The Klang Valley Derby
Kuala Lumpur is a bustling metropolis full of vibrancy, color, and life. Where modern design meets charming tradition.
In the heart of the peninsula sits this melting pot of cultures, a city that you simply can’t pigeonhole as one thing or the other; not that you should, of course, that’s what makes it so great!
A soccer rivalry was taking place during the dates of my visit to the Malaysian capital, so how could I pass up the opportunity to see if its sports experiences matched Kuala Lumpur’s curious character?
Like the city, this stadium experience totally took me by surprise. Let me introduce you to a fascinating fixture: Kuala Lumpur City versus Selangor, also known as ‘The Klang Valley Derby’.
Malay matchday
The late March Malaysian heat can be tiresome. Thankfully, it’s easy to hide among the shadows of the countless skyscrapers (including the Merdeka 118, the world’s second tallest building) that dominate the Kuala Lumpur skyline.
Pre-game routines are often predictable in England: waiting too long to get served in a crowded pub for a round of beer, greasy food from a converted trailer, and avoiding the sweat of other match-goers as you’re pressed up against them on public transport.
Obviously, things were different here. Ramadan was ongoing, a special time of year for many in Malaysia. As expected, the boozy soccer culture you might find in Europe wasn’t to be at this game. I’m also assuming that the reason this game kicked off at 10pm local time was to give the players, and maybe the fans, who were fasting an opportunity to eat before the match.
KLFA Stadium, an 18,000-seat arena that Kuala Lumpur City FC calls home, is located in the south of this huge city and where I’d be heading for this game. Hailing a taxi is an arduous process thanks to the hectic city center traffic.
Eventually, I found a cab and was en route. Some rudimentary research into Malaysian soccer enlightened me to the fact that this league is as uncompetitive as they come. Johor Darul Ta’zim, a club based close to the border with Singapore, have won the previous nine league campaigns and the smart money is on them to make it ten relatively unchallenged.
The financial imbalance in the Malaysian Super League is obvious. Huge injections of capital have paved the way for Johor Darul Ta’zim to take a stranglehold on this country’s soccer league. Naturally, the champions dispute that this is the main reason for their success, claiming it’s down to excellent planning and brilliant coaching. Forgive my skepticism but I find that hard to believe considering they’d never won the title before their first of this sequence.
The clubs in focus
Nevertheless, any chance this evening’s home side has of holding the league trophy aloft at the end of the season is virtually non-existent. Perhaps Selangor holds slender hopes of threatening the current kings in Malaysia, but it’d still be a big surprise if they were to pull it off. But that’s not what this fixture was about; there was local pride at stake.
Kuala Lumpur City are sort of the new kids on the block, relatively speaking anyway, having only been founded in the 1970s. Selangor’s history goes way further back to the beginning of the 20th century, making them part of the soccer fabric here.
The home side have been unable to keep the momentum of reaching last season’s AFC Cup Final up, starting this campaign winless. Head coach Bojan Hodak alluded to the tweaks his staff have made in training to change their fortunes and feels his squad is similarly matched in talent to that of their neighbors.
Selangor boss Tan Cheng Hoe, who must’ve been desperate for a reaction to his side’s recent 4-0 humbling by Johor Darul Ta’zim, accused his counterpart of instigating psychological warfare, exemplifying how intense emotions can run in the build-up to this rivalry.
They say that form goes out the window in a derby match; both managers undoubtedly hoped that would be the case going into this one.
Raucous support
As I walked under the steel beams propping up the stands, the smell of spices and meat was all around me. The sun had set so fasting was over for another day for those observing Ramadan.
I bought my admission ticket from the counter, which cost me 20 Ringgit (roughly $4.50). I know Malaysian soccer isn’t renowned for its high caliber play, but I felt this still represented magnificent value considering the magnitude of this top division game.
The scent was tempting so I had to eat something. A spectacular lineup of food was on offer. Arguably the best stadium grub I’ve ever had. A buffet full of several types of curry, rice, beans, vegetables, you name it. All of it was bursting with flavor. Other soccer stadiums wouldn’t even have a seated area to be able to eat this sort of meal, let alone serve it.
After a dinner like this, I really felt that even a drab 0-0 would’ve been worth the journey thanks to the food (on a side note, Malaysia is an underrated food destination).
As I was just about ready to loosen my belt a little, I showed the turnstile operator my ticket, got a cursory pat-down for any prohibited items, then found an empty seat.
In honesty, it wasn’t hard to find a seat in the Kuala Lumpur City stands. I’d estimate that they were only a quarter full at best (not to mention the significant number of Selangor fans sitting in the home sections). I didn’t know whether to put this down to their poor start to the season, the trying economic climate many are facing globally, or simply being less established as a club than others across Malaysia.
The same can’t be said for the Selangor away support opposite me. Simply… wow! What appeared to be a sold out section of avid fans displaying tifos, chanting as loud as their lungs would allow, and synchronized jumping made this an entirely stunning spectacle for me.
