Pahang
Premier League: Selangor MPPJ |
| 2003 | Division I: Perak
Division II: Selangor Public Bank |
| 2002 | Division I: Perak
Division II: Kedah |
| 2001 | Division I: Penang
Division II: Johor FC |
| 2000 | Division I: Selangor
Division II: Kelantan |
| 1999 | Division I: Pahang
Division II: Johor |
| 1998 | Division I: Penang
Division II: Terengganu |
| 1997 | Sarawak |
| 1996 | Sabah |
| 1995 | Pahang |
| 1994 | Singapore |
| 1993 | Division I: Kedah
Division II: Selangor |
| 1992 | Division I: Pahang
Division II: Kedah |
| 1991 | Division I: Johor
Division II: Negri Sembilan |
| 1990 | Division I: Selangor
Division II: Terengganu |
| 1989 | Division I: Selangor
Division II: Perlis |
| 1988 | Kuala Lumpur |
| 1987 | Pahang |
| 1986 | Kuala Lumpur |
| 1985 | Singapore |
| 1984 | Selangor |
| 1983 | Malacca |
| 1982 | Penang |
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Football Association of Malaysia
- History of football in Malaysia
- RSSSF.com: Malaysia - List of Champions
- RSSSF.com: Malaysia - List of Second Level Champions
- SoccerDB: Malaysia Super League
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