To say one man’s meat, is another men’s poison is crude indeed, but it happened as such. ZHAFRI YAHYA is now in the 30-man national team training camp squad, who are in the midst of their preparations for the Tour to Singapore, under the watchful eyes of new coach, South Korean Kim Pang Gon and his team of selectors.
Zhafri was elevated from the standby list to the main list of players, following misfortune that befell Petaling Jaya City’s Darren Lok, who tested positive for Covid-19, during the protocols requirement presence, forcing him to withdraw from continuing his participation in the training camp.
That though, does not undermine the 27 year old’s credibility in deserving to be rewarded with this call-up. The performances and consistency shown by the through and through KL boy, has been a hot topic in recent times,, perhaps justifying his place in the standby list before this.
Respectfully, The Voice of City Boys refrained from contacting our No.8, to gather his thoughts of the development, as he took advantage of a break in training, but picking up from The Star, he said “I went to my wife’s hometown to spend time with the in-laws and also settle some errands, but that has to wait, I guess. When they (wife & in-laws) knew about the call-up, they immediately told me to take it. “I have been eyeing a call-up for quite a while now.”
Since his time at the City Boys, he has made 146 appearances, scoring 16 goals and functions predominantly as an attacking midfielder. He was also The Man of the Match of the Final, during the city squad’s Malaysia Cup success in 2021.
This training camp for the Harimau Malaya is from March 14, 2022 for the Tri-Nations Cup assignment (vs the Philippines and Singapore) and a friendly match against S-League side, Albirex Niigata, of Japan, all between March 23 to 28. Zhafri was expected to join the camp from March 15, 2022.
Message for Zhafri from all at Kuala Lumpur City :
The club wishes you all the best in the centralised training camp. You truly deserve it with your consistent performances and it has been a long time coming.
We would also like to extend our best wishes to Darren Lok, for him to get back to his best ASAP.