JOSEPH
PETERTWO double internationals from Negri Sembilan, M. Joseph, 77, and Peter van Huizen, 75, passed away leaving a proud legacy.
Peter died on Sunday, while Joseph yesterday morning.
Both are a rare breed who played hockey and soccer for the country, something which the present batch of sportsmen can’t even come close to.
Peter only started playing hockey when he was 20 years old, by chance, as he happened to be at the Negri Sembilan padang, and was invited to play for the Negri Sembilan Ceylonese Association (NSCA).
He went on to become a pillar between the posts in hockey and was as among the 18 young men who represented Malaysia at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, and then the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo.
Peter was even voted as the world’s Best Goalkeeper in 1956.
He played soccer for Negri Sembilan Indians Association (NSIA) and Seremban Rangers, the Negri state team in 1952 and represented Malaysia at the 1959 SEAP Games in Bangkok.
Peter then started coaching Seremban Municipal Council in 1985 and and among the goalkeepers he spotted and trained were Hamdan Hamzah who played for the National Juniors in 1989, Osbert Pinto (a winger turned goalkeeper and recent former international and goalkeepers coach Nasihin Nubli.
Back in the good old days, players had to pay their own airfares, and even though Peter was selected for the 1960 Olympics in Rome, could not afford to travel to because he had just got married and was cash strapped.
And M. Joseph was also made of the same stuff, as he represented the country in hockey as well as soccer.
He played soccer for Malaya from 1947 to 1953, while in hockey, he played in the 1958 Tokyo Asian Games and then in the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games.
And after he retired, Joseph or fondly called one eyed Jo, started coaching in the early 1980s .
He coached the state side, which had the likes of G. Torairaju, Tony Chia and Zainuddin Hussein.
He kept himself active he played in the NS League for NSCA as well as the state veterans squad.
One of those who Joseph coached was former national coach B. Sathianathan, who was playing in the Baradhan Cup then.
Negri Sembilan HA secretary P. Tamilselvan said they were the pride of the state.
“Both of them were pillars in society, as well as sports and it is a great loss to the state.”
