Far from the floodlights of Ligue 1, a former Paris Saint-Germain forward and an ex-Marseille defender are part of a remarkable domestic reign in Malaysia. Johor Darul Ta’zim have pushed their unbeaten league sequence to 113 matches, with 104 of those games ending in victory, after surpassing a world record that had stood for three decades.
JDT took the record on 21 August when they beat Kuching City 3-0 following the Malaysian Super League restart. That was their 109th successive league match without defeat, moving them beyond the previous mark set by ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast between 1989 and 1994.
The run began in April 2021, immediately after a 1-0 defeat to Terengganu FC. Since then, the club from Johor Bahru, in the south of the country, have become the overwhelming force in Malaysian football, collecting 12 consecutive league championships. Only Vanuatu’s Tafea FC, with 15 straight titles, have managed a longer streak.
Royal investment and a Spanish influence
Johor were once an ordinary Super League side, but their direction changed sharply in 2012 when Tunku Ismail Idris took control of the local football federation. The Crown Prince and Regent of Johor is the son of Ibrahim Iskandar, who became Malaysia’s king in January 2024. Tunku Ismail later became the club’s majority shareholder and oversaw a sweeping restructuring of JDT.
His investment has set the club apart from its domestic rivals. JDT opened the 40,000-capacity Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in 2020 and have built facilities their coach, Xisco, has likened to those found in Europe and the Premier League. The royal family’s wealth has been estimated at $5.7 billion.
That financial edge has also attracted criticism in Malaysia, while the club’s heavy use of foreign players has prompted further scrutiny. Some overseas recruits have subsequently been naturalised and represented the national team, a situation that has drawn the attention of FIFA.
A strong Spanish presence has been another feature of the project. Luis Garcia, the former Liverpool player who won the Champions League in 2005, is the club’s general manager, while Javier Ribera, formerly involved with Valencia’s youth set-up, runs the academy.
The squad has also included Jesé, once of PSG, former Marseille centre-back Alvaro Gonzalez, and Samu Castillejo, who has played for AC Milan and Villarreal. Their next target is continental progress. JDT won the AFC Cup in 2015 and reached the Asian Champions League quarter-finals for the first time last season, a breakthrough they now want to turn into something bigger.
