Malaysian football writer, Marco Negeri, shares his thoughts on our new signing, Junior Eldstal.
When he first appeared on the scene in 2013, fans were genuinely excited as mixed heritage players weren't that many then and even if they were being publicized or talked about, technical issues would have prevented them from featuring for the Malaysian national team. However, Junior had no issues as he held a Malaysian passport and the junior team coach Ong Kim Swee was very accommodative towards having him feature for the U23s, which was very unconventional at the time. The last time he featured for Malaysia was a friendly game versus Fiji in 2016, where he played for 79 minutes. Overall, he had an average record while playing for the Malaysian national team, although everyone will always remember his "sweet" goal against Myanmar in the 2013 edition of the Pestabola Merdeka Final, Asia's oldest international football tournament.
What would you say are his strengths?
I would say his height and physique mostly. At 1.91 m, he is definitely a rarity for Malaysian footballers. When at JDT, he was known to do extra training on his own to work on his individual skill, so that is definitely important. The fact that he is willing to return to professional football again, despite the challenges and injury issues he's had to face over the years also tells us something about his drive and motivation to succeed in the game.
And his weaknesses?
Definitely his injury issues, that would seriously count against him. As his nature is to play through the pain, fitness would be hard to come by. If he has serious considerations about making it back to Harimau Malaya, then he really needs to make "getting back into the best shape and condition" as his top priority.
How do you think he will cope at Chonburi and in the Thai league?
Throughout his time at JDT, especially his breakthrough season in 2015, 2016 and 2017, he has done well for them, despite having to switch from his traditional role of playing in the midfield to becoming one of the centrebacks, given his height and physique. In the process, bagging domestic titles and the AFC Cup in 2015. However, having not played professional football since he left in 2018, this might serve as a serious disadvantage given he will have to play for Chonburi halfway through the season. He may have fitness issues, but this remains to be seen and known. Otherwise, he would be an interesting acquisition for the club. He needs to immediately work on his match fitness and coming from a Non-League side after being there for a year, he would have to immediately prepare himself for the likes of Diogo, Heberty and Teerasil to contend with, which may prove to be difficult for him as he starts featuring for Chonburi. Unfortunately, time would not be on his side if he requires it to adjust to the competitive and challenging nature of the Thai League.
How has the move been covered in the local press?
When it was made known that Junior was eyeing a return to Asian/Malaysian football, the press here covered the news favourably, with speculations of who he would turn up for. When he left JDT in 2018, he made it clear that he was to leave football to pursue his other interests. Today, with a squad that is already filled with many top talents eager to feature for the team, it was certain that Junior wouldnt have a place there. He was then linked with the City Boys, Kuala Lumpur FC but over the weeks, it became clear that Thailand was his destination.
Finally, if you could give him any advice, what would it be?
Time to get back to his competitive best, regain his old form, and before he knows it, the Malaysian National Team coaches would start calling. WIth his height and physique, the Harimau Malaya could still use a player of his talents and calibre.
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