Imagine going to work at a place where the perks exceed the norm, your well-being is often checked upon, you have the best tools available and the management has a listening ear?
Sounds like a pretty good deal, leaving you only needing to focus on the task at hand.
Feel motivated to deliver? Have peace of mind at work? Able to focus better?
That's what footballers quickly discover at Johor Darul Ta'zim FC (JDT). Football, family and friends are arguably the only things players need to concentrate on.
Pic courtesy of JDT
The rest never disappoints — something unheard of in Malaysian football prior to JDT being established by HRH Major General Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim, Crown Prince of Johor in 2013.
So much so, much of JDT's battle for supremacy in Malaysian football is won without even entering the field of play.
Salaries or rather the infamous inconsistent fulfilment of this basic contract obligation has plagued Malaysian football for years. It could even be called a pandemic as some teams go months or years before paying up.
Even JDT's closest challenger for the past two seasons, Kedah, went five months without paying salaries this year. Just about every team sans JDT have had salary issues in recent years, some were even docked league points for not complying with due dates set by governing bodies, FIFA and FA of Malaysia.
It's a no brainer that motivational levels and ultimately performances will drop in such instances.
It's basic human nature. Unpaid bills, unserviced loans, tightened spending and a depleting savings accounts are unwanted distractions to anyone, let alone a footballer.
Welcome, match-fixers! — a recurring enemy in Malaysian football for decades.
Money apart, JDT have changed the landscape of Malaysian football by creating an environment akin to top-level football with World-class facilities at the JDT Training Centre and Sultan Ibrahim Stadium.
Both are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment that meets most demands of modern football. From quality pitches, an indoor field and well-equipped gymnasiums to top-notch recovery and rehabilitation equipment, JDT have it all.
Pic courtesy of JDT
The Southern Tigers are currently building a medical centre at their training ground while having plans for a larger one-stop training centre to house both the Academy and senior team in the future.
Injured players are provided with the best treatment too following JDT's collaboration with Barcelona-based specialist Dr. Juan Manuel Boffa, who also consults for Manchester City. The likes of Natxo Insa, S. Kunanlan, Syafiq Ahmad and Gary Steven Robbat have all been under his watchful eyes.
JDT even have a full-time nutritionist to oversee post-training meals prepared for the players and advise on individual daily nutritional intake for each player.
Pic courtesy of JDT
What more could a footballer ask for?
The results are telling at JDT. 16 trophies in mere 7 seven years, an academy that has started dominating age-group tournaments and countless football landmarks.
Former journalist Vijhay is Head of Content at Johor Darul Ta'zim FC following stints with Malay Mail, Sports247.my, FourFourTwo Malaysia and FOX Malaysia. You may have also heard him on BFM Football or watched him on Media Prima's football programmes. Vijhay can be reached at @vijhayvick on Twitter.
