JOHOR Darul Ta’zim (JDT) created history once more when they clinched their 10th consecutive Super League title in style after thumping PDRM FC 4-0 at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Seri Iskandar last night (Sept 27).
In the match against PDRM, JDT scored the first goal through their Brazilian marksman Bergson da Silva in the 37th minute for his 102nd goal for JDT and Juan Muniz added the second, three minutes later.
In the second half of the game, JDT added two more goals through Arif Aiman Hanapi in the 54th minute, and Fernando Forestieri put the icing on the cake a minute later.
By clinching their 10th consecutive title since 2014 with only four games to spare, JDT had arguably set a new benchmark in the Malaysian football scene, an achievement that will be almost impossible for other teams to emulate.
The number 10 has special significance because it was almost ten years ago that the Tunku Mahkota of Johor (TMJ), Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, made a promise on the night of Oct 5, 2013 that he would resign as president of Persatuan Bola Sepak Negeri Johor (PBNJ) if JDT failed to win any silverware in 2014.
“If I fail to lead JDT to lift any silverware in the 2014 season, I will resign from my position as PBNJ President. That’s my promise,” TMJ was quoted by Utusan after JDT was trounced 6-1 by Kelantan FC in the 2013 Malaysia Cup quarterfinals.
The 6-1 humiliation to Kelantan FC in Kota Bharu did not extinguish the fire of his ambition. On the contrary, it is just the beginning of an era of dominance.
“We lost this match, but the spirit to build a great football empire never fades. Success does not come overnight, it takes time. And that time will start on November 22nd, 2013 (in preparation for the 2014 season),” TMJ promised JDT supporters.
Since then, JDT went from Super League title contenders to Super League champions; then to the reigning Super League champions, breaking records after records, including winning the 2015 Asian Football Confederations (AFC) Cup thus becoming the first Southeast Asian club to win the competition,
In addition, JDT won all three domestic trophies in 2022 thus becoming the ‘treble winner’ for the first time in the club’s history, becoming the first and only Malaysian football club to play and win a match in the AFC Champions League and most recently securing their 10th straight league titles.
JDT can create another history by completing another ‘treble’ by winning the 2023 Malaysia Cup to add to their 2023 Malaysia FA Cup and their league title, thus becoming only the second Malaysian club to accomplish the ‘double-treble’ feat, a feat that was achieved by Kedah FC back in the 2007 and 2008 season.
Ten years and ten Super League championships (as well as 15 other trophies) later, TMJ’s promise to build a football empire most certainly became a reality, much to the delight of JDT – and Malaysian football – fans everywhere. – Sept 28, 2023
Main pic credit: Facebook/ JOHOR Southern Tigers
