The veteran forward sees great potential in this KL side and he expects them to be one of the dark horses of the 2021 Super League season.
It’s been 15 years since Safee Sali last donned the Kuala Lumpur (KL) FC shirt, but he will have to do so again in the 2021 season after signing a one-year contract with the outfit promoted to. the coming season.
The well-traveled forward will bring tons of experience to the already packed KL squad in the form of Indra Putra Mahayudin and Shukor Adan, coming full circle in what has been an incredible footballing journey. for him so far.
He was unveiled with Hadin Azman on Thursday and the former Malaysia international is adamant he is still capable of contributing at the highest level despite turning 37 next year.
“I am honored to be able to return to the team that gave me my first professional career 15 years ago. Being back here at this stadium brings back a lot of memories to me. I hope that in the coming season we can revive the aura of Kuala Lumpur, ”Safee said at the unveiling.
“I already had the experience of playing with Indra and Shukor, both of whom have done everything in football. I think we have the right mix of seniors and juniors to give the others a big challenge.
“I accepted it even though it was only a year, that’s not a problem. For any team that faces a player of my age, they will have their concerns. So it’s up to me to prove it even though I’ve only been here for a year, I want to prove my worth and help the team as much as possible. “
Yet with age catching up to him and the lack of playing time at former club Petaling Jaya City FC being another indicator, Safee revealed he wasn’t even close to considering retiring to the moment.
Highlighting the longevity of the club’s new team-mate, Shukor and current AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Safee is counting on a continued health check to allow him to emulate these two players to continue playing while many others would have called it a day. .
“Until I say that I will retire, I want to continue to give my best to the team I play with. And when it’s with a team that I’ve played with before, it makes me very excited. I feel like I’m only 17 when I’m 37 in the coming season.
“We have examples in our own championship. Shukor will be 42 next year and he still plays in the Premier League, so why not the others. And abroad in the attacking position, we see Zlatan Ibrahmovic being there and still scoring goals. So I want to give a signal to young players these days that we can be here for a long time. “
The last time Safee was successful at the domestic level was while he was still a player of Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) and although KL is not seen as a potential challenger to the reigning champions of the Super League, Safee firmly believes that the goal of management has been set. a little too low.
KL finished last of the 2019 season to move to the Premier League, but were immediately promoted despite placing third in 2020 due to Terengganu FC II’s inability to be promoted. Which wouldn’t make management’s goal of staying in the high end too low for the team to meet.
However, having seen the mix the team has, Safee is convinced that if the team can play to their potential, there is a great opportunity for the club to even finish in the top half of the division.
“I think KL now has the ability to provide a challenge for big teams. We have Hadin, Zamir (Selamat), Paulo (Josue) who all play important roles. For KL, being in the top five is not impossible because we Of course the management has its goals, but I do not think that is enough because we see that the quality of the players of the team has the capacity to ‘take KL to the next level,’ he added.
