Mohd Nidzam Jamil. -filepic
PETALING JAYA: A familiar face, a similar situation.
Selangor interim coach Nidzam Jamil is looking forward to taking on Terengganu and his best friend Nafuzi Zain in their Super League encounter at the Petaling Jaya Stadium tomorrow.
Nidzam has taken over the dugout from Michael Feichtenbeiner and all eyes will be on him to see how he fares in his first stint under the new role for the Red Giants.
“When Nafuzi took charge of Terengganu as an interim coach for the first time, his opening game was against me. I was coaching Felda United then,” said Nidzam.
“Now, I will face him in my first game as Selangor’s interim coach. Nafuzi is a good friend of mine, so I guess it will be a healthy competition.”
The Red Giants have failed to beat Terengganu since March 2019. This season, in the Super League, they lost to the Turtles 0-2 at the Sultan Mizan Stadium in Gong Badak in April.
For the return fixture, hopes are pinned on Nidzam to revive the Selangor team, who lost their last three games in all competitions.
Their last defeat was against Terengganu in the FA Cup semi-finals where they lost 2-4 in a penalty shootout after the match ended 1-1.
Nidzam said he had focused on the mental aspect of the players during training sessions.
“This is important as the players had to deal with a change of coach midway through the season.
A former Selangor player himself, Nidzam said it was the first time that he had been entrusted with a huge responsibility in the middle of the season and promised to do his best to revitalise the club that had been part of his life for a long time.
“When the club chose me as the interim coach, I humbly accepted it because this is Selangor, and there is nothing better than thinking about your club,” said Nidzam.
“I believe that the emotional aspect of the boys is essential, and I like the trust they have placed in me in this current situation.
“We here to trust each other through the process because a change is never easy, and it’s harder for me too because Michael was my boss,” he said.
“But we are in one big ship, so we have to continue our voyage until we reach our destination and see if we succeed or not. We are doing this for the fans.”
Selangor are currently ninth in the league with 16 points from 13 games while Terengganu are fourth with 20 points from 14 matches.
