MELAKA: Melaka United Football Club (MUFC) today announced the appointment of Risto Vidakovic(pix) from Bosnia & Herzegovina as their new head coach.
He replaces Zainal Abidin Hassan.
In a statement today, MUFC said that with Risto's vast experience, it was hoped that it will further strengthen the preparation of the Hang Tuah squad to face the Malaysian League competition this season.
“The 53-year-old coach joined Melaka United from Indonesian League 1 club, Borneo FC besides having coached several clubs around Europe and Asia and was with the Serbian national squad as an assistant coach from 2006 to 2007.
“Among the clubs that he has coached include Spanish clubs such as Murcia, Ecija Cadiz and Betis B besides having coached Honduran club Motagua, Philippine club Ceres-Negros, Maldives club Maziya before joining Borneo FC,“ the statement said.
Throughout his coaching career, he has helped Ceres-Negros win a hat-trick of titles in the Philippine Football League, in 2017, 2018 and 2019, besides leading Maziya to win the Dhivehi Premier League 2020-2021.
Zainal Abidin, 60, has led the team for three years with their best achievement finishing in sixth place in the Super League in the 2019 season.
Under his charge, he also managed to bring Melaka United to the semi -finals of the Malaysia Cup last season to equal their achievement 38 years ago.
“We at Melaka United FC are very appreciative of everything he has done for the Melaka state team and football and pray that he succeeds in his coaching career and can continue to contribute to the nation's football development.
“Thank you Zainal Abidin Hassan, your contributions will always be remembered,“ MUFC said in the statement.-Bernama
