Today, they're the national coaches of Singapore and Malaysia, but two decades ago, V. Sundramoorthy and Datuk Ong Kim Swee were fierce rivals on the field. Sundramoorthy earned the nickname "The Dazzler" for his flashy dribbling, while defensive-minded Ong did his best to cut him down in his tracks.

"Sundram was very skilful, very nippy and very tricky," Ong told ESPN FC of his days suiting up for Sarawak and Sabah against Sundram's Singapore and Kelantan in the mid-1990s. "It wasn't easy to play against him, or mark him, and we'd often bump into each other on the field."

There has been common ground in their coaching careers, too, with time in charge of developmental teams leading to senior roles. Sundram cut his teeth with the National Football Academy U18 team and Young Lions, as Ong tasted success in charge of Harimau Muda A -- Malaysia's U23 side.

Now Ong, 46, will be hoping that, like 51-year-old Sundram, he will be given more time in charge to see out the 2019 Asian Cup qualifying campaign. While Sundram was granted a two-year contract extension last week, Ong faces an uncertain future ahead of Saturday's election that will mean a new president taking over at Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

The Crown Prince of Johor -- the Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) owner better known as TMJ -- is strongly favoured to beat former Kelantan president Tan Sri Annuar Musa. TMJ has already hinted that his former JDT coach Mario Gomez, of Argentina, will take over the reins of the Malaysia national team, from Ong, whom he has repeatedly criticised.

"Whoever the president, or owner, is anywhere in the world, they will have their own ideas of how to improve things for a national team or club side. I will leave to them whatever they want to do," Ong said.

"TMJ has had a lot of success with [three-time defending Malaysian champions] JDT, so if he can implement the same things with the national team, football in Malaysia will be much better, with him around. A lot of things can be done... he has very good ideas, is young, and is always motivated.

"As for Tan Sri Annuar Musa, he's been around for a very long time and has great experience. Whoever comes in, they'll be trying to achieve good success."

Ong's 18-month stint in charge of Malaysia, in both a caretaker and full-time capacity, has been made more challenging by TMJ's lack of support. After the Prince and then-Johor coach Gomez criticised how JDT players were being treated in national camp, four JDT stars, including captain Safiq Rahim, abruptly announced their international retirements.

Even then, Ong had limited time with the remaining JDT players in the national set-up. It was little surprise that an impotent Malaysian side were eliminated in the group stages of the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup.

Singapore had a similarly disappointing AFF showing, and sit two places below Malaysia on the FIFA rankings in 163rd. The two teams played out a 0-0 draw in a friendly last October. Even so, Sundram received a vote of confidence from his employers with a contract extension that will take him until May 2019. That's four months after the 2019 Asian Cup in United Arab Emirates.

"I think that this was the best decision to make for Singapore," Ong said. "With due respect to foreigners, I always believe that in this region, we need locals to handle the national teams. There's a lot of aspects to look at and understand like the youth system, and cultural sensitivity."

Gomez's track record of success at JDT is undisputed -- he won five trophies in less than two years, including the 2015 AFC Cup -- but he noticeably struggled when Argentine imports like Luciano Figueroa and Jorge Pereyra Diaz were missing.

If TMJ tried to fast track the 58-year-old from Mar del Plata into the top job, he may encounter resistance from those who believe that local coaches like Ong, and even Kedah's Tan Cheng Hoe, have achieved more with less. And if you do go for a foreign option, why not opt for one of the many former English Premier League bosses now in the market, instead of journeyman Gomez who was best known in Europe as Hector Cuper's assistant at Valencia and Inter Milan? Ex-JDT and Kelantan head coach Bojan Hodak, a Croatian, is also worthy of consideration.

Ong was philosophical about his future, ahead of his return home to Kuala Lumpur from the Philippines on Thursday evening, after a creditable 0-0 draw against Southeast Asia's highest-ranked side in a friendly.

The postponement of next Tuesday's Asian Cup qualifier against North Korea means that Malaysian aren't due to be in action again until June when the entire Malaysian football landscape could look vastly different.

"I still have until December on my contract and I would love to stay. In terms of my situation, all I can do is stay in the moment and concentrate on what I'm doing," he said.

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by JASON DASEY

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]