Bodak savours most challenging task of his long M-League career
KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur City FC (KL City) head coach Bojan Hodak has described his team’s Malaysia Cup final against Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) on Tuesday as the most challenging task he ever faced in his career in the Malaysia League (M-League).
The 50-year-old Croatian said the KL City team only had the services of two national players D. Kenny Pallraj and Muhammad Akram Mahinan - unlike when he guided Kelantan to the title in 2012 and led JDT to the 2014 final.
However, Hodak attributed the spirit of togetherness among his players as the key to their impressive unbeaten run in the Malaysia Cup competition, culminating in the 2-0 defeat of JDT to be crowned champions at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
“Literally, we have only two national players but this is a hardworking team and, of all the teams I’ve coached in my career, we have a fantastic atmosphere in the dressing room.
“I didn’t have this at any clubs before. When you have this kind of atmosphere, you know you can do something,” he said at the post-match press conference.
The win allowed KL City FC to create their own history by ending a 32-year long wait for the coveted Malaysia Cup and denying the Southern Tigers the chance to defend the trophy they won in 2019.
Midfielder Zhafri Yahya and skipper Paulo Josue were the KL City heroes when they scored in the 66th and 74th minute.
Meanwhile, JDT head coach Benjamin Mora admitted that it was a difficult result to take.
However, he defended his team’s tactics and praised his men for not giving up until the final whistle.
“We are not satisfied with the result. We came to win and to be champions of Malaysia Cup but we came up short. We couldn’t find the route, the right spaces to develop our game.
“We know that our game is to create chances, trying to generate possibilities, trying to find a way and it’s more difficult than just sitting back, but KL did a good job. They sat back... no pressing, just waiting… trying to close the spaces, and they did well,” he said.