PETALING JAYA: Spaniard Xisco Munoz must be the most restless coach in Malaysian football, being in charge of powerhouse Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT).
But he is far from feeling the heat despite a relentless schedule.
In fact, Munoz is relishing it as he says it’s simply the life of a big club.
Hours after JDT sealed their FA Cup semi-final spot, the Spaniard was already preparing for a flight and the next important match – an encounter with Pohang Steelers in the AFC Champions League (ACL) Elite in South Korea on Tuesday.
“This is the life. These are the demands of being at this level,” said Munoz.
“When I was a player in the league and the Champions League, I didn’t have time for rest or other things. You only focus on football, so it shouldn’t be any different this time as a coach.”
JDT thrashed Penang 4-1 at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri on Friday to complete an 11-3 aggregate victory in the two-legged quarter-finals.
They had won the first leg 7-2 in Penang on Sept 20.
Bergson da Silva opened the scoring in the 13th minute, and Nacho Mendez doubled the lead 10 minutes later.
Iranian striker Shahab Zahedi made it 3-0 in the 45th minute before Manuel Hidalgo added the fourth in the 72nd.
Argentinian centreback Stefano Brundo pulled one back for Penang in the 86th minute.
With another key fixture coming, Munoz rotated his squad and said everyone must contribute equally.
“We have a lot of rotations. Sometimes one gives a good level, another needs to improve a little bit. We need everyone in the same way, with the same power.”
Despite the big win, Xisco still felt he had to address the goal conceded late on.
“Sometimes we need to do something extra in the last minutes and also the first minutes of the game. We need to learn from these small mistakes,” he said.
He also stressed the need to bring young players up to speed with JDT’s demands, noting that the club’s standards rise every day.
“We need to prepare the players on JDT’s philosophy and values. Our goals get bigger and bigger, and the next step is a Champions League semi-finals, maybe a final, or maybe winning the Shopee Cup.”
JDT will face either Brunei or Kuala Lumpur in the FA Cup semi-finals.
