Mat Zan without a job after taking Malacca to glory

PETALING JAYA: Mat Zan Mat Aris will no longer be Malacca’s coach next season.

The 58-year-old Mat Zan, who guided the team to this season’s Premier League title and FAM Cup crown last year, is no longer a part of the Malacca Football Association’s (MFA) plans for next season’s Super League.

Mat Zan bid adieu to the team after their final Premier League game – a 1-1 draw against Sime Darby – at the Hang Jebat Stadium on Saturday. Malacca, who topped the table with 50 points, had wrapped up the title in September.

“Saturday was my last match with Malacca. The team management want to make some changes to the coaching set-up. Maybe they want to find a foreign coach and better players. I don’t really know their exact plans,” said Mat Zan.

According to Mat Zan, his contract with Malacca expired in August and he was kept in the dark for two months without any news of a new contract.

“The team management will meet the coaching staff and players tomorrow (today). But I won’t be joining them as I don’t think they treated me fairly,” said Mat Zan.

The former international joined Malacca in 2014 when they were in the pits. In one season, Mat Zan brought them up from the third-tier FAM League to the Premier League. And from the second-tier, he steered them straight to the Super League.

For Mat Zan, he is now open to offers from other teams.

“I don’t mind coaching in any league. It can be the FAM League, the Premier League or Super League. The most important thing is that the team must have the ambition and determination to achieve promotion or something greater,” said Mat Zan.