Part 1, Part 2.

James Wong revealed more about his experiences after scoring that momentous goal in an interview with Berita Harian in 2005.

He said every member of the team truly felt like national heroes that night. There were many fans and supporters who gathered in front of the changing room, cheering and chanting the players’ names while waiting for the team to come out to greet and offer their congratulations.

People were asking for their jerseys, shorts, socks, boots and even their underwear as mementoes.

James recalled that he threw to the fans everything he wore during the match, including his number 9 jersey and yes, his underwear, which they scrambled to collect!

He continued that during the match, when he saw Hassan running with the ball, he rushed to the Koreans’ penalty area, with two / three defenders at his front and back. He knew that Hassan normally would not go for goal but instead pass to him, and that’s what actually happened. At that time he was surrounded by several defenders, but managed to unleash a fierce shot that evaded the keeper. When he saw that the ball had gone in, he screamed and ran back towards Hassan, before falling down flat and mobbed by teammates until he could barely breathe.

When the final whistle blew, some of the players were in disbelief and most shed tears of joy. Some kneeled. The players and officials embraced each other.

Coach Karl Weigang also embraced him and thanked him for scoring the goal. He was almost in tears.

The team then rounded off the celebrations with a victory parade around the stadium.

After the match, every player was given a bonus of RM1,000 by FAM and the Ahli Mangku Negara (AMN) medal from the King.

Even though it happened 25 years earlier, it was clearly a special moment as reflected in James’ expressions during the interview.

But when he found out that Malaysia had boycotted the 1980 Olympiad, he was terribly disappointed, as that was long held dream, and still did until the present. Every time he watched an Olympics opening ceremony, he’d feel deep sadness and sometimes shed tears.

The FAM made up for it by giving each player an all-expenses paid leisure trip to Europe.

I hear both James and Hassan are still active at sports now, so it wouldn’t come as a surprise if you find them driving a car installed with a yakima roof rack.

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