KUALA LUMPUR: Senior player Aidil Zafuan Abd Radzak believes that the national Under-23 (U-23) squad need not be nervous or overawed as they prepare to compete in the Asian Games football competition in Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia, despite having a mission of getting past the group stage which has been made even more difficult no thanks to the addition of United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the fifth team in Group E.
Aidil Zafuan was called up by coach Ong Kim Swee as one of the three overage players for the Games, and he is ready to use his vast experience to help the team realise their mission.
"This is indeed an honour for me to be called up for the second time to be part of the national team for the Asian Games, so I am fired up and ready to share my experience to help the team as the bulk of the players are young and inexperienced in playing on such an international stage.
"At present we have a very good crop of young players, so we are more than able to compete provided all the players give it their all in terms of commitment because we can’t go there just to make up the numbers, as we must play to the best of our abilities and go as far as we possibly can in the competition,” said Aidil Zafuan who turns out for Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT).
Apart from Aidil Zafuan, 30, the other two overage players who have been selected are Kedah stalwarts Baddrol Bakhtiar and Rizal Ghazali.
Aidil Zafuan first played for the national team in the Asian Games as an overage player as well in Incheon, South Korea four years ago. He scored a goal in the 4-0 win over Laos though Malaysia did not make it past the group stage as the national team finished third in Group A at the time behind hosts South Korea who won the group and Saudi Arabia.
This time round, it will be just as much of a tough challenge as Malaysia’s path to the quarter-finals will be difficult as they will have to also take on another team in Group E, UAE, after the redraw, apart from having to contend with defending champions South Korea, Kyrgyzstan and Bahrain.
South Korea are adamant on defending the gold medal that won when they hosted the Games four years ago that they have included Tottenham Hotspur striker Son Heung-min who was their best player during the match against then World champions Germany at the World Cup in Russia, along with goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo in their squad.
"The Asian Games is big as the top teams from the Asian continent will be taking part, and teams like South Korea have even called up their World Cup stars to bolster their squad. If given the responsibility of marking Heung-min, I will do my best to prevent him from scoring or inflicting any damage. We’ll just have to wait and see what tactics will be adopted by coach Kim Swee.
"But this is football and in the game just about anything can happen, so we need not be afraid, as if South Korea can stun then world champions Germany, who knows we could also do the same to them,” Aidil pointed out.