KUALA NERUS, Feb 6 — Penang FC head coach, Tomas Trucha is still hoping to get the services of two more imported players before the Super League competition begins in March.
According to Trucha, The Panthers, made up of many new faces, really need imported energy to strengthen the machinery, especially up front to back up their Brazilian import Casagrande (real name Anselmo Arruda da Silva) .
“We definitely need more power in attack. But it is up to the management to make a decision,” he said after a friendly match between his club and Terengganu FC (TFC) at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium here last night.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw after Danial Ashraf Abdullah’s goal in the 51st minute nullified the advantage that TFC held, courtesy of a goal by imported striker, Kpah Sherman in the 14th minute.
Meanwhile, Trucha said his team were also awaiting the arrival defender, Christian Rontini, who is currently undergoing the mandatory quarantine period.
The presence of the Italian-Filipino mixed heritage player is expected to strengthen Penang FC’s defence and fulfil the team’s mission of defending third place in the Super League which they achieved last season.
It was an outstanding achievement considering they were just promoted to the Super League after playing in the second tier Premier League in 2020.
“The expectation for this season is high. But we will try our best and we will fight for it,” Trucha said.
For this season, Penang FC still retain their three imported players, namely Casagrande, Rafael Vitor and Endrick dos Santos, who helped the squad end last season in third place with 41 points. — Bernama