Impeccable Aidil immensely proud of Johor Darul Ta'zim's seventh Malaysia Super League title but is already looking ahead and yearning for more.
Seven for the number seven!
The 2020 Malaysia Super League success marked the seventh league title that Aidil Zafuan has helped Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) win while adorning his favourite number ‘7’ on the back of his shirt. Overall the centre back has eight league titles in his career having won one with Negeri Sembilan back in 2006.
It’s an achievement that makes him the most decorated player in the Super League era without any equal. No one else has won as many titles as him and at 33 years of age, his ability to remain at the top while maintaining a high-level of performance showcases his remarkable longevity in the game.
But even for someone with 16 years of top flight football under his belt, the 2020 season still represented something new for Aidil. The outbreak of Covid-19 has led to a five-month break in the schedule as players readjusted to having a second pre-season in a very odd year of football.
“It’s an achievement that I’m very proud of and something that’s very important in my career as a footballer. I’ve given my all to JDT since 2013 until now. It’s satisfying to be able to give the club something every year, which is also a target for me - whether that’s the league or cups,” Aidil told Goal.
“Personally, this season is very sweet because 2020 is a year we’ve faced a lot of challenges with the Covid-19 impacting the league for a few months. We couldn’t train and at the end, we were left with just seven remaining matches to play.
“But because the season was shortened, we knew we had to double up our focus. Every game we cannot afford to drop points. It has been a difficult season despite lesser games to play, those were not easy games at all. But this is the 7th league title for JDT and all in my jersey number 7!
Over the years, JDT have recruited their fair share of young potential centre back but Aidil remains the preferred choice at the back alongside Marcos Antonio previously and Mauricio dos Santos Nascimento in the current set-up. All but one (2014) of the seven titles were won with Aidil and JDT being the best defensive unit in the competition.
Of the players club owner HRH Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim signed back in 2013 after taking over and rebranding the club, Aidil is the only one from the original batch that remains in the current team. An amazing span of eight years at the club where he practically saw first-hand the massive transformation that the club went through.
JDT has grown tremendously over the years and in capturing the league title season after season, they have only met the expectations laid on them. The pressure to keep winning is enormous and that is something which Aidil has learned to cope with including in this latest season.
“I’m someone who believes that everything happens for a reason. When things happen that make us not able to compete and having to stop for a few months, the positive was that we were able to have a proper rest. It allowed my body to rest and I used that time in a very positive manner with my family.
“To tell you the truth, having that proper break and returning it was like being reborn and going into football for the very first time. That was how refreshing it felt for me and it made me all raring to go again.
“Pressure is always there no matter if it was 22 games or 14 games or 7. But it’s not something that I constantly keep in my mind because that can have a very negative effect on me and the team. Pressure is good but not too much. What was important for us to focus on ourselves instead of seeing which team is closing in on us.
“We took every game individually and the target is never to come away with nothing. If we are playing away then the minimum is to come away with a point. We are unbeaten through to winning the league and as you can see, it’s our strength and something which we must keep every season.”
But the season is not over yet for Aidil and JDT. There’s still the AFC Champions League (ACL) in November as well as the Malaysia Cup that will start later this month where JDT still have a chance for progression in the former and are the reigning champions of the latter.
Therefore it was important for the team to gain some measure of form and momentum in this stop-start season where tougher challenges in the shape of Vissel Kobe, Guangzhou Evergrande and Suwon Bluewings awaits in the remainder of the ACL group matches which JDT are slated to host.
Having already won so much on the domestic scene, Aidil and JDT must start to expand that domination into the Asian scale despite them very much being in the infancy stage of their involvement with the most elite club cup competition in Asia as this is only their second season in the group stage.
Yet progression needs to be seen on that stage because that is where the club aspires to be and where Aidil himself wants to make a good impression in whatever remaining years that are left in his career. One more big mountain for Aidil to help JDT conquer.
“We wanted the win and the right momentum to take into the ACL. Had we not been able to resume the domestic league and straight jump into the ACL, I’m sure we will be in a worse shape because we won’t be able to find our rhythm.
“It’s good that we managed to achieve a good success in winning the Super League and that will give us a lot of boost going into the ACL,” explained Aidil.