Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim are on the brink of a quadruple for the second straight season
Arsenal’s 2003-04 ‘Invincibles’ team have gone down in footballing folklore for good reason. An unbeaten league season takes some doing.
Malaysian marvels Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) could be said to have topped the Gunners’ achievement though. They went undefeated against domestic rivals last season and are closing in on a historic second consecutive quadruple this time round, sweeping every competition in Malaysia.
They are runaway champions of the Malaysian Super League, the south-east Asian country’s premier competition, for the 10th consecutive year. The statistics with a game to go? Played 25, won 24, drawn one, a goal difference of plus 85.
Friday’s Malaysia Cup final against Terengganu and a last league game against Penang stand between them and the domestic double quadruple.
One of the linchpins of this cosmopolitan, all-conquering team grew up in Croydon. “It’s been a pretty crazy journey,” 23-year-old defensive midfielder Hong Wan said.
Born to a football-mad Chinese father and a Malaysian mother in south London, Hong turned pro with Wolves in 2019 after youth spells at Charlton Athletic and Yeovil Town. However, aside from one EFL Trophy appearance, first-team opportunities for Wolves were not coming his way.
JDT slid into his inbox in the winter of 2020, with an email asking if he would be interested in going over. “I didn’t know much about Malaysian football, I just knew Johor as the team that wins everything,” Hong said.
The different experience on offer appealed more to the youngster than potentially dropping down the English leagues on loan. “Football is a funny game, you never know what’s around the corner. It’s probably the best decision I’ve made,” he says.
‘State-of-the-art facilities and theme song rapped by Snoop Dogg’
Hong Wan could not make a sustained breakthrough at Wolves
Arriving in the southern Malaysian city of Johor Bahru in summer 2021, the high humidity was a shock. “It’s nasty to play football in,” Hong said. “But you get used to it. I actually miss the cold English weather, I can’t wait to go home in the off-season and enjoy it.”
There’s also the monsoon period, which runs from November through to March, which sees matches occasionally called off. Then there are the stray monkeys and “odd snake here and there” that Hong certainly didn’t encounter in his time in Wolverhampton.
Hong was quickly struck by the ability on show at JDT.
“I feel like when you’re in England, you’re quite ignorant to the quality of anywhere else. I had to adapt quickly, I couldn’t walk in and waltz it,” he said. “Malaysian football is really good, especially in Johor. It’s surprising how much quality there is in these players, and the national team is climbing the rankings. It’s a good time for Malaysian football.”
It’s an exceptional time for JDT. Since taking over as owner in 2016, Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim has helped to revolutionise the squad, finances, facilities and its fortunes. They catch the eye on and off the pitch, with their 40,000-capacity state-of-the-art stadium and club theme song, rapped by Snoop Dogg.
The owner’s input has been key.
“He gives us everything we need and pushes us,” Hong said. “He’s driving us to never be content with winning one- or two-nil. This year, we pretty much battered all the teams and he’ll still be demanding more. I think the culture of the club comes from the owner down.”
The Crown Prince attends every home match and was in the dressing room before the Malaysian FA Cup final, giving a rousing pre-game talk “sending us out to war” that still gives Hong goosebumps.
It did the job: Hong scored the opening goal, his first in senior competitive football, with a fierce 25-yard strike into the top right corner. “I never shoot. I’m pretty sure when I got the ball, my team-mates were like, ‘What are you doing?'”
As a teenager, Hong looked up to long-time Barcelona midfield star Sergio Busquets. “You don’t necessarily have to run a lot,” Hong said. “Just being in the right positions at the right time, with your brain working more than your whole body. It helps dictate everything.”
At JDT, Hong is also learning from players with Premiership and Championship pedigree, such as former Swansea defender Jordi Amat, ex-Millwall player Shane Lowry and Watford cult hero Fernando Forestieri, one of the Malaysian Super League’s top scorers.
Fernando Forestieri is a popular figure at Watford
Hong has been a stalwart of a team who regularly win games by four or five goals.
He said: “It’s a great thing to be part of, creating more history. This year is the 10th title in a row, which is pretty much unheard of in football.”
However, the dearth of credible Malaysian opposition is a downside.
“No-one likes to see a one-team league,” Hong added. “I feel a lot of teams give up before they even play us, which is a bit frustrating. Because if the standard of the league improves, it helps us to improve as well and prepare for high-intensity games in the [AFC] Champions League.”
Asia’s leading continental club competition is the next frontier for JDT. They qualified for the round of 16 for the first time in 2022. “For a small club in Malaysia to do that against the giants of Japan and South Korea is unheard of. Now, the target every year is to step up and keep progressing,” Hong says.
Few British players have trodden a similar path to Hong, who took Malaysian citizenship to play for JDT. The most renowned is England-capped striker Tony Cottee, who won the Malaysia FA Cup in 1997 during a season with Selangor. Hong believes more should consider making the switch.
“I feel a lot of English players only think about England. There’s so many more opportunities all around the world, in Europe, Asia, America,” Hong said. “You can have a different lifestyle and it might be a good thing for your professional career. I’ve made the move over and I’m really happy.”
2023-12-08 08:41:22
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