UiTM newbie Farid out to impress coach to make first eleven

PETALING JAYA: Lanky Farid Nezal has set a tall order for himself in his debut with UiTM in the Super League.

The youngster, who stands at 1.81m, wants to compete with seasoned campaigners as he aspires to be part of the defence team.

With Frenchman Victor Nirennold being the mainstay in the centre of defence, the Negri Sembilan lad will have to compete with Ahmad Khuzaimi Piee, Asyraf Hayqal and Mohd Nashran Elias to get a bigger role.

Farid joined the team after impressing coach Frank Bernhardt during a selection trial in January and is eager to justify the faith placed in him.

“Many youngsters in UiTM have been given the chance to compete against any Super League teams ... I need this kind of environment to be a better player,” said the 23-year-old.

“All players have equal chance to compete in the top division and that gives me some confidence.”

Farid wants to make a bigger impact with UiTM, having been insignificant with two other Super League teams – PKNP and Police

“I’m glad to remain in Super League, the experience so far has been priceless,” said Farid, who made his professional debut in 2018.

“Now with UiTM, I’m doing my best to build the chemistry with the local and foreign players quickly.

“The training programmes under coach Bernhardt has been good. To him, whoever gives their best in training, will make the first eleven.

“I hope to help this team do better than last season. They were sixth but this time, we aim for top three.”

Besides Nirennold, the other foreigners in Lion Troops are Ghanaian striker Nana Poku, Lebanese playmaker Abou Bakr Al-Mel, Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Pivak and Filipino-English midfielder Adam Reed.