No problems, says Wanderley
LATE APPOINTMENT: Happy with KL players despite having ‘inherited’ them
NEW Kuala Lumpur coach Wanderley Junior made light of his late appointment at the Premier League side which meant he had little input in the shaping of the city squad for 2017.
Decisions on key new signings and retention of players from last season were made by Ismail Zakaria, who stunned KL fans and players alike when he quit abruptly on Nov 23.
Ismail led KL to a fifth-place finish in the 2016 Premier League, having topped the standings in the early running, and to the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Brazillian Wanderley, who is fluent in Bahasa Malaysia having coached in Indonesia for seven years, said he is satisfied with his 25-man squad and more importantly, the players understand what is required of them.
“I am happy to be given a chance to coach this team. I can see that the players are starting to understand what I want from them,” said Wanderley after watching his side dismantle FAM Cup team Felcra 5-1 in KL’s second pre-season friendly at the Universiti Malaya Arena on Tuesday.
“We try to improve from day to day before we start the season next month. I am satisfied with the commitment of the players and I need their cooper- ation to help them improve on their weaknesses and their quality of play.”
KL initially retained eight players from the 2016 squad before recalling striker Arif Anwar, defender Naufal Naim Tony Rosdin and midfielder Hardee Shamsuri after Ismail’s departure.
The city team also signed several former KL players including goalkeeper Remezey Che Ros, defenders Hisyamuddin Shaari, Hazwan Rahman and Azmeer Yusof and midfielders Azidan Sarudin and Syazmin Firdaus Aminuddin, among 13 new faces.
But KL suffered an early blow when homegrown and former Young Tigers B striker Syafwan Syahlan was ruled out for the season after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament knee injury in training.
“We have a relatively young team but we need patience to allow them to play their football and not react negatively when the results don’t come,” said Wanderley, who hopes to complete the signing of defender Boburjon Akbarov of Uzbekistan to round out his squad.
“We still have a month to go and we need to work together so that we are prepared. I don’t have a problem with the players being signed before me.
“I have always said that what is needed is cooperation and motivation when playing matches. They understand me and know what I want from them so it makes my work easier.”
KL, who downed Sime Darby 2-1 in their first friendly on Friday, saw Hafiz Johar score twice, including a penalty, against Felcra before Hardee, Zhafri Yahya and Akbarov added to the tally with Fazliata Taib pulling one back with a spot-kick.