File picture of Kedah Darul Aman FC players in action against Selangor FC in their Super League match. – Bernama pic
KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — National football legend and former Selangor player Khalid Ali is of the opinion that Selangor FC should replace head coach Michael Feichtenbeiner if the Red Giants fail to show positive changes in the next three to four months.
According to him, although Feichtenbeiner who joined Selangor at the end of 2019 as Technical Director was only appointed to lead the team starting this season, the performance level of the 33-time Malaysia Cup champions has not shown any improvement since his presence.
The situation upset Khalid in recalling the fate and direction of his favourite team, not to mention that Selangor were also plagued by a worrying record of title drought after six years of finishing the Malaysian League (M-League) without a trophy.
“I don’t see any changes from year to year and that’s the problem because he (Feichtenbeiner) has good players but can’t motivate them to play better than before.
“As a coach, there must be positive changes made to the team but if the pattern of the game is still the same as before, I don’t think it makes sense for us to keep a coach like that,” he told Bernama.
The last time the Red Giants enjoyed success was when they beat Kedah 2-0 in the final of the Malaysia Cup in 2015 before missing out on the opportunity to defend the title the following season when they lost to the same opponents in the final.
Selangor also failed to end their 12-year wait to win back the FA Cup after lifting the trophy in 2009 and thereafter their best achievement was reaching the final match in 2018, but lost 0-2 at the hands of Pahang.
In the Super League competition, Selangor’s best record after winning the 2010 season was emerging runners-up in 2013, 2014 and 2015 apart from being in the top three in 2019.
Khalid described the six-year drought without a championship title as something very disappointing as it illustrated the downfall of a team that was once a local football giant.
Still hoping that Selangor will succeed in winning at least one title this season, he, however, admitted that it will be a difficult mission if the team fails to improve their performance and game pattern.
“They (players) play as individual players, it should not be like that, they should play as a team but I don’t see it happening based on the movement of the players. I see if player A goes forward, players B and C don’t directly support. It’s very obvious,” he said.
Thus, the former striker of the national squad of the 80s felt that immediate action should be taken by the Selangor management to overcome the problems faced by the team and put the Red Giants back on track as one of the dreaded teams with quality players.
“It can be said that in the Selangor team (before), there were many good local players and many represented Malaysia but now I have a hard time saying the same,” said Khalid.
For the record, Selangor started the 2022 Super League season campaign with a 3-3 draw against Kuala Lumpur City FC at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras on March 4 before sealing a 6-0 victory over M3 League side Harini FT (minnows) in the first round of the FA Cup last Friday. — Bernama