Each time I read about the South Koreans' sports and economic success, I am envious and my spine takes a shudder.

"Wouldn't it be nice for Malaysia to be in their seat?", I ask myself. Imagine that Chelsea soccer club's main sponsor is a Korean brand called Samsung (Nokia lost to them) while Hyundai is the sponsor for the German national men's hockey team.

About 40 years ago, Malaysian levels in sports including soccer, badminton and hockey were high and maybe even ahead of South Korea's. While today we are not very far behind in badminton and hockey, we are miles and years behind in the world's most popular game, soccer. This is despite the fact that we have strong government and private sector support for the game. What then has gone wrong? Why has the gap widened against another Asian nation which was at one time behind us?

One aspect that differentiates us is the work rate, methods applied and the organisation of soccer in South Korea. The Koreans are self motivated and train continuously. They have a reputation of having one of the highest work rate in the sports world. Small wonder that their professional players are so much sought after and are currently represented in the top clubs of England, Holland and Portugal, just to name a few.

The 'work rate' here means they train extremely hard so that when they are actually on the field it becomes a breeze for them. This is unlike we Malaysians whose work rate is poor as training is not rigorous, structured and intensive enough to be world champions. Hence, giving your 110% effort on the field (and the unnecessary pep talks on match day) is of no use if you do not train industriously like world champions.

What then needs to be done? As the adage goes: 'You are as good as the leadership.' I seriously hope the cabinet will interfere to select the best brains in the country. Rope in the top sports editors, former sport personalities and sports professionals for a brainstorm without any political interference.

Come out with some concrete measures even if it means removing the top leadership of soccer's governing body, namely the FAM. If development efforts had been continuous over the years, we should be reaping the successes now. But we are not and it is only excuses after excuses we are hearing.

Positive action to be taken should include measuring, monitoring and analysing the change to our soccer fortunes. In the recent SEA games, sadly, we only managed to beat minnows like Philippines and Cambodia.

There is no short cut to success. Forget about the past and face the current reality that many soccer nations do not wish to play Malaysia as our standard is among the lowest in the world.

Meanwhile, taxpayers are paying for the expensive maintenance of stadiums and some state soccer teams which are half filled each time. Stop the rot please. Malaysians are sick and tired of our soccer team.

Let's learn form the Koreans. If their team fails, there is no 'passing the buck' and the top management takes responsibility. When can we see the 'buck' in Malaysia being stopped?