Sabah-born Junior Eldstal has gone through the most exhilarating of experiences within a period of six months since signing up for Sarawak in April and then guiding them to the 2013 Malaysian Premier League title.
The 19-year-old aims to explore the experience of playing under coach Ong Kim Swee in the Merdeka Tournament which kicks off in Kuantan tomorrow with the Malaysia-Singapore match at the Darul Makmur Stadium.
“I am looking forward to playing in the Merdeka Tournament,” said Junior who was among the 22 players named by Kim Swee today.
Those dropped were goalkeeper Mohamad Ramadhan Abdul Rahman, midfielder Ridzuan Abdunloh Pula and centreback Wan Ahmad Amir Zafran while throwing a lifeline to young striker Mohamad Ariff Farhan for a first team action.
The national team had their first practice match against UiTM FC on Tuesday at the FA of Malaysia Academy ground in Stadium Darul Makmur.
Though they won 5-0, it was Junior who showed the way with the opening goal.
However, the Sarawak midfielder may have to wait for the next 24 hours to know of his fate as he had picked up an injury in the friendly match against UiTM FC. Though it is just a blister on the left foot, he is hoping to be back on his feet before the match against Singapore.
Junior’s first crack on big stage came when National senior head coach K. Rajagopal drafted him into the squad against Thailand club Chonburi FC at the Bukit Jalil Stadium days before taking on Chelsea FC before having a short-spell on the field against a star-studded Barcelona FC which included Neymar, Sanchez and the injured Messi who did not take to the field on August 10 at the National Stadium.
Junior also went on a playing tour of Japan but played in only one match.
-Image/News source: Pesta Bola Merdeka official FB
