Contrasting emotions: Terengganu’s Kpah Sherman lifting a teammate to celebrate after scoring against Kuala Lumpur at the Sultan Mizan Stadium in Gong Badak. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Terengganu coach Nafuzi Zain marked a sensational season with the club by leading them to the semi-finals of the Malaysia Cup.
His boys upstaged defending champions Kuala Lumpur 3-1 in the second-leg quarter-final at the Sultan Mizan Stadium in Gong Badak on Sunday but instead of celebrating, Nafuzi fired a salvo at the management for their lack of professionalism.
The 43-year-old Nafuzi, who have had many clamouring for him to stay on with the Turtles, said he had only been offered a one-year contract but what irked him was the manner that the deal was done, which he claimed lacked decorum.
He had received his contract extension letter through a kitman during training without any discussions.
“They gave the offer letter on Oct 27, but I only received it on the 29th. And it was the kitman who gave it to me during training. I think I’m the first coach to receive a contract offer from a kitman,” he said in the press conference after the game.
“I am a bit shocked because you’re a professional club. They should be calling me to discuss about my contract and also, talk about the plans to strengthen the team for next season.
“But that wasn’t the case at all. And in the offer letter given, they only stated what the key performance indicator was for next season. There is no talk about wages or anything.
“Look, salary is not what I look for first. I just wanted to know if I’m appreciated. But it seems that every season, they are just concerned about the KPIs.
“This year, we finished second in the Super League, qualified for the FA Cup final, qualified for the Asian stage and are now in the semi-finals of the Malaysia Cup. I am just shocked with the way that I have been treated.”
A disgruntled Nafuzi Zain.
As for the game against KL, Nafuzi was glad that his team took down the defending champions despite facing some pressure from the away side.
Terengganu took the lead through Manuel Ott in the 21st minute, but KL equalised in the 45th through Haqimi Azim Rosli.
But the home side regained the lead when striker Tchetche Kipre scored in the 62nd minute.
The icing on the cake came when Kpah Sherman scored his seventh goal of the Malaysia Cup campaign in the 88th minute.
In the first leg, Terengganu had beaten Kuala Lumpur 1-0. They qualified for the semi-finals on a 4-1 aggregate.
“KL have an experienced coach (Bojan Hodak) and players with calibre. It was tough defending just a 1-0 lead from the first leg,” said Nafuzi.
“When KL scored the equaliser towards the end of the first half, we felt some pressure but the boys were able to absorb it, and we got two goals in the second half, which helped us get into the semi-finals.”
Meanwhile, KL coach Hodak said Ryan Lambert, J. Partiban and Romel Morales did not start due to illness and that affected their preparation.
He also felt that Terengganu’s individual quality made the difference.
“Players like Tchetche Kipre, Kpah Sherman and others made a difference. Even when Romel came on for a few minutes, he wasn’t ready,’’ said the Croatian.
“Look, our squad is small, so it’s a problem when our key players are down with injuries, suspensions and sickness. We hope next season, we will have a bigger budget to invest in players.”
As for his future, Hodak said talks were ongoing with the club, and he intends to continue coaching the City Boys next season.
