PETALING JAYA: Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) have stood untouchable in Malaysian football for the past three seasons but all that could come to an end this year.
And that was the frank admission from club owner and Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim.
Tunku Ismail said the Southern Tigers were in transition, and the record-breaking streak may not last.
“We basically have a new team. We have a new coach (Xisco Munoz), a new system and if we look at the first eleven today, 80% are new players,” said Tunku Ismail. “We’ve succeeded with an unbeaten record for three consecutive years ... we will not be able to break that record again.”
He said he was looking at the bigger picture.
“As usual, my expectation and target is to consistently finish top four in the league and try to go as far as possible in the AFC Champions League (ACL) Elite,” he said.
“I would like to try to bring this club to the quarter-finals of the ACL one day. But if that does not happen, we will continue to push and try our best.”
The last major haul was in 2018 and the fruits of that transition were seen years later with three straight unbeaten league campaigns and record goal tallies. He believes the current squad overhaul will follow the same path.
“Every few years, we bring changes to improve the squad to compete at the highest level,” he said. “Slowly, the younger ones will take over as seniors. That is the long-term plan.”
Tunku Ismail said JDT’s recent dominance was not achieved in a vacuum.
“For me, it was good luck. Not because JDT were good, but also because other teams were going through a financial crisis and the spirit of their players were lacking.”
Cracks have already appeared for JDT this season after conceding three goals at home against Negri Sembilan.
