PETALING JAYA: The FA Cup final will be Nidzam Jamil’s biggest moment in his coaching career but the Selangor supremo refuses to be the centre of attraction.
He gave all the credit to his players.
He said the attitude and character of the Selangor players were keys to their fabulous run and it would be an icing on the cake if they can go all the way to beat Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) in the final of FA Cup at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil today.
It has been a roller coaster ride for the Red Giants in the FA Cup competition as they had to play with nine men in the second leg of the quarter-finals before edging out Kuching City with the penalty shootout (5-3) after both teams were tied on 4-4 aggregate.
They also bounced back from a first leg 2-3 defeat against Terengganu to win 4-1 in the second leg of the semi-finals to reach the final on 6-4 aggregate after six years.
Nidzam, 44, with a modest coaching career over the last 12 years, took over from Tan Cheng Hoe as the Selangor head coach and is delighted that he has finally guided a team into a domestic cup final.
However, he hailed his charges who responded positively whenever the chips were down.
“I’m happy but it’s not my success story. The attitude and character of our players have brought us this far as it was not smooth-sailing for us in the FA Cup,” said Nidzam.
“We were down with nine men, we came back from defeats and this is a good story for us to tell in future on how we managed to reach the final against all odds. “We have to consider ourselves as the underdogs as JDT are a very strong squad but it’s 50-50 game and we have nothing to lose.
“It is not over until it’s over and we have a few more steps that separates us from the Cup. We are so close, why not we take a shot at the title?”
Nidzam is also surprised with the rate of his own success as he has only been in charge of the Selangor side since May.
However, he commended the role played by captain Safuwan Baharuddin and the rest of the players who have gelled well this season.
“I have never expected to achieve this success as I have only been in charge for the last three to four months,” added Nidzam.
“However, we have a good captain Safuawan and have good experienced players and positive young performers.
“We have our goal and we want to chase victory and tomorrow (today) is going to be a good day for the Selangor.”
