In the AFF Cup 2020, Muhammad Syahmi Safari has been national head coach Tan Cheng Hoe’s go-to man to play there following the absence of regular left-back La’Vere Corbin-Ong. — Picture from Facebook/FAM
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 — Right-back Muhammad Syahmi Safari believes he is slowly but surely getting the hang of playing on the other side of defence after featuring as a left-back in the Harimau Malaya’s first two matches in the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup 2020 in Singapore.
In fact, he had also played in the left-back position when Malaysia took on Thailand in a group match at the 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers in June.
“Alhamdulillah, from one match to another, I am adapting to the different conditions and situations of playing in the left-back position.
“Initially, it felt odd because I had to adapt to the position. My problem playing on the left side of the defence is that I am so used to playing on the right, where I know the right positioning when we are defending,” he told an online media conference today.
In the AFF Cup 2020, Muhammad Syahmi has been national head coach Tan Cheng Hoe’s go-to man to play there following the absence of regular left-back La’Vere Corbin-Ong.
“So far, we see that Syahmi has been playing consistently and performing well as a left-back,” said Cheng Hoe after guiding the team to two victories — over Cambodia and Laos — in Group B in Singapore.
Cheng Hoe is pleased with the 23-year-old Muhammad Syahmi’s versatility in playing on both sides of defence, adding that it would be good if the other players in the team were just as versatile.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Syahmi has called on his teammates to maintain their excellent momentum when they take on defending champions Vietnam in their third Group B match at the Bishan Stadium on Sunday.
“We have met Vietnam many times, from the 2018 AFF Cup campaign until the (recent) World Cup qualifiers. I feel that their tactical set-up hasn’t changed all that much since 2018.
“We can see that they still deploy five players when defending and rely on sheer speed when attacking. What is important here is that we must take this game seriously and be disciplined if we are to contain them,” he said. — Bernama