SHUKOR HUNGRY FOR MORE
Midfielder vows to continue playing for as long as he can
SHUKOR Adan’s longevity in professional football draws great admiration from many quarters but the Felda United midfielder is not quite done yet with the sport.
The 38-year-old former national captain is on the verge of reaching the Malaysia Cup final for an eighth time after Felda held defending champions Kedah 1-1 in the first leg of the semi-finals in Jengka on Sunday.
But even the chance of lifting the Malaysia Cup for a fifth time is not enough to satiate his appetite as Shukor vowed to continue playing for as long as his body allows.
“For as long as I am healthy and fit to play, I will continue playing,” said Shukor as he dismissed talk of retirement.
“For me age is just a number. If I can continue to run on the field, I will carry on.”
Felda coach B. Sathianathan is an admirer of Shukor’s leadership, disciplinary and organisational abilities and has few reasons to leave him out of a game.
“Why has Shukor been able to continue for so long? It’s because he is a very disciplined player and there is not anyone who has stepped up to challenge him for his place,” said Sathianathan.
Shukor, who has won the Malaysia Cup twice each with Selangor (2002 and 2005) and Negri Sembilan (2009 and 2011), hopes to help Felda to the final for the first time.
“A draw is still better than a loss so we’ve got nothing to lose in the second leg,” said Shukor. “We know Kedah are strong, they are the defending champions and have been in the final the last two years.
“We will try our best there but I am confident that with the squad that we have and the motivational words of the coach, we will fight hard to create history for Felda and reach the final for the first time.
“We have another mission for 90 minutes in Alor Star and we will give our full commitment like we did in the first leg.”
Felda were thrown a lifeline by Hadin Azman, whose equaliser in Jengka came with three minutes remaining and cancelled Sandro Mendonca’s 62nd-minute penalty for Kedah.
Shukor will also have revenge on his mind after Kedah denied Felda a place in the 2015 final with a 4-3 aggregate win in the semifinals, winning the second leg in Alor Star 21 after a 2-2 draw in the first leg.