Malaysia coach axed following heavy Asian Cup defeats

BANGKOK, July 19 (Reuters) Malaysia coach Norizan Bakar has been axed after his side's heavy losses at the Asian Cup.

''The team manager told me that my contract, which was to end in September, would be terminated after the Iran match,'' he was quoted as saying by Malaysia's Bernama news agency today.

Malaysia's 2-0 defeat by three-times Asian Cup champions Iran yesterday was the 46-year-old's last game in charge.

Norizan was informed of the decision after the co-hosts were humiliated 5-0 by Uzbekistan on Saturday, which followed a 5-1 hammering by China in their opening Group C match.

''Football is all about results. Before I became a coach I was a teacher and when my students failed I stopped teaching. It is the same with the career of a coach,'' Norizan added.

The deputy president of Malaysia's soccer federation, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, resigned after Saturday's loss, and Malaysian sports leaders have called for others to follow suit.

REUTERS SAM SSC1129