HIROSHIMA, Japan — Champions in the past 11 seasons of the Malaysia Super League, domestic success is now something of an expectation for Johor Darul Ta’zim.
For a club who are never content to stand still, the continental stage has provided the next frontier.
And, while JDT have created their fair share of waves since making their debut in Asian football’s premier club competition in 2019, they have yet to make it past the round of 16.
They are now potentially just 90 minutes away from making history and reaching the AFC Champions League Elite quarterfinals for the first time — holding a 3-1 first-leg lead over Sanfrecce Hiroshima heading into Wednesday’s return encounter at Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima.
Still, the possibility of a landmark achievement is hardly fazing Xisco Muñoz — who believes scaling new heights in the future will be made possible if they just focus on the immediate task that lies in front of them.
“What we’re thinking is only [these] 90 minutes,” he replied, when asked by ESPN how JDT were approaching the potentially-monumental feat.
“Sometimes it’s difficult when you need to close the door. That is what we’ll be trying to do.
“What I can say is that, for all of the these [past few] days, we’ve been working very hard for this big challenge. The positive is that we’re close [to reaching the target].
“But [there are] a lot of examples we can speak [about]. Anything can change. We’re ready for this situation.”
A week ago, the Southern Tigers made the most of their home advantage but also benefitted from a helping hand given to them by the 26th-minute dismissal of Kim Ju-Sung — capitalising on the numerical advantage with three second-half strikes by Ager Aketxe, Bérgson da Silva and Marcos Guilherme before a late Nené own-goal handed Sanfrecce a lifeline.
It does mean that they will have a significant advantage to hold onto, although there is the old cliché about a two-goal lead being the most dangerous.
The balance that JDT find between protecting their advantage and still showing sufficient adventure could go a long way in determing Wednesday’s result, although Xisco might just be instructing his players to go out as if the scoreline is level.
“We forgot about that [the first-leg win],” he added. “Tomorrow we start a new game.
“It’s important to give our best and show what we can do. At the end of the day, then we’ll see what the result is.
“For sure, they [Sanfrecce] will try to push hard. We need to have emotional maturity. It’s important we’re not thinking about the last game.
“It’s a new battle and it’s important we push [for our] destiny in the game.”
Echoing his coach’s sentiments, JDT defender Eddy Israfilov – who produced a monumental display in the first leg — said: “For tomorrow’s game, of course we’ll play with personality.
“We’ll enjoy the game. We’ll play strong.
“It’s a new game. A new opportunity for us. Tomorrow we’ll fight to make history for Malaysian football in Asia.”
