Friendly match between JDT and German club Borussia Dortmund last week. - BERNAMA
PETALING JAYA: Giants Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) will not be represented in the Malaysian XI side for the friendly against Liverpool at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on July 24.
National coach Dollah Salleh made the shock move to exclude stars from the Super League champions when he named his 20-player training squad for the clash against the English Premier League side.
He only included two JDT veterans Amri Yahyah and Safiq Rahim on his standby list.
Other regulars like goalkeeper Farizal Marlias, Fadhli Shas, Junior Eldstal, S. Kunalan, Mahalli Jasuli, Safee Sali and Nazrin Nawi were dropped.
Goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat of Kelantan, Muslim Ahmad of Police, Indra Putra Mahayuddin of Felda United and Pahang’s R. Gopinathan also failed to make the team.
Under pressure following Malaysia’s abysmal results in the 2018 World Cup second round Asian Zone Group A campaign last month, Dollah promised to take drastic actions.
And true to his word, he included five new players – goalkeeper Zamir Selamat (Perak), Nazirul Naim Che Hashim (Harimau Muda B), Baddrol Bakhtiar (Kedah) and Norshahrul Idlan Talaha (Terengganu) – for the clash with Brendan Rodgers’ side.
Pahang defender Razman Roslan, however, has pulled out due to personal reasons.
No reason was given by Dollah for dropping the stalwarts, especially those from JDT. He also did not answer any phone calls. He sent out his team list to the press via e-mail.
Dollah also invited five foreign players - Ali Ashfaq (Maldives), Robert Cornthwaite (Autsralia), Thiago Junio Aquino (Brazil), Dickson Nwakaeme (Nigeria) and Zah Rahan Krangar (Liberia) - to strengthen the team.
When contacted, national team manager Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said the omission of JDT players was not due to former Johor FA president Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim’s recent comment.
Tunku Ismail, who quit as JFA president on Sunday, was quoted as saying that JDT players should not play for the national team as they were often criticised after every failure.
“Dollah wants to try out some new faces from the other teams. He knows the JDT players have the quality and don’t need to be tested against Liverpool,” said Hamidin, who is also the Football Association Malaysia (FAM) secretary general.
“The selection of players has nothing to do with Tunku Ismail’s comment. After all, we have Safiq and Amri on the standby list.
“I hope the new players will grab this chance and prove that they are worthy of their places in the team,” he added.
The training squad
Goalkeepers: Zamir Selamat (Per), Khairul Azhan Khalid (Pah)
Defenders: Afif Amiruddin (Pol), Yong Kuong Yong (Pen), Zubir Azmi (Ter), Nazirul Naim Che Hashim (Harimau Muda B), Robert Cornthwaite (Sel), Thiago Junio Aquino (Per)
Midfielders: Nasir Basharuddin (Per), Baddrol Bakhtiar (Ked), Azammuddin Akil (Pah), Ahmad Syamim Yahya (Felda Utd), Ahmad Hazwan Bakri (Sel), Joseph Kalang Tie (Sar)
Strikers: Norshahrul Idlan Talaha (Ter), Afiq Azmi (Sel), Dickson Nwakaeme (Pah), Ali Ashfaq (Pol), Zah Rahan Krangar (Felda Utd)
Bestfbkl_ Why the need to include Nigerian, Brazilian and Liberian players in Team Malaysia , including some from AFC countries(as its still part of Asia) is still palatable but this is crazy. I prefer to see a real Team Malaysia taking on Liverpool. If the football chiefs believe we cannot compete with the players we have then follow the footsteps of Singapore and naturalize some foreign players. We do this, then in preparation for major tounaments we send the squads to Europe giving the excuse they need to play with teams there to gain experience. When these teams come to Malaysia we dont take advantage to allow our players to get some experience. Everytime a player wears the national colours they must give their very best for the people and the country.
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