Foreign flavour leaves no bitter taste for Perak’s local players

PETALING JAYA: The presence of four foreigners in the Perak team does not alarm the Seladang’s local cast.

Leftback Nazirul Naim (pic) trusts coach Mehmet Durakovic will only field players on merit and current form.

“If we are in form, the coach will select us. We should not worry about the foreign players. The coach has his plan and we will follow it,” said the 25-year-old Nazirul.

“We’ve retained most of the local players and the harmony in the team is still intact.”

Last season, Perak paraded Philippines’ international winger Misagh Bahadoran and Lebanese centreback Jed Noureddine but they were a letdown.

Durakovic’s decision to opt for more local players was a surprise to some but it was justified as Perak won the Malaysia Cup last year.

Nazirul, also the team’s vice-captain, said he is looking forward to playing with new centreback Zachary Anderson, fondly known as Zac.

Nazirul believes Anderson, having played for Kedah and PKNS, will quickly adapt to the team’s style of play..

“He is experienced enough to adapt to the team’s system. I’m fine playing with anyone as we’re playing for the badge.

“I’ve also just returned to training. I can’t wait to get started for the new season,” added Nazirul, who featured in the recent AFF Suzuki Cup.

Perak have so far only added Anderson and winger J. Parthiban to the squad.

Brazilian trio Leandro dos Santos, Wander Luiz and Gilmar Filho have been retained for another season as Durakovic has maintained the core of the side that finished second in the 2018 Malaysian Super League.