When you switch Astro Supersport, you will be seeing preseason tournaments in Europe being aired live by them. Eventhough, it's just a friendly, teams like Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund and even St.Pauli(2. Bundesliga side) will see full house for every game.
Even the presence of Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea in Malaysia was enough to see Bukit Jalil filled with Malaysians supporting their respective clubs. Malaysians who couldn't get tickets to the game, were glued to the TV as they were able to see stars like Robin Van Persie, Jamie Carragher and Fernando Torres play.
Come to Ipoh, you will see the worst case scenario. Fans filling the grandastand and an absymal number of 'Ultras', the game between Perak and PDRM just looked like an ordinary 'taman' game thanks to the crowd.
Atmosphere aside, lets talk about the preparations of 'Cikgu Jan's' team. Having been rocked with the suspensions of Akmal Rizal, Shahrulnizam, the man who panna-ed(this is for you, long) Chelsea's Billy Clifford, Syazwan Roslan, the man who made it into my first sports story, Azmeer Yusoff and Nasril 'The Tank' Nourdin.
Crippled with these suspensions, Norizan made headways by bringing three players on loan for the Malaysia Cup. Rafiuddin Roddin, Failee Ghazali and Hafisizuan Salehuddin, all coming from the northern region teams except for Rafiuddin, have impressed the gaffer and in the two friendlies thus far, Failee and Rafiuddin have looked lethal.
Against PDRM, Noor Hazrul Mustafa showed that he has some 'Cristiano Ronaldo-ness' in him as he netted two goals from set pieces. Famed for his top corner shots, this time he used the 'dipping' shot and it has been effective so far.
Failee, who scored 12 goals in the Super league, looks to be a sure bet to partner with Shafiq 'Torres' Jamal(Cause they have the same number and boots) for the Malaysia Cup.
His work rate, understanding of the game and willigness to pressure defenders have endeared well with the managemnet and yesterday, he scored a goal after being teed up by Perak's 'Torres'.
Rafiuddin who looks one dimensional with his left foot is pretty tricky with runs and dribbles and yesterday he could have scored a goal if not for his rashness in front of goal.
Norizan tested a new midfield pairing in K. Nanthakumar and Nazri Kamal, as the prospect of losing Shahrulnizam to suspension looms highly for them.
The pairing looked nervy at first but as time went on, both of them acclimatized well and showed great understanding. Nazri Kamal even scored a scorcher and this season, he is bound to play an important role for the team.
Perak's defence looks strong but Hafisizuan needs to buck up if he wants to keep his place in the squad. Perak achilles heal will be right back as youngster, Syazwan is out suspended and at the same time carrying a knee injury.
Norizan Bakar can expect his team to qualify for the quarter finals but winning the Malaysia Cup would be tough as teams like Kelantan, Selangor and Terengganu looks solid for the upcoming season.
Their next friendly will be on the 18th and I'm hopeful that more fans will turnout for the game. It's free guys and although It's after 10 PM, It would be great if you give your support to our 'Silver State'. If you can watch the Premier League, Bundesliga or La Liga in the wee hours, why not our league.
Support lah, Malaysia League!! Baru chun! hehehe
Avinesh's verdict: Kejor Yeop Kejor!! Nothing is impossible!
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