I am somewhat more optimistic about their chances compared to last year for a number of reasons. Here comes a long post...
For one, they have an experienced coach that favours a very attacking style of play with aggressive pressing. They have always had good attacking talent, but previous coaches were way too conservative in their approach, preferring slow build ups and not much possession football, which was not conducive for continental football. I have complained about their style of play in the past on here several times before, but I can now humbly admit that I am enjoying watching them this season.
Their fitness levels are a lot better as the domestic season has been going on for 6 months now. Last year, they came to the competition having played just 4 competitive matches all year that was interrupted by the pandemic.
They have also fixed their fullback issues. Watch out for the young left-back Haisham Hassan, whom I consider to be one of the most exciting talents in Maldivian football.
Their foreign players include Tana Dominguez, whom famously scored the winner for Las Palmas against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2015. He's still only 31 and I don't know what happened to his career to make him play in Maldives in his prime, but he's the top scorer in the DPL and looks way too good to play in this league.
Unlike the last two seasons where they cakewalked to the title, they have had stiff competition in both domestic tournaments so far, which has forced them to up their game and improve themselves. Of course, they may still fall flat on their face in the AFC Cup, but I'm positive that it's not going to be as bad as last year.
I am somewhat more optimistic about their chances compared to last year for a number of reasons. Here comes a long post...
For one, they have an experienced coach that favours a very attacking style of play with aggressive pressing. They have always had good attacking talent, but previous coaches were way too conservative in their approach, preferring slow build ups and not much possession football, which was not conducive for continental football. I have complained about their style of play in the past on here several times before, but I can now humbly admit that I am enjoying watching them this season.
Their fitness levels are a lot better as the domestic season has been going on for 6 months now. Last year, they came to the competition having played just 4 competitive matches all year that was interrupted by the pandemic.
They have also fixed their fullback issues. Watch out for the young left-back Haisham Hassan, whom I consider to be one of the most exciting talents in Maldivian football.
Their foreign players include Tana Dominguez, whom famously scored the winner for Las Palmas against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2015. He's still only 31 and I don't know what happened to his career to make him play in Maldives in his prime, but he's the top scorer in the DPL and looks way too good to play in this league.
Unlike the last two seasons where they cakewalked to the title, they have had stiff competition in both domestic tournaments so far, which has forced them to up their game and improve themselves. Of course, they may still fall flat on their face in the AFC Cup, but I'm positive that it's not going to be as bad as last year.
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For one, they have an experienced coach that favours a very attacking style of play with aggressive pressing. They have always had good attacking talent, but previous coaches were way too conservative in their approach, preferring slow build ups and not much possession football, which was not conducive for continental football. I have complained about their style of play in the past on here several times before, but I can now humbly admit that I am enjoying watching them this season.
Their fitness levels are a lot better as the domestic season has been going on for 6 months now. Last year, they came to the competition having played just 4 competitive matches all year that was interrupted by the pandemic.
They have also fixed their fullback issues. Watch out for the young left-back Haisham Hassan, whom I consider to be one of the most exciting talents in Maldivian football.
Their foreign players include Tana Dominguez, whom famously scored the winner for Las Palmas against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2015. He's still only 31 and I don't know what happened to his career to make him play in Maldives in his prime, but he's the top scorer in the DPL and looks way too good to play in this league.
Unlike the last two seasons where they cakewalked to the title, they have had stiff competition in both domestic tournaments so far, which has forced them to up their game and improve themselves. Of course, they may still fall flat on their face in the AFC Cup, but I'm positive that it's not going to be as bad as last year.