Going for the spectacular: Johor Darul Ta’zim’s Bergson Da Silva attempts an overhead kick in front of Police’s Mohd Hadi Fayyadh during their Super League match. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: What else do the Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) juggernaut want?
They have achieved pretty much everything domestically – the FA Cup and Super League are in the bag. They have been unbeaten all season for a second consecutive season and are sitting pretty at the top of the table with 64 points after 21 wins and one draw.
It’s scary - because coach Esteban Solari is not about to let up.
He is looking for a second consecutive unbeaten season now that they have clinched a 10th consecutive Super League title and of course, a second consecutive treble.
It looks unlikely that their semi-final opponents Perak or two other semi-finalists – Kuala Lumpur and Terengganu – can stop JDT from adding their final silverware – the Malaysia Cup.
Kedah are the only team to have achieved the double treble in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons by winning the league, Malaysia Cup and FA Cup for two straight seasons.
But remaining unbeaten in two consecutive seasons will be unprecedented and JDT could be the first team to achieve it this year.
“It’s an amazing job to win the league in just 22 games where we won 21 games, scored 86 goals and conceded only seven. It is definitely possible to finish the season unbeaten and we will work hard to achieve it,” said Solari, a former Argentine Under-23 coach.
“This victory is not for the main squad but the entire squad of 41 players who have contributed to this success. Although many players don’t get the chance to play regularly, they have always helped their teammates, pushed each other to ensure the team perform at the highest level.
“I am lucky to have a group of professional players who are always to willing to learn and improve and have the passion to play in local and international competitions.
“Now, we must also challenge ourselves to do better in the AFC Champions League and start getting the points there.”
Stand-in captain Bergson Da Silva (37th minute), Juan Muniz (40th), Arif Aiman Hanapi (54th-minute penalty) and Fernando Forestieri (57th) were on target against Police on Wednesday.
The AFC Champions League is the only competition where JDT have yet to assert their authority. They lost 0-1 in their opening match at home against Japanese club Kawasaki Frontale on Sept 19.
JDT will play BG Pathum United in the AFC Champions League in Pathum Thani, Thailand, on Oct 3 hoping to return with a positive result before meeting Perak in the first leg of the Malaysia Cup in Iskandar Puteri on Oct 20.
