The Harimau Malaya fever has receded and the Suzuki Cup has ended (Eww..Singapore won it). It's the time for our very own Super League. The 2013 MSL season kicks off today with the Charity Shield game between last season’s treble winners, Kelantan and the newly-promoted side, ATM. It is touted to be a rematch of last year’s Malaysia Cup final where Kelantan prevailed 3-2 in a thrilling contest. This year, it is hoped that the fans will be served with another entertaining encounter between these two sides.
Kelantan will parade a slightly different line-up this time out. Their top-scorer last season, Lebanese striker Mohammad Ghaddar has joined Felda United while national forward Norshahrul Idlan Talaha has joined moneybags Darul Takzim FC along with speedy winger Nurul Azwan Roya. The Red Warriors have brought in former Perak and Selangor striker Keita Mandjou as a replacement for Ghaddar. Apart from Mandjou, they have also brought in Zairo Anuar Zailani from T-Team to add to their creativity quotient. Despite the departure of their two main strikers, Kelantan are still very much dangerous in attack. Players such as Mandjou, Norfarhan Muhammad and Indra Putra are capable of getting the goals. First-choice defender S.Subramaniam is out due to injury and experienced K.Nanthakumar is set to partner Obinna Nwaneri in the heart of the defence.
Like Kelantan, ATM also lost their key players to Darul Takzim FC. Aidil Zafuan and his twin brother, Zaquan Adha has gone down south with ATM getting a few experienced players to beef up their squad. Notable names include Shukor Adan and R.Surendran, signed from Negeri Sembilan and Selangor respectively. The soldiers will surely again depend on the creative Argentine, Bruno Martelotto and the dangerous Marlon Alex James.
The game will be played at the Shah Alam Stadium where the pitch quality is way better than the one at our National Stadium and we hope we get to watch a high-quality game today (hope the rain do not affect the state of the pitch) sans unruly fans and bad refereeing. Both the teams look well-matched but Kelantan remain as the favourites to nick it. This is football, anything can happen in a 120-minute block and we hope the 2013 Charity Shield will be an entertaining game for both sets of fans and neutrals alike.
MAJULAH BOLASEPAK UNTUK NEGARA
Written by Vinod Nair.
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