Asian Champs League draw leaves JDT guessing
KUALA LUMPUR: The draw has been done but Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) will have to wait anxiously to find out who they will face in the Asian Champions League (ACL).
During the draw at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) House yesterday, JDT were the only side confirmed for Group E as three others in the group for the ACL have not been decided.
There will be two teams from the playoff stages and another by virtue of being the second-placed team from the South Korea’s K-League.
JDT could be facing two of these seven teams from the playoff stages - Bangkok United (Thailand), Hanoi FC (Vietnam), Shandong Luneng (China), Newcastle Jets (Australia), Home United (Singapore), Liga 1 Indonesia champions and J-League third-placed team.
JDT manager Luciano Figueroa said it would be difficult to prepare the team because they would have to wait until Feb 19 next year to know the complete cast in the group.
Although anxious of the outcome, the Argentinian said they were looking forward to playing at the highest level.
JDT are the first Malaysian side to play in the ACL group stages.
“The field in the ACL is competitive and JDT have to be ready. We’re improving the squad,” said Figueroa.
The Southern Tigers start their ACL campaign on March 4.
In 2017, the AFC confirmed Malaysia will have one automatic qualifying spot for the AFC Champions League in 2019 and JDT won a direct spot to the group stages as Malaysia were placed sixth in the AFC Club competition rankings.
Malaysia Super League side Perak, who finished second in the league, will be vying for a spot in the group stages by playing Hong Kong club Kitchee Sports Club in the preliminary stage two on Feb 12 and if they beat Kitchee, they will face a Korean side in the playoff stage on Feb 19.
If Perak qualify for the group stages of the ACL, they will be placed in Group H, which have Japanese club Kawasaki Frontale, Australian side Sydney FC and Chinese club Shanghai SIPG.