Champions again. Unbeatable again.
In what was undeniably the most trying of football seasons for everyone involved, Johor Darul Ta’zim still went about their business in mean fashion to emerge at the top of the pile in Malaysian football for the seventh straight year.
The unwanted global pandemic impacting the season caused a reduction of the number of matches from the usual 22 to just 11, which many thought would induce a tighter Super League title race because there just wasn’t any margin for errors.
And that was exactly what JDT produced when football resumed in late August after a break in schedule was enforced to help the country fight against Covid-19 back in March - an unrelenting pursuit of yet another league title.
Played 11, won nine, drew twice and lost exactly none. It was the second time that JDT has managed to complete an entire league campaign as champions without suffering a single defeat, albeit this time one with an asterisk because of the reduced number of matches.
Sports Regime2020 was a season that started and ended with fireworks for JDT. The majestic Sultan Ibrahim Stadium was officially open earlier this year to become without a shadow of a doubt, the best football-only stadium in Malaysia and perhaps even in Southeast Asia.
It was the first zeon zoysia grass type to be used in a Malaysian football pitch and that was quickly followed by Terengganu FC implementing it at Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium. The new stadium at Iskandar Puteri comprises various hospitality suites that makes them an interesting proposition for even competitions like the International Champions Cup as one of the possible new venues.
On the pitch, JDT retained the core of the squad that took them to the 2019 title with the addition of former Pahang captain Matthew Davies and a naturalised Liridon Krasniqi as they set about to continue their dominance and mark the first year at the new stadium with another title.
Davies struggled with injury this season but still managed to start in more than half of the Super League matches with the ever-dependable S. Kunanlan filling in when required. Meanwhile Liridon got a look in at the start of the season but found it hard to gain game time as the season went on and eventually dropped down to Johor Darul Ta’zim II to get minutes.
Sports RegimeIt was also a season to forget for club captain Hariss Harun, who only managed two starts in the entire year - against Vissel Kobe and Kedah before succumbing to a long-term injury prior to the AFC Champions League (ACL) encounter against Suwon Bluewings.
In a sense, Hariss' predecessor in that regard was Ignacio ‘Natxo’ Insa who suffered a similar fate in 2019 but the latter returned to aplomb in 2020 to eventually start 10 matches in all competitions in the former’s role on the pitch and thus easing the pressure on the Singaporean to rush his comeback.
In total, JDT played only 14 matches including the one Malaysia Cup Round of 16 before the competition was forced to be scrapped because of another rise in the Covid-19 cases around the country. They used a total of 27 players and had 13 different goalscorers.
Comparisons with other seasons are hard to be done because of just how truncated the 2020 season was. Safawi Rasid and Gonzalo Cabrera both had eight goals to their name to finish as joint top scorer for the club this season. Extrapolating that to a normal season and both players would probably finish double that amount, which makes for a very good output.
Despite the stop-start season, the duo continued the exceptional partnership with Diogo Luis Santo as the fulcrum of JDT’s attack. The Brazilian himself only missed out on one solitary match, which match against Melaka after the title had been sealed.
Goal/Sports RegimeHowever because of the nature of how the season went, head coach Benjamin Mora did not have to worry about burn-out as there weren’t many matches to be played and his players did not have to join up for any international assignments due to the Asian calendar being completely wiped out.
That meant an opportunity to stick to his preferred and best starting XI without needing to consider much squad rotation. Which in turn meant few opportunities for Malaysian internationals like Syafiq Ahmad, Akhyar Rashid, Syamer Kutty Abba and Adam Nor Azlin - all of whom did not play a full 90 minute although they were used consistently throughout the season.
While it was a success in the league, for the ACL it will be a case of what if. A big defeat at an Andres Iniesta led Vissel was quickly followed by JDT’s second win in the group stage, at home against Suwon with the possibility of advancing to the knockout stage still very high when the competition resumed.
But the National Security Council of Malaysia denied JDT the chance to travel out to Qatar to participate and while the club accepted the greater good reasoning, there must be a real sense of a missed opportunity in a year where the other competing clubs are also not in a good regular shape.
Player of the Season
Safawi and Cabrera will often grab the headlines for their performances in attack and the goals they contribute but neither could match what La’Vere Corbin-Ong has done in the 2020 season. He is the only player to have started and completed every single one of the 14 matches this season with keeper Farizal Marlias the next with one game less.
In all of the matches, Corbin only received one yellow card - an incredible feat for a player who operates in the left back berth and oftentimes have to come up against pacy attackers who’s looking to beat him on the turn or on the run.
Goal/Sports RegimeThe incredible consistency and stamina that Corbin produces is nothing short of incredible. His job description in the league also includes him bombing forward in support of Cabrera down the left hand side as well as being available for attacking corner kick set pieces.
More than most, it is the level of performance that comes out from Corbin that must be admired. It’s near impossible to remember any poor games that the Go Ahead Eagles man has, with Mora and JDT always assured of a minimum of 7 out 10 performance from him.
Future stars
This 2020 season could potentially mark the last time that Safawi ever put on a JDT jersey. Something that all Malaysians are hopeful for, because that only means that his European journey with Portimonense SC has gone well and that led to further opportunities there.
But in preparing for this departure, JDT and Mora turned to the next batch and in Ramadhan Saifullah and Arif Aiman, the Southern Tigers may have unearthed two players that might make their fans not longed for Safawi as one thought they would.
Goal/Sports RegimeBoth players were given a chance by Mora and both have grabbed the opportunity to with both hands. Ramadhan looks in a similar mould as Safawi with pace, power and the eye for goal. With Safawi recuperating from injury during the August restart, Ramadhan was called to deputise and he has since struck five goals to reward the club for their faith in him.
As for Arif, he’s a slightly different type compared to Ramadhan. The younger of the two is more a dribbler and creator but still managed to show his calmness in front of goal with that coolly taken one in the 1-0 win over Kuching FA in the Malaysia Cup.
Neither are yet the level of Safawi but the signs are encouraging that JDT will not suffer in strength because of his European adventure.