He’s the man
JDT coach Figueroa heaps praise on Safawi after brace
JOHOR BARU: Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) head coach Luciano Figueroa believes young midfielder Safawi Rasid (pic) is the best footballer in Malaysia right now.
The 21-year-old player scored two goals to help the five-time Malaysia Super League champions beat their arch-rivals Pahang 2-0 in the Malaysia Cup quarter-final second-leg match at the Larkin Stadium on Saturday to book their semi-final ticket with a 3-1 aggregate win.
Safawi scored the first goal just under a minute into the match when he received a pass from Ahmad Hazwan Bakri outside Pahang’s penalty box and his weak shot slowly went into the visitor’s net.
He scored again after receiving a through pass from Fernando Elizari before beating Pahang goalkeeper Mohd Helmi Eliza Elias by tapping the ball into the net to make it 2-0 in the 73rd minute.
Figueroa said Safawi – the club’s leading scorer with 16 goals this season – has shown improvement in every match.
“I’m very happy with the performances of all the players because they started really well and were always in control of the ball to limit Pahang’s chances,” said Figueroa.
“We played in our own style and were able to create many opportunities to score.
“I’ve to single out Safawi as I believe he is the best footballer in the country based on his improvement in every match with the club.”
The Argentinean said the defending champions would now turn their attention to their semi-final first-leg clash against another East Coast team Terengganu on Oct 5.
“Terengganu have a lot of dangerous players but I know they will also treat us as a big threat,” he added.
Meanwhile, Pahang head coach Dollah Salleh lamented his players’ lack of focus following their exit from the Malaysia Cup.
“It was not the real us (against JDT). Our performances in the Malaysia Cup have been topsy-turvy. We always concede an early goal and lose focus ... this happened against JDT too,” he said.
Dollah said Pahang may have completed M-League as the FA cup winners and finished fourth in the Super League but they need to step up to be serious title contenders next season.
“I’ll give my full report to the management and hopefully we will be able to make early preparation for the team for next season,” he added.