A LOT TO PROVE: Perak’s Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli (centre) vies with Sarawak’s Sahran Abdul Samad (left) and Md Fareez Tukuo during their Super League match at the Perak Stadium in Ipoh, in this February 8, 2011 file photo. — Bernama photo
KUCHING: We got it right. The Borneo Post first broke the news that Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli might be signing up with Sarawak last Sunday.
Media stories since yesterday now report that the ex-Kedah striker has indeed signed a one-year contract to play for Sarawak next season.
Akmal is reported to have said that the departure of Bobby Gonzales, who top scored for the Crocs in 2013, helped his cause.
The ex-international, who had a stint with RC Strasbourg in the French Division One league, is also quoted as expressing confidence in helping add more cups to Sarawak’s trophy cabinet.
Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) officials, however, could not be reached yesterday for confirmation on Akmal’s signing.Akmal comes with an impressive resume: he was a star with the national youth team, became one of the few to have played in top flight European professional football and then earned 22 international caps playing for the national senior team.
But some local football fans have already raised questions about how he could contribute to the recently promoted Crocs in next season’s elite Super League.
Akmal was never a prolific scorer throughout his career in which he had also proven to be quite prone to injury. And most pundits view the 32-year-old free agent, who was released by Kedah at the end of this season, as already past his prime.