Over to you: New KL coach Nenad Bacina (left) posing with his predecessor Bojan Hodak.
PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur’s new coach Nenad Bacina is only coming on board in two weeks’ time but the City Boys’ centreback Giancarlo Gallifuoco has urged his teammates to get cracking in their Super League match against Kelantan today.
The Australian said they would treat the game at the Cheras Football Stadium as if Bacina is already there watching the players, and they need to impress to keep their starting spots.
‘’I’ve told the players to play as if Nenad is already here watching the games, and we must get an impressive win. This is especially so for the players who have not trained under him before,’’ said Gallifuoco.
“You need to fight for your spots, really earn it. We have to approach the upcoming games like an audition.”
Croatian Bacina, who was KL’s assistant coach in 2021 and 2022, will only join the team in early August.
Another Croatian, Miroslav Kuljanac, will be the interim coach for the game against Kelantan today.
He will also take charge of the Malaysia Cup first-leg round-of-16 game against Penang at the City Stadium on Aug 3.
Bacina was appointed after Bojan Hodak left the club recently to join Indonesian side Persib Bandung.
Hodak led KL to three different finals in the last three years, where they won the Malaysia Cup in 2021 and were runners-up in the AFC Cup (2022) and FA Cup (2023).
The 0-2 defeat to Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) in the FA Cup final last weekend was tough to take, as it led to the sudden departure of Hodak.
Gallifuoco said the team have to stay strong to start a new chapter.
“We are sad that Bojan has left and he has left a huge void. He is a great coach and I learnt a lot under him. But we also know how good Nenad was as an assistant coach and I look forward to starting a new chapter under him.
“The boys were devastated after the cup final loss but we had a team-bonding session to lift their spirits. We went toe to toe against JDT and I felt it was our best performance against them this season.’’
Kuala Lumpur are seventh in the league with 25 points while Kelantan are bottom with five.
