PETALING JAYA, Feb 4 — National squad head coach Tan Cheng Hoe said the country’s latest naturalised player Liridon Krasniqi will be an asset if he gets to represent Malaysia.
Cheng Hoe, who was responsible for making Liridon one of the best players in the Malaysian League (M-League) when guiding Kedah, noted that the inclusion of Liridon would give the national team more options in the attacking line-up.
“If Liridon is destined to play with the national team one day, it will have a great impact as he has a strong character and is highly motivated.
“We know that when he was in Kedah, he played well and was a scoring machine for the team besides working hard in every training session and match. So, I hope he will continue his contribution with the national team,” he told reporters here yesterday.
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) yesterday confirmed that the Kosovo-born player, who represents the Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) team, is now a Malaysian citizen after obtaining his identity card (MyKad) at the Putrajaya National Registration Department (NRD) headquarters yesterday.
However, Cheng Hoe noted that he and his coaching staff will continue to monitor and evaluate the overall performance of the 28-year-old player before listing him in the national team.
“From the physical, tactical and technical aspects he has improved but we have to monitor his performance with JDT in the M-League this season as he has not been playing competitively for almost a year,” said the 50-year-old coach. — Bernama
