KL City FC's ASEAN Zone title fitting National Day gift - Hodak
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 (Bernama) -- Kuala Lumpur (KL) City FC chief coach Bojan Hodak has dedicated his team’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup ASEAN Zone victory to the people of Malaysia as a National Day gift.
He said being a small club in the Malaysia League (M-League) KL had not been expected to go far in the AFC Cup tournament.
"We didn't have high expectations. We are a hardworking team and just a small club. But we went through match by match and nobody expected us to win against a team much better than us. This is our present for Hari Merdeka.
"Last year the Malaysia Cup (win) was a fairy tale story; now in the AFC also the same. Every story needs to have an end so we will continue that dream, and I'm hoping for a happy ending for it," he told a news conference last night.
The Croatian coach said his boys’ performance augured well for the M-League.
"We have proved that we are also the best in ASEAN. Meanwhile, Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) also had played in the knockout stage of the Asian Champions League (ACL), so this is a good thing for our league," he added.
Hodak said he was confident that The City Boys could give their opponents a run for their money in the next stage of the tournament.
"Next game I don't know who we'll be facing, whether the team from Uzbekistan or India but it is definitely going to be tough," he said.
In last night’s ASEAN Zone final here, KL beat Indonesia’s PSM Makassar 5-2.
According to AFC Cup official website, KL are set to meet India’s ATK Mohun Bagan in the inter-zone semi-finals.
-- BERNAMA
