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- David Usop
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- Sarawak football team during a training sessions in Stadium Negeri.
KUCHING: The Sarawak Football Fan Club (SFFC) wants David Usop to be retained by the Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) as head coach for next season.
This is because the tested David should be given a chance to prove his mettle as chief coach with his own pick of players, instead of the current batch who are mostly not brought to the team by him.
According to a statement made by Peter Moni Selat who is SFFC president on Monday, should FAS be looking out for someone who can develop Sarawakian football as a whole, a Sarawakian should fill the post as head coach and David fits the billing.
“Who knows about Sarawak football more than a Sarawakian who has more than 30 years of experience in Sarawak football? We hope that FAS sees that David is still the best man for the job,” he added.
A coach who is not Sarawakian does not necessary bring in the desired result for the team or development of Sarawak football in general.
It does not make sense to Sarawakian fans to expect wonders with a ‘foreign coach’ when an all-Sarawakian team can achieve just about the same.
“It has been proven in the past where there are foreign coaches who took over the team and who brought in players who are not Sarawakians but fail to produce the desired result. These non-Sarawakians were brought to improve the Crocs on the pitch but sadly there, I have not seen a great Sarawak team — made of non-Sarawakians — win or achieve anything,” said Peter.
What the fans want, in his opinion, is a team of mostly Sarawakians, much like in the heydays of the Ngap Sayot, which David himself is a product from the more glorious era.
David was appointed head coach this year to replace K. Rajagobal who took over as Sarawak head coach at the end of last year, replacing Dutchman Robert Alberts.
A string of bad results from Sarawak under Rajagobal’s tenure in mid-season was enough to see him and FAS part ways,which prompted David’s appointment as interim coach.
Among David’s feat with the Crocs this year was saving the team from relegation, which was determined in the Crocs’ last match of the season against PDRM on Saturday (Oct 22). Sarawak won the match 2-1 with a late goal to spare the Crocs from relegation.
It was an achievement which no other head coach in current times could shout about, but it has earned David the bragging rights to steer the Crocs to greater glory in next season’s Super League and Malaysia Cup.