PEATLING JAYA: Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) have roped in former Nottingham Forest winger Nicolao Dumitru to beef up the team for the Super League this season.
PEATLING JAYA: Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) have roped in former Nottingham Forest winger Nicolao Dumitru to beef up the team for the Super League this season.
The Italian is the third international signing for the Super League champions, following the arrival of Argentina-born Jalil Elias and Portuguese midfielder Francisco Geraldes last month.
But JDT aren’t stopping yet as club owner Regent of Johor Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim revealed on social media that another foreign player will be joining as well.
“There are two, another one is arriving in June,” said Tunku Ismail.
Dumitru will be expected to join forces with the Southern Tigers’ frontmen Arif Aiman Hanapi and Brazilian maestro Bergson Da Silva.
Born in Sweden, the 32-year-old started his footballing career in Italy, where he played for Seria A club Napoli before several loan spells in the country.
He eventually made his way on loan to England and spent a season with Nottingham Forest, followed by stints in Asia with South Korean squad Suwon Bluewings and Thailand’s Buriram United.
Dumitru’s experience playing in the AFC Champions League (ACL) with Buriram will come in handy for JDT gaffer Hector Bidoglio as the club are set to compete in the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) this season.
At the same time, the 10-time Super League champions announced on social media that they are Southeast Asia’s top club, 16th in the continent, and 319th in the world, according to football analysis website The Analyst.
“The website ranks almost 13,500 football clubs. No other teams from Malaysia were in the top 1000, with other Malaysian League teams sitting at 1,499th or lower,” JDT said.
