KUALA LUMPUR: The fighting spirit of the Harimau Malaya players who fought hard in the last Group E match against South Korea, despite realising that the chance to progress to the next stage had long been buried, deserves praise.
But the same praise must be given to a fan of Harimau Malaya who still roared despite knowing there was as much as no ghost of a chance for the national squad to advance far in the Asian Cup, but who was still willing to travel over 5,000km and gambled to be part of that historic moment.
And historic it was.
When the national team scored the second goal and took the lead in the match against the Taegeuk Warriors squad managed by former German star Jurgen Klinsmann, the camera lens recording the frenzy of cheering supporters at the Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar froze on only one face -- a fan crying his eyes out with tears of unbridled joy.
The tears of joy stole the hearts of many Malaysians watching the match that was telecast live till the video went viral, and netizens managed to track the man known as "Derrick Gan", who advertised his motorcycle for sale to cover the cost to Qatar.
Speaking to Bernama, Derrick, 30, nicknamed "brown-haired bro" online, said he scraped RM4,500 from selling his beloved motorbike, which he advertised on Facebook in December last year.
Unknown to other diehard fans, Derrick, who had meticulously planned his 5,892km trip (in airline distance) to Qatar to watch the matches of Malaysia after qualifying for the 2023 Asian Cup on merit, said the decision to give up his motorcycle was made since he was still short despite saving RM1,500 over a year.
"That's the only motorcycle in my life. I have a car, but my wife uses it (for city driving) in Kuala Lumpur. But I didn't mind selling it (the bike) because I really wanted to go to Qatar to cheer Harimau Malaya in this historic round of football.
"My total expenditure for Qatar, including flight ticket, food, accommodation and football tickets, was around RM6,000; my savings alone was not enough, so I decided to sell my motorbike," he said.
Derrick, who hails from Bandar Hilir in Melaka, said he left for Qatar on Jan 19 to watch the second and last match of Group E, which was Malaysia's match against Bahrain and South Korea, and to return on Saturday (Jan 27).
Talking about his experience watching the Kim Pan Gon-led squad against South Korea on Thursday night (Jan 25), he said it was a really meaningful experience because Malaysia managed to secure a 3-3 draw against the third-best team in Asia.
"There are no words to describe my feelings at that time (when Malaysia suddenly went into the lead at 2-1); I was happy after sacrificing and seeing Malaysia fighting with enthusiasm; it was really touching," he said.
The happiness in tears frozen by a photograph in a split second was the outward expression of his joy, the inner feeling which endured the hardship of saving for a year, the meaning and purpose of his selfless act of selling his prized motorcycle to stand in a packed Qatar stadium until the cameras captured a single moment that seized the imagination of thousands of patriotic Malaysians.
"Stealing a draw with South Korea is very meaningful. It's like a dream come true for all of us Malaysian football fans because my focus there was solely to watch football," said Derrick, who works in a shop selling motorcycle accessories.
Earlier, in the final Group E action in the 2023 Asian Cup, the national team created a surprise by tying two-time champions South Korea 3-3 at the Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar.
Harimau Malaya scored through Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim in the 51st minute and Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi's 62nd-minute penalty, while naturalised player Romel Morales scored the third goal in the 15th minute of extra time played.
The result saw South Korea remain in second place in Group E with five points while Malaysia did not go home empty-handed but with one point and who can be proud of three goals scored against the Asian giants – all of this written on the face of one hysterical fan – Derrick Gan. – Bernama
