Crocs overhaul
Sarawak retain only four players for the new M- League season
PETALING JAYA: Sarawak will undergo a major revamp for the new MLeague season.
The Crocs have only retained one import, Liberian defender Teah Dennis, and confirmed contract extensions for three local players Shahril Saari, Ramesh Lai Ban Huat and Ronny Harun as part of their rebuilding plan.
There will be no contract extensions for Mohd Iqbal Suhaimi, J. Parthiban, K. Gurusamy, Syahrul Azwari Ibrahim, Mohd Akmal Mohd Noor, K. Thanaraj and Mohd Ridwan Ma’on.
Two foreigners, Gilmar da Silva and Mekeche Ndumba, have also been shown the door.
Sarawak coach David Usop said they will be more cautious with their signings for the 2017 season.
“We don’t want to rush into signing players as we seek quality players who can fit into our plans,” said David, who replaced Datuk K. Rajagopal as coach.
Sarawak had big ambitions last season after signing former national coach Rajagopal but they parted ways midseason. The team finished eighth in the 12team Super League and also failed to get past the Malaysia Cup group stage and were knocked out of the FA Cup in the second round.
“The last few seasons, we signed expensive players but they didn’t perform to expectations and the team suffered. So this season, we will rely on local players ... on top of that, our budget for the new season is also limited.
“We will promote two players from the President’s Cup squad ... last season we had five President’s Cup players. We believe these youngsters are the future.”
David added that they have been testing out 10 foreign players for a twoweek period and the team will head to a preseason tour to Perth, Australia, from Dec 1625.
Among the players attending trials with Sarawak are Ivan Barbic ( Croatia); Do Dong Yong and Lee Jong Ho ( South Korea); Mark Hartman ( Philippines); Autor Ramirez ( Spain) and Carlos Delgado ( Argentina).
“We’re having a long trial to see if the foreign players can combine with the locals players ... I believe that the chemistry between players is important,” said David.
“We will have three matches in Perth to get the players ready for the Super League which begins in mid January ... I’m also planning to have maybe one or two matches in the Klang Valley after returning from Perth.