Johor Darul Takzim head coach Bojan Hodak feels that Malaysia will be heading into the two-legged AFF Suzuki Cup final as massive favourites, despite Thailand’s terrific display of football in the competition thus far.
Kiatisuk Senamuang’s men have been on sensational form throughout the tournament, despite having a relatively young squad, but Bojan thinks that Malaysia’s depth of experience could be a major difference between both sides in the final.
“I think Malaysia are favourites,” Bojan exclusively told FourthOfficial.com
“The Malaysian team is extremely experienced. Thailand have a lot of youngsters and they are definitely playing good football, but Malaysia have been getting better in every game throughout the tournament.
“They will also be playing the second leg at home, which creates a mental advantage as well.
Malaysia secured their spot in the finals of the competition after defeating Vietnam 5-4 on aggregate in the semi finals. Despite going down 2-1 in the first leg at home, Dollah’s men travelled to Hanoi and secured a 4-2 win there, that did not surprise Bojan at all.
“The Vietnamese team is younger than Malaysia’s squad. And they are not consistent, so that allowed Malaysia to punish their defensive mistakes easily,” he said.
“It just goes to show that Dollah’s decision to include Indra Putra and Shukor Adan was incredibly justified. For me, Indra Putra has been the best Malaysian player in the last 20 years. He’s still got a good touch, which makes him very dangerous.
“Shukor’s leadership quality is indubitable as well. You can see it in how he leads and organizes the team.”
When Malaysia last clinched the Suzuki Cup back in 2010, it was largely due to the dangerous partnership between Norshahrul and Safee Sali, both of whom have struggled for form in the last 18 months or so.
But both men have also netted one goal in this tournament so far, and according to Bojan, that should inject enough confidence to make them dangerous in the final.
“For any striker who struggles to find the back of the net throughout a considerable period of time, it’s always going to be a mental torture. But the moment they break the duck and score one goal, it ends up being a massive moral boost.
“Once strikers start scoring goals, they end up being 30% to 40% better in the following games, so expect both of them to be very dangerous in the final against Thailand.”
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