BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
Former Selangor star Andik Vermansah has made several revelations regarding his time at the Red Giants, in an interview with Detik.com.
He told the Indonesian publication that in his four years at the Klang Valley based side, he was taken care of financially well in general by the club, except for on one occassion when his salary was delayed for one and a half months.
Amazingly, the Indonesia winger said that he was not bothered by that particular delay, as he has had to wait a lot longer for his salary earlier in his career. He told in the interview that while playing for Persebaya Surabaya before deciding to play abroad with Selangor, he once had to wait six months to be paid.
"Throughout my four years there (at Selangor), I faced no salary problems. When it was late maybe it was for only one or two weeks, which is normal this year.
"One time last year it was one and a half month, but that's normal for me as there was once I did not get paid for six months, so one month is not so bad for me," said Andik.
In the interview, the 26-year old player also compared his experience in the countries' domestic football competitions.
According to him, Indonesian teams receive better support from the fans, while Malaysian referees provide better protection and Malaysian teams are tactically better.
"They're not too different. What sets the two apart is the fans' reception. Over there (Malaysia) only big teams command good support, but here all teams in every division receive enthusiastic support.
"In Malaysia the referees are better. I am provided protection although I am a foreign player. Malaysian teams are more compact, but at the individual level, Indonesian players are far better than Malaysian players," he remarked.
Andik had signed for the Red Giants ahead of the 2014 season, and went on to win the 2015 Malaysia Cup with them, and captain them in the later stages of the 2016 Malaysia Cup. When he was injured for an extended period just before the 2017 season began, the Red Giants chose to wait for him to recover and rejoin the squad in the middle of the season, instead of cutting him loose.
The club eventually declined to extend his contract at the conclusion of the 2017 season, with the club reportedly unable to match his salary demands. Andik is reportedly still looking for a new club, ahead of the 2018 season.
