PETALING JAYA: Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) coach Hector Bidoglio is not fan of numbers and historical details but he’s a firm believer of the club’s philosophy of playing fast attacking football throughout a match.
That’s why the former Venezuelan international was heaping praise on the high-pressing game and teamwork of his players which helped them to thrash Selangor 6-1 in the FA Cup final at the National Stadium on Saturday.
Any coach would have been proud of that scoreline as it was JDT’s biggest winning margin in a Cup final.
JDT also became the first team to secure three straight FA Cups, having won the competition since 2022 to go with their first triumph in 2016.
The four FA Cup crowns and another four Malaysia Cup triumphs (2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023) as well as 10 consecutive Super League titles (from 2014-2023) make them the most decorated Malaysian club in recent times.
However, Bidoglio wasn’t dwelling into numbers and even downplayed Juan Muniz’s hattrick in the match. He preferred to stress on how the Spaniard contributed as a team player.
“Our philosophy is to play fast attacking football and I am very happy with the way my players performed by producing a high pressing game. The players were great and this is the prize for their intense daily hard work,” said Bidoglio.
“We take risks all the time due to our offensive play but we are also worried about this as we have to run back quickly to regain possession when we lose the ball. We work hard to improve on this daily, and focus on teamwork.
“JDT knew how to play in the final and today (Saturday) they showed their potential and they must continue to grow.
“I don’t look at history or compare our performance and look at the number of goals. For me, the final has to be won.
“The way we played, if the game had continued for another 10 minutes, we may have continued scoring because physically, JDT players were so strong. But the scoreline is not important but winning matters more.”
Muniz netted his hattrick, which included two well taken free-kicks, in the 26th, 67th and 90th minutes and was named man of the match but Bidoglio was pleased with the way he played overall for the team.
“Juan has very good technique and great individual skills but today, he played as a team player,” added Bidoglio.
“He ran back a lot of times and recovered a lot of balls, so I am happy for him.”
JDT’s other goals were scored by Arif Aiman Hanapi (42nd), Bergson da Silva (62nd) and Heberty Fernandes (76th) while Alvin Fortes scored the consolation goal for Selangor in the 59th minute.
