Irfan Bakti – a name synonymous with Terengganu football – has resigned with immediate effect from Wednesday in the wake of an embarrassing 5-3 defeat to Petaling Jaya City FC in a Super League match at home.
He submitted his quit letter on Wednesday during a post mortem and management committee meeting on Terengganu’s poor run of late, including the quarter-final exit in the FA Cup. Terengganu won the first-leg against Pahang 2-1 but was torn apart in the return-leg in Kuantan with the Elephants advancing to the semi-finals 5-2 on aggregate with a 4-0 win.
However, the last straw was Terengganu’s defeat to PJ City as the Turtles seemed to be cruising to a big win after taking a comfortable 3-0 lead at half-time. The second-half meltdown saw PJ City score five for a great comeback win.
Terengganu FA secretary Tengku Farok Hussin Tengku Abdul Jalil in a statement said assistant coach Nafuzi Zain, a former international, will take over the team until a new candidate is found to replace Irfan.
Irfan is best remembered for winning the FA Cup in 2011 – the same year the East Coast giants finished runners-up in the Malaysia Cup and the league.
Tengku Farok called on the home fans to rally behind the team as they are a vital cog of the Turtles.
Terengganu’s next match is against FA Cup semi-finalists Felda United at the Tun Razak Stadium in Jengka on Saturday. Felda is also reeling after a massive 6-0 defeat to Melaka United in a league match on Wednesday. – BY RIZAL ABDULLAH
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