JDT outpace Real Madrid fixture strain

KUALA LUMPUR: Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) are facing a heavier fixture schedule than Real Madrid over the final three months of the year.

So heavy is their schedule that their demanding commitments have left Harimau Malaya without a single player from the club for the upcoming international friendlies.

According to fixture-density tracking published by Asean Football, JDT are set to play 18 competitive matches between October and December across four competitions which is two more than Real Madrid and Barcelona, who are each listed for 16 matches over the same period.

Only Manchester City and Liverpool, with 20 matches each, have a heavier schedule among the clubs compared.

JDT are therefore expected to play roughly once every five days, with their commitments spanning domestic competitions, the Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) and the Asean Club Championship (ACC) (Shopee Cup).

The workload has forced interim national coach Tan Cheng Hoe to leave out all JDT players from Malaysia's 24-man squad and 15-man standby list for the Tier 1 friendlies against China and Yemen in Guangdong.

Established internationals such as Arif Aiman Hanapi, Matthew Davies, Ahmad Syihan Hazmi Mohamed and Feroz Baharudin are among those left out.

Cheng Hoe said the decision was made to give JDT room to manage their commitments and focus on their continental campaigns.

"JDT have four important matches this month, involving the ACLE, ACC and FA Cup semi-finals," he said during the squad announcement.

"Besides giving the club room to manage its demanding schedule, I have also considered the importance of allowing them to focus fully on their commitments in Asian competitions."

Cheng Hoe also stressed the importance of JDT's continental performances to Malaysia's standing in Asian football.

"This is because JDT have an opportunity to increase Malaysia's points tally in the MA (Member Association) rankings, which would benefit the country's standing in Asian football," he said.

The decision highlights the difficult balance between protecting JDT's continental ambitions and ensuring the national team has its strongest players available during FIFA international windows.

Malaysia's MA ranking influences the number of places allocated to its clubs in AFC competitions, making JDT's results on the continental stage important to the country's wider football standing.

However, the world No. 133 must now prepare for higher-ranked opposition, including China, currently ranked 96th in the world, without a significant group of its established players.

Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) senior lecturer in sports coaching science Assoc Prof Dr Zulakbal Abd Karim questioned how Malaysia could improve its performance without some of its key players.

"How can the national team improve its performance when many of its star players are missing from the squad? We can only assume the coach wants to experiment with other players. The impact remains a question mark for everyone," he reportedly said.

Zulakbal also warned that Malaysia risked wasting a valuable opportunity to build team cohesion during a FIFA international window.

"International windows are limited, so the national team will have to wait until the next opportunity to bring the players together and build team chemistry," he said.

"It appears the team is wasting this opportunity to strengthen that cohesion. It is also unfortunate that one of the opponents, China, is a higher-ranked side."