Save our City!
De Paula hopes clarion call will get KL out of drop zone
PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur’s prolific striker Guilherme de Paula has call on his teammates to fight tooth and nail to get the City team out of the dumps.
The Brazilian’s clarion call comes in the wake of the abrupt resignation of head coach Yusri Che Lah following the City boys’ dismal run in the Super League where they are the anchor team with no points after five matches.
Tonight KL take on fellow relegation candidates PKNP, currently 11th with one point after six games, at the Manjung Council Stadium in what will be their first match since Yusri’s departure.
De Paula, fully recovered from his calf injury, is adamant that former Malaysian international Yusri is a true professional but unfortunately it had been a bad roll of the dice during his tenure.
“For me, his departure is a loss because Yusri is a great human being and is always professional when it comes to his job. To me, he was actually doing a good job with the resources he had, but luck was not on his side,” said the 32-yearold De Paula, who has been playing in Malaysia for the past four years.
“The results were hard to take for the players, especially me, because I could not be there to help them. Now that I am fully recovered, I want to help KL team get back to winning ways and come out from the relegation zone.
“For me, it is not impossible because we have done it before.”
After Yusri quit on March 11, Kuala Lumpur Football Association (KLFA) general secretary Nokman Mustaffa announced that assistant Chong Yee Fatt would serve as the caretaker coach.
De Paula said Yee Fatt was in a similar situation last year and had the experience to steer the team out of the rut again.
“He has done it before. Also, coach Yee Fatt is very close to the players and knows their strengths and weaknesses.
“As players, it is time we support him because he is the best man for the job right now. During training, we have to give our best, and understand his tactics.”
The Brazilian, who only partnered once with Dutch striker Sylvano Comvalius in the team’s 3-1 defeat against Pahang at the Cheras Football Stadium on Feb 1, is hoping that they will gel against PKNP tonight.
After the Pahang match, De Paula had been sidelined for four matches.
“We are working on our combination, and as teammates, we want to score as many goals as possible. Sylvano and I have click quickly if we want to get the team out of the relegation zone. We may be last in the standings but we are not giving up.