PETALING JAYA: Bad boy Mohd Nazmi Faiz Mansor has finally come good for Selangor.
The talented midfielder twice made the headlines for the wrong reasons this season – both times for spitting at opponents during matches.
The 21-year-old was slapped with a six-match ban by Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) disciplinary committee for spitting at Kelantan’s Erwin Carillo in a Super League match at the Shah Alam Stadium Aug 19.
In June, Nazmi was sent home early from the Singapore SEA Games and handed a six-match ban after being red-carded for spitting at a Timor Leste player.
But the youngster looks to have put his troubled past behind him.
On Sunday, he scored his team’s second goal – in the 54th minute – to help Selangor beat Pahang 2-0 in the second leg of the Malaysia Cup semi-final at the Shah Alam Stadium.
The Red Giants had earlier gone ahead through Brazilian Guilherme De Paula in the 11th minute. Having held defending champions Pahang to a goalless draw in the first leg at the Darul Makmur Stadium last Wednesday, Selangor go through to the final with a 2-0 aggregate win.
The former Harimau Muda player is glad to have scored his first goal at the Shah Alam Stadium.
Now he wants to help Selangor lift the Malaysia Cup for a record 33rd time on Saturday.
“I dedicate the goal to my family, who have been very supportive throughout the ups and downs of my career,” said Nazmi, who joined Selangor from PKNS FC last year.
The Klang Valley giants last won the Malaysia Cup in 2005, defeating Perlis 3-0 in the final.
Although they made the final again in 2008, the Red Giants lost 3-2 to Kedah, their opponents again this time.
“It will be tough against Kedah, who have good foreigners and young players, but we’ll give them a good fight. The final is at our stadium... what’s important is that we don’t take them lightly.”Already a subscriber? Log in
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