Abu Bakar (centre) with Rajagopal (fifth right) and the newly signed players at the press conference yesterday.
KUCHING: The Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) revealed yesterday six newly signed players for the 2016 Malaysia Super League season. Among them are two import strikers namely Makeche Ndumba, formerly from KL Felda United, and Gilmar Jose Da Silva, previously playing for Kelantan.
The press conference also unveiled four local imports – striker Syahrul Azwari from Harimau Muda A, goalkeeper Mohd Shahril Sa’ari from TTeam, midfielders Mohd Akmal Mohd Noor from NS Matrix and Gurusamy Govandar from Selangor. Head coach Datuk K Rajagopal expressed confidence that the revamped squad will pose a threat to other teams in the top tier. “However, my vision is not only for next season.
“What I wanted for Sarawak football is for a long term development and bringing the team back to the era where the team were very much feared by others in the league,” he said. He added that he is optimistic that with proper planning Sarawak can aim for at least 90 per cent of the team to comprise local players.
The target for next year, he pointed out, was for the Crocs to emerge among the top five best teams in the league. “We have until February for players registration and we will take our time to select the best of the best,” he said while stressing that there is still room for foreign and local imports in the squad.
Asked why he chose to play for Sarawak, new Croc Syahrul Azwari said it was the charisma and capability of coach Rajagopal.
“Apart from that, the level of fanatism among the supporters amazes me and that is why I wanted to be a part of the team,” he added.