Red Giants’ Nidzam at the helm of a team close to his heart

BELIEVE it or not, the pitch at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on a few occasions proved to be playable and decent enough to host megastars over two decades ago.

Newly-minted Selangor coach Nidzam Jamil can testify to this for he was on the receiving end of an onslaught led by Brazilian trio Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo in May 2002.

Less than a year earlier, Nidzam was stretched to the limits as Manchester United attacking quartet of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Dwight Yorke, David Beckham and Ryan Giggs wreaked havoc on the Malaysian team.

On both occasions Nidzam was handpicked by coach Allan Harris to man the rearguard alongside Norhafiz Zamani Misbah.

But sandwiched between the two momentous occasions for Nidzam was a group match against Vietnam at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in September 2001, also at the same stadium.

The first half had ended scoreless.

After the breather, Malaysia earned a corner in the 47th minute and as the ball was swung in, Shukor Adan’s glancing header was greeted with a first timer from Indra Putra Mahayuddin but Vietnam keeper Nguyen The Anh kept the ball out only as far as Nidzam who sent a thundering shot into the roof of the net.

The goal sent 50,000 fans into a frenzy before Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli added a second to ensure Malaysia’s semi-final appearance at the SEA Games for the first time after 12 years.

It turned out to be Nidzam’s one of two goals in his short international career.

Technique-wise, Nidzam never appeared comfortable on the ball.

Unlike his brother the late Zaid, an accomplished defensive midfielder with Kuala Lumpur and then Selangor who tragically passed away in 1994 following an accident, Nidzam was happy to let others keep the ball on the deck.

But he compensated for the lack of finesse with his tough tackling, aerial and man marking abilities, which made him a valuable team member.

By contrast, Nidzam is perfectly at ease and comfortable as a coach.

His communication skills – a must have in today’s modern landscape – were evident as a pundit with Astro Arena, earning plaudits for his tactical knowledge and insightful analyses.

Nidzam was among the first batch of footballers making a name in punditry along with Nazzab Hidzan, Asmawi Bakiri, Azlan Johar and Datuk Richard Scully as expert commentators.

Concurrently Nidzam was able to practise what he preached.

As a coach with the Public Service Commission or KL Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam (SPA), Nidzam led the outfit to the FAM Cup title in 2012 and a historic quarter-final appearance in the FA Cup the same year.

As a player, Nidzam won all the major honours while representing Selangor, MPPJ, PKNS, and PDRM before hanging up his boots at a relatively young age of 28 due to a series of injuries which forced him to undergo five operations.

Nidzam earned his coach badge a year later, leading KL SPA to the Premier League in 2012, where they earned the promotion from FAM Cup to Malaysia Premier League in 2013 before moving to Air Asia and later guided the Malaysia National University Team to the Universiade Games in Taiwan in 2017.

He served as the late B. Satiananthan’s assistant at Felda United in 2017 before taking over in 2018. In 2019 and 2020, he was the youngest coach in the Super League.

So when Nidzam was named as Selangor’s head coach for the 2024-2025 Super League season early this month, replacing Tan Cheng Hoe who resigned to take over Thai club Police Tero FC, it was seen as a natural progression for the man from Kajang.

After all the former Kajang High School defender was part of the Selangor coaching set-up for almost three years and who was twice appointed as the interim head coach.

He thus joins a long list of illustrious predecessors who had handled the Selangor team, including Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Minhat, Datuk M. Chandran, Chow Kwai Lam, Khaidir Buyong, Datuk K. Rajagobal, Abdul Rahman Ibrahim and Datuk Dollah Salleh.

Like Cheng Hoe, Rahman enjoyed a stint as national coach before taking over the Red Giants, whereas Rajagobal made inroads into FAM after impressing at club level.

A voracious reader who listed having read books on Pep Guardiola, Marcelo Bielsa and Alex Ferguson on his resume, Nidzam is at the helm of a team close to his heart.

May the results be forthcoming for him.