Zambian Francis Kasonde returns for Rhinos
KOTA KINABALU: Last season's defender, Francis Kasonde returns as Sabah Rhinos head for its next Premier League match with a maxedout foreign import quota for full strength.
The Zambian player signed again with Sabah FA replacing Croatian Igor Cerina who has not recovered from injury since mid-season last year.
“We have four imports but only three are in action so far as Igor is still recovering from injuries and we do not know if he can continue to play,” said team manager Datuk Juil Nuatim, yesterday.
The other three foreign imports include last season's signings from Korea Heo Jaenyong (midfielder) and Lee Gil Hoon (striker/centre forward) and Puerto Rican national striker Hector Ramos who is the new kid on the block.
Despite lacking the services of its fourth foreign import, Sabah still managed to start the season strongly with a sensational 4-0 win over Terengganu FC II in their season opener. Later they went on to hold Felcra to a 1-1 away draw before notching another home win (2-0) against PDRM on Friday.
“I am happy with the team's performance despite having only three foreign imports in the line-up. But with that being said, there is still a long way to go this season and I think it would be better if the team had its fourth foreign import.
“We didn't really have time to test the players because registration of players closes midnight tomorrow (tonight). We need players who are fluid with the team and Francis is the best choice as he was our player who replaced Igor last season,” Juil said.
He said head coach Jelius Ating's plans this season should have included a foreign import in the defence line but it failed to materialise due to Igor's injuries.
On the Croatian player, who is still on contract until the end of this season, Juil said Sabah FA would discuss the matter with him (Igor) for a win-win solution.
“It is a detriment for the team to hold on to foreign import players that cannot play and that is a plain fact. Furthermore, he (Igor) is absent from the coach's planning.
“Igor was injured since mid-season last year and we have asked for him to recover but he is still unable to play until now...which is nine months. And recently, doctors gave him a threeweek leave with no real certainty that he would be able to play immediately after that. Even if he recovers, he still needs at least two months to regain fitness. We really cannot afford to just sit around and wait because the competition will be ongoing,” Juil said.
He believes bringing Francis back to the line-up to replace Igor is the best option for Sabah at the moment.
“We want our team to progress so we have to make a decision and take the best action. There is always a risk in making these decisions but we do not see any better option,” Juil said.
“As you can see from the match (Friday) it is clear that we need an import defender after Mafry (Balang) was released on injury. Our defence line is not very effective against tall strikers or import players. We really must have a foreign import in the back line,” he said while congratulating Mafry, Rawilson Batuil, Jenius Karib and Randy Baruh for keeping things together so far this season.
“We are not saying that we do not have confidence in our local players to do the task right, in fact they have done a very good job so far. We just feel it would be better to have at least an additional import player in the back line,” Juil said.