7 days ago
Machuca thanks his grandma for Malaysia shirt
KUALA LUMPUR: His footie-loving granny worked hard to get him to play for a national team in the other side of the world.
The Argentine-born Imanol Machuca attributed his move to Harimau Malaya to his Malaysian grandmother.
In an interview with Spanish media outlet, Sabado Velez recently, the 25-year-old winger said his Malaysia debut was a "unique experience", one made possible by his grandmother.
Machuca played a key role as Malaysia thrashed Asean powerhouse Vietnam 4-0 in an Asian Cup qualifier at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on June 10.
In retrospect, Machuca thanked his grandmother for making his Malaysia dream a reality.
"I got a phone call from my grandmother. She had been working on this (joining Malaysia) for a while. I had been talking about it for some time, but never managed to make it happen. Thank God, this year I was finally able to play. It was incredible."
Speaking ahead of the Copa Libertadores round of 16, Machuca, who plays for Velez Sarsfield FC in Argentina, also talked about his Malaysian adventure.
"There's a lot of passion in Malaysia. When the announcement (about Machuca playing for Malaysia) was made, the post got 15,000 likes and so many comments with the Malaysian flag. I want to send a big hug to all Malaysians," he said.
Machuca said he was charmed in his first visit to Malaysia. "It's a beautiful country. Economically stable, the cities are very nice, although the weather is quite humid and hot.
"People are friendly. They treated me well, and the culture is impressive.
"I have been in contact with the coach (Peter Cklamovski). I hope they will call me again. I had a great experience in the Asian Cup qualifiers. We did well and I hope we can win our next two games (against Laos on Oct 9 and 14)."
