PJ City FC set sights higher for 2020 campaign

PETALING JAYA, Jan 18  – Stepping into their second season in the Malaysian Super League,   Petaling Jaya (PJ) City FC have set their sights higher for a top five finish and a cup victory in 2020.

The Phoenix, who finished in eighth in the 12-team top tier in their debut season, had beefed up the squad by bringing in seasoned campaigners in the likes of midfielders K. Gurusamy and D. Christie Jayaseelan, defenders Mahali Jasuli and Muhamad Syazwan Zaipol Bahari besides a dose of young blood in forward R. Kogileswaran and goal keeper Damien Lim.

Brazilian imports, Washington Brandao (forward) and Elizeu Araujo (defender), veteran striker Mohd Safee Sali, under-19 national player,  K. Thivandran and K. Satish are the among the some 40 percent of the squad retained by the coaching team led by K. Devan, who has two Super League and a Premier League title victories under his belt.

Team Manager, K. Rajendran also revealed to Bernama that the club is on the verge of signing South Korea’s Kim Bong-Jin, 29, who can play in defence and also as a defensive midfielder.

To further enhance their attack, PJ City FC has called 27-year-old Nigerian, Onoriode Marshal, who played in the Egyptian Premier League for the last two seasons and Congolese, Ferebory Dore, 30, who has experience in the French, Romanian and Bulgarian top tiers.

“We will have trials and test the players’ capabilities before making a decision in the hunt for a striker, they must prove their worth to us before we make a decision. After gaining valuable experience last season, we are better prepared this time.

“With the experienced coaching line up under Devan and a mix of young and seasonal players, we hope that we can create upsets. It won’t be easy with the presence of the exceptional Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) and other seasonal campaigners Kedah, Pahang, Perak and Terengganu.

“But we have ambitions to do better after signing up many experienced players with a slightly higher budget compared to last year,” he said at the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (MBPJ) Stadium in Kelana Jaya.

The team will be heading to Cambodia for pre-season from Jan 22-27, playing in the Siem Reap Super Asia Cup 2020 to test the players, including the two trial players against hosts Angkor Tiger FC, Visakha FC and Bhayangkara FC (Indonesia).

The team had initially planned to host the Pakistan Under-23 in a friendly tie today, but called it off due to visa problems.

Last season, PJ City FC had a decent outing, ending their campaign in eighth place with 26 points from 22 games in the league, losing to eventual champions Kedah in the FA Cup third round, while failing to come out of the group stage in the Malaysia Cup by a single point difference.

Meanwhile, a total of 60 players aged between 14-18 had the opportunity to train under the English Premier League outfit, Manchester City Football Education Department coaches Alan Dixon and Steven Jackson during the QNET-Manchester City coaching clinic today.

The coaches gave tips on ‘City’ style football, which includes technical and psychological aspects, where half of the trainees will be selected for the PJ City FC’s new academy squad (under-19) to play in the 2020 Youth Cup (Piala Belia).

-- BERNAMA