Munoz Hails JDT’s Historic Fourth Straight Malaysia Cup Crown

KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 (Bernama) -- Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) head coach Xisco Munoz described his side’s achievement of winning four consecutive Malaysia Cup titles as a historic feat after they beat Kuching City FC 2-0 in the 2025-2026 final at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil here tonight.

The achievement reflected the Southern Tigers’ commitment to continuously pushing themselves to create history and raise the team’s standards year after year, he added.

“Again, it’s coming back to history. JDT is the first club in Malaysia to win four cups in a row and this is important for us because we always try to push ourselves to build something stronger in history,” he told the post-match press conference here.

Commenting on the final, Munoz admitted Kuching City provided a tough challenge especially in the first half, however JDT managed to take control of the game after the break.

“We spoke about it in the press conference before the match, nobody gives you anything for free in football. We know Kuching’s style, their power and the capacity they have.

“It’s true that the first half was more 50-50, but in the second half again we had more control. When the players started to run and had space, especially in the last 20 minutes, we became a dangerous team,” the 45-year-old Spaniard said.

Meanwhile, Kuching City head coach Aidil Sharin Sahak refused to blame Muhammad Ramadhan Saifullah Usman following the defeat despite the forward missing a crucial penalty that could have changed the course of the match.

Aidil Sharin stressed that penalties are a gamble and even the world’s best players are not immune to missing from the spot.

However, he said that failing to shine at such chances against a powerhouse like JDT often leads to immediate repercussions.

"I don't want to blame Ramadhan. A penalty is always 50/50. Even world-class players miss them. However, I believe it just my opinion if we had scored that goal, the game would have been different because our momentum was good at that point.

"Against a team like JDT, if you don't take your chances, you know what happens. My players are human beings, they felt a little down after the miss and that was where we got punished. That is football and it is always frustrating to lose a final,” he said.

Marcos Guilherme and substitute Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi scored a goal each late in the second half to help JDT clinch their sixth Malaysia Cup title after previously winning the competition in 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024-2025.

-- BERNAMA