Former Malaysian international Khalid Ali has criticized Johor DT head coach Bojan Hodak for claiming that the Southern Tigers are not good enough to compete in the AFC Asian Champions League.
Johor DT were knocked out of the prestigious competition after suffering a frustrating 3-0 defeat to Bangkok Glass last Tuesday, after which Bojan proclaimed that they were not ready to compete amongst the best in Asia just yet.
But as far as Khalid Ali is concerned, such statements should not be coming from an experienced coach like Bojan and he also pointed out that the Johor squad contains most of the best players within the country.
“As an experienced head coach within the local football scene, it doesn’t make sense for him to provide such excuses. It just seems like he’s trying to protect himself and avoid being criticized,” Khalid told Harian Metro.
“Words like that shouldn’t be coming out of him. He has very good Malaysian players at his disposal. In fact, most of the nation’s best players are in his team, plus they also have solid foreign players.
“I hope Johor DT don’t only seek to dominate the Super League and other domestic action. I can’t fathom his excuse because he has the country’s best players in his squad.”
As a result of their defeat, Johor DT will now contest in the AFC Cup, where they have been paired in Group F alongside Kitchee FC from Hong Kong, East Bengal FC from India and Balestier Khalsa from Singapore.
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