He barely played for 15 minutes for the Malaysian team last night against Chonburi FC, but his action was followed closely by the nation, with many giving him the immediate ‘thumbs up’ for Rajagopals’ ever experimenting team, known also as Harimau Malaya.
Junior Eldstal was indeed a foreign name when he arrived in Kuching sometime in April, but he has made many stand up to pay attention to his transformation from an unknown footballer based in England, to Malaysia’s most promising youngster yet.
Yesterday, his performance against Chonburi FC stole the lime light from seasoned Malaysian internationals as support groups such as Harimau Malaya, which has over 496,167 ‘Likes’ on Facebook said the Sabah born player is the ‘missing jigsaw puzzle’ Rajagopal needs in his team.
Others were equally estatic over Juniors presence in the squad with some commenting that he has good passing and ball holding ability, and could make Malaysia’s midfield a force to be reckoned with talented Nazmi Faiz now playing for the national squad as well.
Website Goal.com who rated players in the game also had good words for the Sarawak midfielder as they rated his 3/5, which is above the likes of Safee Sali, Idlan Talaha and Ahmad Fakhri. They also commented that Junior “Only a short cameo from the newcomer but his introduction brought about a new lease of life in Malaysia. Always looking to move the ball quicker, Eldstal was lively and it is likely that we’ll see more of him soon.”
Junior in an immediate response, updated his Facebook status by saying ”
Last night was a moment in my life which I will never forget. I represented my COUNTRY, MALAYSIA and I feel honoured and proud. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Scott Ollerenshaw and all the help at Sarawak FA for giving me the opportunity. This is just a small chapter in my life and I hope to help show the world what a great nation we are and that we are capable to hold our own on the international stage. We have great players and a great tough league. Couldn’t be happier at the moment.“
