Eye for a Tiger Rajagobal's trust in youth has paid off handsomely, as he looks for another landmark against the Lions

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SINGAPORE - Eight coaches came before him and failed in the quest for gold, there was little excitement in Malaysian football circles when K Rajagobal took over as coach of the national team and the under-23 side in July 2009.

Five months later, the Malaysian under-23 team ended a 20-year drought when they won the SEA Games gold medal in Laos.

The win propelled K Rajagobal to the forefront of Malaysian football, he proved it was no fluke when he steered the national team to their first win in the AFF Suzuki Cup in December.

These days, he is known as "King Raja" all over Malaysia, and his Tigers are breathing confidence ahead of tomorrow's huge clash with arch-rivals Singapore in the first leg of the second round of World Cup qualifiers at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

This being football, failure against Singapore will quite possibly mean that Rajagobal could go from hero to villain.

The former Selangor star knows what is at stake, and he has drawn inspiration from past victories over the Lions to fuel his drive for victory, starting tomorrow.

"As a player, some of my best memories are of playing and beating the Singapore team in the Malaysia Cup," he said.

And in a clear attempt at mind games, the 55-year-old added: "At the time, we were just state sides and Singapore was a national team.

"Now, the Singapore squad has naturalised citizens and an experienced squad, they need to beat us more because of the squad they have compared to my young team."

Rajagobal puts great stock in developing young talent, a philosophy that formed when he was appointed assistant coach of the Selangor youth team in 1996.

They won the Piala President and the national under-21 league and the budding coach was set for greater things.

Besides hard work, he also has a knack for spotting talent. Explaining what he looks for in a player, Rajagobal said: "I knew that in modern sports you need higher intensity, you need greater speed, more energy. That was the future, that was what I wanted to inject into the team."

The likes of forward Safee Sali, stocky, strong and fast, became the mould for Rajagobal's all-conquering Tigers of the future.

Several players followed Rajagobal up the ranks from his tenure as Malaysia's under-20 coach in 2002 all the way to the senior team.

Energetic midfielder S Kunalan, Tigers' skipper Safiq Rahim, midfield muscle Amar Rohaidan, and Safee are all trusted lieutenants of Rajagobal out on the field.

Most of the players in the 24-man squad here are 24 years old or younger, and Rajagobal said: "I know them in and out, and they know what I expect from them. If they're not going to perform consistently, they know that I will bring in players who are more eager.

"I don't speak to the players, don't get close to them, but the players understand this, and it has brought success."

Under his stewardship, Malaysian football has already enjoyed two firsts, and Rajagobal's Tigers are now gunning for yet another record at the expense of Singapore. They want to become the first Malaysian side to qualify for the third round of the World Cup qualifiers.

They are aiming for a favourable result tomorrow, before finishing the Lions off in the return leg at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur next Thursday.

Said Rajagobal: "These records keep me motivated. Winning with such a young team makes it even more special and, sometimes, you don't even realise that what you've achieved is something extraordinary."