PETALING JAYA: Arif Aiman Hanapi may dazzle with his dribbling, but defender Bradley Tapp says Harimau Malaya’s impressive run in the FIFA Asean Cup has been very much a team effort.
Tapp believes Malaysia’s success has been built on contributions from across the squad, with the team scoring nine goals without conceding any.
Malaysia will look to end their campaign on another high when they face Vietnam in the third-place playoff at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta today.
Tapp, who has impressed at centreback throughout the tournament, said the effort went well beyond the headline names.
“A lot of these players are superstars. There are a lot of players who get the limelight, like Arif, and he’s quality, but there are also a lot of players who don’t get the limelight they deserve, who have put in so much effort over the last week. The whole team just pushed through,” said the Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) player.
“We’ve scored nine goals in this group stage and conceded none. So it’s not just about the attack, it’s also about the defence. Everyone as a collective has done a great job so far.”
Malaysia missed out on a place in the final, but Tapp said the squad had put the disappointment behind them.
“Obviously we’re disappointed not to be playing in the final, but we’re all proud of the effort we put in the other night.
“We can only control what we do, so we’ll give everything. Everyone’s in a good mindset right now,” he said.
He added that the players had done their homework on Vietnam and would continue preparations on the training ground.
The squad are a relatively fresh one, with newcomers including Tapp, striker Bergson da Silva and winger Manuel Hidalgo, but he said that would not change their approach.
“It’s an honour to be here. Everyone has been super welcoming.
“We have a lot of quality players, and I think we’ve shown that in this tournament. But I know we can go further and do a lot more,” said Tapp.
“We take every game very seriously. We want to make Malaysia proud and show that we are capable of beating the best.
“It’s not going to be easy, but we’ll stick together, fight together and do our best.”
