HANOI: “We did our best,“ said Malaysian defender Mohamad Aidil Zafuan Abd Radzak after Malaysia’s 0-1 defeat to Vietnam in the second-leg final of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 at the My Dinh National Stadium, here Sunday night.
The defeat saw the Malaysian football squad under the charge of Tan Cheng Hoe lose the match on a 2-3 aggregate after having drawn 2-2 in the first-leg final at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Malaysia last Tuesday.
Aidil Zafuan, who is a defender for Malaysia Super League club Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), said he was disappointed with the loss but thanked the Malaysian fans for having supported the team right from the start of the biennial tournament.
“I want to thank the football fans who have stood by us from the start. This is football. We did our best. Who would have thought that unseeded Malaysia could reach the final?
“The team gave its best. Perhaps, it is destined that we must be the runner-up. We apologise for not bringing the cup back to Malaysia,“ he said in a post-match interview.
Vietnam, coached by South Korean Park Hang-Seo, scored the only goal of the match in the sixth minute through Nguyen Anh Duc after the team went on the offensive right from the start.
Aidil Zafuan admitted that the goal unsettled the Malaysian team and affected their play.
“That early goal made it difficult for us to equalise or even go ahead. It was the final. Anything could have happened,“ he said.
This is the third time that Malaysia has finished as a runner-up in the tournament, the first and second times being in 1996 and 2014. Malaysia won the cup in 2010.
Aidil Zafuan also said that head coach Tan Cheng Hoe should be retained to manage the Harimau Malaya squad, adding that the 50-year-old coach was dedicated in discharging his duty and always strived to improve the team’s performance.
The coach fulfilled the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) target of taking Malaysia to the final of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018, he said.
FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said Cheng Hoe’s fate would only be determined after he receives a full report on the performance of Harimau Malaya in the tournament.
Cheng Ho was appointed to handle the squad in December last year, taking over from Nelo Vingada of Portugal, who gave up the position after just seven months.
Harimau Malaya has since improved its world ranking from 174th to 167th.
