KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — Barely a year after guiding Kuala Lumpur City (KL City) FC to their first Malaysia Cup title in 32 years, head coach Bojan Hodak is now hopeful of putting his side in dreamland again, this time at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup 2022 final against Al Seeb Club of Oman tomorrow.
He said KL City is still living in a dream to feature in the finale, to be held at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, as their initial target was only to be in the group stage of the competition.
However, the Croatian realised the odds are stacked against ‘The City Boys’ in the showpiece event due to the fact that their opponents have six national players.
“Al Seeb is a good team and Oman is currently 75th in FIFA rankings compared to Malaysia (146). They have five to six national players and had beaten Japan (1 - 0) in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Asian qualifier before this,” Hodak told a pre-match press conference here today.
Despite having the advantage of playing in Bukit Jalil, the 51-year-old coach said the Harimau Malaya official venue was not their home.
“This is the National Stadium but most guys played once here and hopefully the stadium will be half full because this can give some boost to the players. However, Al Seeb is an experienced team; they have played many times in front of a full stadium and will not be scared,” he added.
Hodak, who is wary of the threat posed by their flanks as they are very strong in one-against-one situations, also hoped his chargers can minimise mistakes on the pitch tomorrow.
Meanwhile, KL City skipper Paolo Josue believed all players were eager to prove their mettle and complete a fairytale against the Omani league champions.
He also said if they can prevent Al Seeb from scoring, KL City have a bright chance to clinch their maiden title in the competition.
“I want to show to the whole of Asia that we can get the title and not get it by accident only,” Josue said.
KL City is the second club side from Malaysia to make the final of an AFC Cup competition.
Nine-time Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim became the first Malaysian club side to win the AFC Cup back in 2015, after beating Tajikistan’s Club Istiklol 1 - 0 in the final.
— Bernama
