KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 — Head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee respects the decision of senior players Safiq Rahim and Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak to retire from the national team.

A surprised Kim Swee said the two pillars of the Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) team must have thought about retiring for a long time before making the decision.

"For me, it’s a big loss. We must respect their decision as they must have discussed it with their families before making a decision,” he said in a statement released by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) today.

Aidil Zafuan (right) with teammate Muhammad Fazly (left) chasing down UAE’s Omar Abdulrahman in a 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifier in Shah Alam last November. — AFP file pic

Kim Swee said that his immediate task is to find their replacements and would be monitoring players in the Super League and the Malaysia Cup matches.

"However, should the duo decide to make a return to the national team, we will reassess them based on performance,” he added.

Aidil Zafuan made the announcement in a statement posted on the Facebook of Johor Southern Tigers before Safiq did the same about one hour later. Both the players reportedly said they wanted to make way for new blood. — Bernama