Perhaps it’s because a fervent atmosphere like this wasn’t what I was expecting in this part of the world whatsoever, but I’ve been in attendance at dozens of soccer venues all over Europe and this is up there with the very best show of support I’ve witnessed.
A personal highlight was the Selangor fans singing to the tune of Wavin’ Flag by K’naan, an unofficial anthem for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa (treat yourself to the song on YouTube if you’re unfamiliar with it).
As the national anthem was impeccably observed and the players knelt for the obligatory pre-game photos, the referee was ready to commence the game.
It came as no surprise to me that the game started as a cagey one, given the form of both sides. Not conceding a sloppy early goal was high on the agenda.
Selangor certainly looked the more comfortable side on the ball and the more likely team to open the scoring.
As the away side piled on more pressure, one of their attackers drilled a strike against a Kuala Lumpur City defender in the box and it ricocheted away. The Selangor players appealed animatedly to the referee that a handball had occurred, but the official waved away the claims and let the game continue, which would turn out to be contentious.
Immediately, Kuala Lumpur City countered, advancing to edge of Selangor’s penalty area courtesy of a long ball hoofed forward. It fell kindly for Ivorian striker Kipré Tchetche who tried his luck from outside the box. His strike diverted off a defender, bamboozling the goalkeeper in the process and nestling into the goal.
This sparked furious protestations from the visiting players who were, quite frankly, appallingly aggressive towards the referee who would’ve been within his rights to admonish more players than he did. Their reaction didn’t change the fact that they were losing 1-0.
Calamity ensues
The run of play began to favor Selangor again after they restarted the match, spurred on by what they felt was an injustice. The way their equalizer came about 8 minutes after falling behind was farcical though.
A dreadful corner should’ve been comfortably dealt with by the Kuala Lumpur City man at the near post but he inexplicably attempted to head the ball off the ground when it would’ve been simple to lash it clear with his foot. The ball struck his arm as he lay horizontally and the referee had no choice but to award a penalty.
I don’t mean to belittle the quality of football on show, because there was glimpses of delightful passing moves on show, but the corner was abysmal and the attempt to clear it was even worse. Colombian new-boy Ayron Del Valle duly tucked the spot kick home to tie things up.
And, as misery loves company, there was more calamity for the home side five minutes before the interval. As a hopeful ball was lofted goalwards, the Kuala Lumpur ‘keeper was unable to catch the ball properly. As he attempted to gather it on the second attempt, he wiped out a Selangor attacker in the area, forcing an almost apologetic referee to point to the spot yet again.
The second penalty was almost identical to the first, despite a different taker, and Selangor had turned this game around completely. Although it must be said that even though they were the better side, they were gifted two goals.
The Kuala Lumpur City head coach was sure to be angry at half time with his side 2-1 down. Plenty for those in the dressing room to digest, not just me.
Speaking of which, I popped down to the concourse to inspect if anything was going on during the break. I wasn’t hungry in the slightest but I saw a stall selling a drink I’d never heard of and wanted to give it a try. It was called Lemon Asam Boi, a juice made from preserved plums flavored with lemons; very sweet and refreshing.
Comeback on the cards
Beverage in hand, I made it back to the stands as the game was restarting. I could only imagine the fury in the voices of the Kuala Lumpur City staff at half time. Maybe a rollicking would kick them into gear?
Sadly for them, this wasn’t the case as Selangor managed the first 10 minutes of the second half very professionally, quelling any pressure the home side tried to produce and slowing the game down.
Then came what felt like the final nail in the Kuala Lumpur City coffin. When a cross was driven across the box to the unmarked Del Valle, he could’ve, and probably should’ve, simply tapped the ball into the empty net. He was probably the most relieved man in the ground when he was allowed to untangle his feet, get the ball under control, and caress it into the corner of the net.
The banners and noise exuding from the away end were even mightier now, a wonderful spectacle of passion and joy.
The message from the manager of Selangor was on display for all to see: we’re winning so take no risks and see the rest of this game out, which is what they did perfectly, quashing any threat their opponents had hoped to cause.
As the referee blew his whistle to end the game, home and away players alike collapsed, presumably due to a combination of exhaustion and overwhelming post-derby emotion.
Elation in the away end as they serenaded their heroes and the ones who still had the energy to stand came over to dance and sing with them.
I’m extremely pleased I went to see this game, mostly to witness the exhibition of the away fans, let alone the players.
So many things surprised me about Kuala Lumpur, in a positive way. Make no mistake about it, Malaysians can be soccer mad, as I can attest to from those donning Selangor’s colors. Maybe with their 12th man, they can break Johor Darul Ta’zim’s dominance.
For Kuala Lumpur City, they need a lucky break and to cut out silly mistakes. Only then will they really be able to match their Klang Valley rivals.
This rivalry appeared to be one-sided on this occasion, on the field and in the stands. Hopefully Malaysian soccer will get the exposure it deserves and investment at other clubs to even out the financial disparity for the better.