KUALA LUMPUR – Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) FC owner, Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, has opined that players who ply their trade abroad are not necessarily better.
Tunku Ismail said a number of local players who had decided to play abroad had clearly failed to make an impact, among them Titus James who plays in France, Luqman Hakim Shamsudin who plays for Iceland’s Njardvik, and Hadi Fayyadh Abdul Razak who had played for Japanese third-tier club Azul Claro Numazu.
The Johor royal said local football fans must instead look at the quality of the league joined before idolising players who do so.
“For example, Titus James had been playing in France for such a long time – but what is his contribution to the national team? The same goes for Luqman, and I sympathise because he is a good player, (with a) good attitude but the quality of matches, minutes, or chances in Europe is not easy. Even getting quality playing time in South Korea or Japan is not easy, and look at Hadi Fayyadh, he is now playing for Perak FC.
“It’s just the experience of staying in a country with a cool climate because when they return, there is nothing, so fans must be realistic and evaluate such things because we in the football industry are not receptive to the idea that players who play abroad are good. To me that is not logical,” he said in an exclusive interview uploaded on the Johor Southern Tigers Facebook page yesterday.
He added that JDT prioritises footballers’ quality, including when playing friendly matches as the club offers valuable remuneration.
“Everyone can see for themselves the quality of our friendly games, we don’t just play any team but teams with quality. We played against Borussia Dortmund, Zenit St Petersburg, Lokomotiv Moscow, and Spartak Moscow. Playing against such teams will give an opportunity for JDT players to learn,” he said.
Tunku Ismail also hoped JDT players would be able to maintain their consistency throughout the season, having started this year’s Super League with a 100% record from their first seven matches.
TMJ said the decision to send the team for preseason training in Dubai has been key to their success thus far.
“I did not expect 30 goals in seven games and seven wins in seven games. Normally after preseason there will be hiccups due to the intensity of preseason. I noticed that the team and the players are giving their full commitment and coping very well with the plan that we have,” he said. – Bernama, April 7, 2023
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