PETALING JAYA, 17 Nov – As expected, Selangor will be ruled and run by Germans for the 2021 Malaysian Football League season when Karsten Neitzel was introduced as the new head coach of former greats Red Giants on Monday.
The 52-year-old Neitzel is a close buddy of FA of Selangor (FAS) technical director – who also acted as the caretaker coach – Michael Feichtenbeiner when B. Satiananthan was removed from the hot-seat following a 6-1 defeat at the hands of champions Johor Darul Takzim in a league match in Johor Bahru.
Neitzel’s first reaction in his new job was that he be given time to produce results although Feichtenbeiner described him as the ”right man to lead Selangor” based on his 10 years of coaching experience.
The new coach was the assistant head coach with Japanese league club Urawa Reds and also had stints with German clubs Bochum VFL, SV Elverseberg, Holstein Kiel.
It does not stop at that for the German invasion in Selangor – the 33-time Malaysia Cup champions.
It is learned Selangor will soon have Germans as assistant technical director, goalkeepers coach, and a physiotherapist.
This leaves a big question mark if Malaysians are not good enough to be in the said jobs?
And at what price do the Germans come? Cheaper than what the Malaysians are paid, what more when the budget of all teams said to have taken a hit due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Can the German brew guarantee success? Let us not forget that Selangor football is run by “hidden hands” who rule the Red Giants in all aspects.
Neitzel does not know that in Selangor there is a hate-love relationship between the team, the club, and the supporters – something which Satiananthan endured painfully and even made a police report when race, religion, and his family became “victims” on the social media and in the stands during matches.
Let’s wait and see if Neitzel will be given the sack if the Selangor team falls to a big defeat at the hands of JDT or any other team in the new season.
As a caretaker coach, Feichtenbeiner bragged about Selangor’s big wins of relegated teams like Police and Felda United.
A point to note is that Selangor has also made changes to the squad and among the big names out is skipper Taylor Regan.
Also removed are former internationals Syazwan Zainon and Khyril Muhymeen, both from Kedah.
How potent the German brew will be for the Red Giants? Only time will tell when the journey begins in 2021.
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