ViP: What happened to Aidil Mohamad?

Sarawak now has three talented goalkeepers this season, namely Sani Anuar Kamsani, Saiful Amar Sudar, and local boy Aidil Mohamad.

Of the three, Sani Anuar Kamsani is favorably touted as the most convincing by far to feature between the post, while Saiful seems to be the preferred stand-in goalkeeper by head coach Robert Alberts.

Among the three however, Mukah born Aidil has been playing for the Crocs the longest, being a key servant to the Crocs since the ‘doomed’ days when the Crocs were still fighting for survival in the Malaysia Premier League.

Aidil, now 32 years of age, was indeed instrumental as he helped the Crocs gain promotion to the Malaysian Super League (MSL) in 2012 before finding himself serving as nothing more than a fringe player for the Crocs after that.

Prior to the 2012 MSL promotion, Aidil was hugely regarded as a goalkeeper with great awareness and handling, but somehow lacking in protection as the then leaky Sarawak defense disabled him from doing much for the team.

Helpless then, the Crocs leaked huge amounts of goals throughout 2009 to 2011.

Nonetheless, the return of Roberts to the team in the 2011 MPL season saw Aidil conceding a mere 16 goals throughout the season, as the Ducth coach tightened the defenses to give more protection for the last defense Sarawak had.

Sarawak gained promotion as one of the top three teams least conceding goals.

In 2012, Roberts brought in Sani and Saiful to Sarawak, and Aidil was left mostly on the bench. His fate looked even worst in 2013, as Aidil hardly played any competitive matches for the Crocs with him looking most certain to remain as a ‘bench warmer’ as the current league season draws closer to an end.

At the stands, loyal fans have been starting to wonder why Aidil isn’t featured in Robert’s plans with speculations varying according to sources.

The goalkeeper has been rumored to be injured, but reliable sources have confirmed that he is currently well and training hard with the team.

Others have said that Roberts may think Aidil isn’t as good as Sani, but these fans were quick to comment that Aidil was probably better than second choice as Saiful, whom they think has concentration issues, which needs to be addressed.

Apart from that, an avid Crocs fan has also pointed out that Aidil is currently the only player in the squad yet to start for Sarawak, as the team draws closer to winning the MPL this season.

The fan whom wanted to remain anonymous also quickly added that it would be psychologically ‘denting’ for Aidil to celebrate such triumph, likening it to winning something without playing any part in the process to the victory. He quipped “Where’s the satisfaction in that?”

Unfortunately for the fans, Robert’s is the only man with the answer for why Aidil has yet to start for the Crocs this season.

Nonetheless, fans are hopeful that Roberts, being a former professional football player and an experienced coach would give Aidil a chance to start, and play part in making football history for Sarawak.

Do share your thoughts on this issue at the comments below.