KUALA LUMPUR: Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) head coach Esteban Solari dedicated the Malaysia Cup victory to the Tunku Mahkota of Johor, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, who is also the owner of JDT Club.
The 3-1 win over Terengganu FC at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, is the first Malaysia Cup victory for Solari since taking over the helm of JDT this season and the coach has also been able accomplish a treble in his first season with JDT.
“I am happy and proud of this achievement,” said Solari who replaced former JDT head coach Hector Bidoglio last December.
“We very happy to win four titles this season with this one (Malaysia Cup). It was a tough game against Terengganu where they improved a lot when when we first met and they came up with a different approach in this final.
“Syabas for the players to play with courage in the pitch that was in a very bad condition I cay say. But its not an excuse and I was concerned about that. It takes courage to play the football JDT wants to play defensive, beat the ball and having possesion. This kind of situation doesn’t help us but we try and try and get a chance to score and get the goal,” he said after the prize presentation, here today.
He said : “Its a reward for him. I’m grateful he gave me a chance to coach this fantastic team. It is not just a team but its a project that want to be better every year. The players also understand and have the mentality of champions.”
Meanwhile, Terengganu FC head coach Tomislav Steinbruckner was satisfied with the performance of his players despite the loss and praised his boys for putting up a spirited fight throughout the 90 minutes of play.
“I can’t be satisfied when my team lose the match but honestly I have to be proud with my players almost 70 minutes we played them with a score 1-1. Congratulations for all my players and also the JDT team.
“I’m a new coach we changed many players this season and brought in a few new players and adaptation of the players is not same but I have to be satisfied because the team is going up slowly,” said the 57-year-old coach.
In the action tonight, JDT scored through Bergson Da Sila, Muhamad Feroz Baharudin and Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi while Terengganu FC’s only goal of the match was scored from the spot by Ivan Mamut.–Bernama
