Good strike force: (from top, clockwise) Safawi Rasid, Paulo Josue and Romel Morales have potential to be prolific scorers.
PETALING JAYA: It’s a guessing game over who will be the lone striker in national football coach Peter Cklamovski’s 4-2-3-1 formation in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier against Nepal at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri tomorrow.
Former forward and 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup winner Safee Sali said it would be hard to identify a traditional centreforward for the Harimau Malaya as that position was often filled by foreigners in the Super League.
But fortunately, he sees quite a number of attackers in Cklamovski’s squad who are capable of stepping up and firing in the goals.
“The number nine, a pure striker, is a crucial spot to be filled but it’s hard to find an out-and-out local striker these days,’’ said Safee.
“But luckily, we have wingers and attacking midfielders who can be prolific scorers to make up for that.
“Players like Paulo (Josue), Romel (Morales) and Safawi (Rasid) are not pure strikers but they have a high strike rate and can be moved up front.”
Kuala Lumpur playmaker Josue is the Super League’s second highest scorer with 15 goals, with another three strikes in other competitions.
Terengganu flanker Safawi boasts 17 goals in all competitions, while Johor Darul Ta’zim midfielder Romel has found the net 12 times.
Cklamovski also has other options for the hitman’s role in the form of wingers like Selangor’s Faisal Halim, Terengganu’s Akhyar Rashid, JDT’s Arif Aiman Hanapi and Mohamadou Sumareh and KL’s Haqimi Azim Rosli.
Safee also stressed that due to the evolution of the modern game, pure strikers are becoming a rare breed.
“It’s becoming a rarity to find players like (Erling) Haaland and (Robert) Lewandowski. Goal poachers whose duty is to score and win games,” he said.
“Today’s strikers have to do much more. They must be able to hold the ball and create space for others. Some even have to defend.”
He added that more work should be done to develop more strikers for the country and the idea of naturalising more forwards should be encouraged if needed.
On the game against Nepal, Safee said Malaysia should be on guard after the minnows edged Singapore 1-0 in a friendly on Friday.
“Seeing them beat Singapore was a shock to me. It won’t be a straightforward game for us, they’ll be a challenge but I think we should still win it.’’
