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Soccer friday: Pahang'€™s Dickson ready for Persipura challenge in AFC Cup

He’s one of the hottest strikers in Southeast Asia, whose goals have helped take Pahang into the knockout stages of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup and to the top of the Malaysia Super League (MSL)

Jason Dasey (The Jakarta Post)
Fri, May 22, 2015

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Soccer friday: Pahang'€™s Dickson ready for Persipura challenge in AFC Cup

H

e'€™s one of the hottest strikers in Southeast Asia, whose goals have helped take Pahang into the knockout stages of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup and to the top of the Malaysia Super League (MSL). But Dickson Nwakaeme is quick to quash speculation that he is keen to pursue Malaysian citizenship.

The 29-year-old Nigerian has played in the MSL for the past three seasons after a successful career in Scandinavia with different clubs in Finland and Denmark.

'€œGetting a Malaysian passport is not something that I'€™m thinking about, to be honest,'€ Dickson told ESPN FC. '€œWhile I love Malaysia, Nigeria is still the country in my heart when it comes to international football.'€

The AFC Cup '€” Asia'€™s second tier club competition '€” has brought out the best in a powerful forward whose ability to keep possession up-front and bully defenders has Pahang believing it can become the first ever Malaysian club to make the final. With six AFC Cup goals in the group stages, Dickson is joint second top scorer, along with South China'€™s former A-League Golden Boot winner, Daniel McBreen.

Dickson will be a key man when Pahang travels to Persipura Jayapura of Indonesia in the cup'€™s Round of 16 on May 26.

'€œI want to win the AFC Cup so badly,'€ he said. '€œFor me, it is as good as playing in the Europa League in Europe. I made the second round of the AFC Cup with Kelantan in 2013 but I think we can go further with Pahang.'€

Dickson'€™s dreams of playing in a third consecutive Malaysia FA Cup final were shattered last weekend when 10-man Pahang lost 3-2 on aggregate to struggling Kelantan, conceding the killer goal in the 92nd minute. Kelantan will face Singapore'€™s LionsXII in Saturday'€™s final.

Dickson'€™s path to Southeast Asia is an unlikely one and he says it happened after he became fed up with what he described as '€œdishonest'€ agents in Europe. In April 2012, he signed a five-month contract with Vietnamese League champions Song Lam Nghe An FC and scored off the bench in the 93rd minute on his debut.

'€œI just wanted to get as far away from Europe as possible,'€ he said. '€œI knew that I was good enough to play in the better leagues and I had interest from Germany and Holland. But for whatever reason, it didn'€™t work out for me so when I was in Finland I thought I would give Asia a try.'€

He joined Pahang for the 2014 season after a year with Kelantan in which he won the Malaysia FA Cup and lost 1-0 in the final of the Malaysia Cup against his future teammates.

The Pahang goal scorer that day was Argentine forward Matias Conti, who has since become Dickson'€™s strike partner in one of the most feared combinations in the region.

The new rule in Malaysia this season that allows all four foreigners to play together at the same time means that Dickson and Conti are no longer competing for two of the three import spots in the starting 11.

Ex-English league defenders Zesh Rehman and Damion Stewart are the other non-Malaysian players in the squad.

Coached by prolific former national striker Zainal Abidin, Pahang has put a slow start to the season behind it to sit two points clear at the top of the MSL table.

It won both cup competitions last season with Dickson at the heart of the success. After scoring the winner in the 2014 FA Cup final against Felda United, he grabbed both goals in last November'€™s Malaysia
Cup final.

Dickson said the atmosphere at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, where 10-man Pahang prevailed against league champion Johor Darul Ta'€™zim (JDT) in a penalty shoot-out in front of 90,000 fans is something that he'€™ll never forget.

 '€œI'€™ve played for Aalborg against Odense, which is a big match in Denmark, but the Malaysia Cup final was amazing: The biggest crowd I'€™ve ever played in front of,'€ he said.

'€œScandinavia doesn'€™t have the passion or crowds that Malaysia has. With four foreigners now able to play at the same time, the MSL is getting better and better.'€

Even so, Dickson added that he won'€™t let go of his ultimate dream of playing in one of Europe'€™s bigger leagues.

'€œOf course, I always want to play in Europe. I believe I have the quality and I am proving that with what I am doing here,'€ he said.

'€œBut I'€™m really loving competing for trophies with Pahang and living in Malaysia. It'€™s truly Asia and
I love it.'€
__________________________

Jason Dasey is senior editor of ESPN FC, Indonesia'€™s most popular English language soccer website with a new SE Asia edition and a daily Indonesian language TV show on NET. Twitter:
@JasonDasey

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