Andresito: The Spanish Master Lighting Up JDT's Title Charge

When Johor Darul Ta'zim Futsal announced the signing of Andrés Alcántara Prieto ahead of the 2026 Malaysia Premier Futsal League season, it was the kind of recruitment that signals intent. A Spanish international, a UEFA Futsal Championship winner, a man who had honed his craft at ElPozo Murcia and Jimbee Cartagena before taking his talents to Nagoya Oceans in Japan, his was not a player filling a squad role.

Andresito, as he has been known throughout a career that began in his home city of Córdoba, was arriving at JDT to win things.

Four circuits into the 2026 season, the 34-year-old left-sided wing has done nothing to disappoint. Nine goals from seven appearances make him JDT's joint leading scorer alongside the tireless Bruno Taffy, and his contributions have been central to a campaign that has João Nuno Alves De Almeida's side sitting at the top of the table with five wins, one draw and a single defeat.

The goals have come in waves and from all parts of the court. A brace in the 9-1 demolition of USM on the opening matchday announced his arrival to the MPFL, and it was the hat-trick against KL City in circuit two, three goals in the 5th, 18th and 30th minutes of an 8-0 win, that most clearly demonstrated what a player of his calibre brings to a squad already laden with quality. Two more followed in the 10-1 rout of PFA Odin Sarawak in circuit three, and he closed circuit four with a goal in the 8-3 victory over ATM that underlined JDT's status as the division's dominant force.

His MVP award in the 3-3 draw with Pahang Rangers, a result that denied JDT maximum points but showcased his ability to influence a match even when the final scoreline did not favour his side, spoke to a quality beyond goal tallies.

In a team built on width, pressing and rapid transitions under De Almeida's Portuguese coaching philosophy, Andresito's reading of the game and his capacity to link play as well as finish makes him the fulcrum of JDT's attacking system.

The career that preceded his arrival in Johor was built on consistency at the highest level. Six seasons at Ribera Navarra, four at ElPozo Murcia, one of the great clubs in European futsal, and stints at Jimbee Cartagena either side of a spell with Nagoya Oceans gave him a breadth of experience that few players in the MPFL can match.

The UEFA Futsal Championship medal won with Spain in 2016 remains the headline honour, but it is the accumulated knowledge of two decades in professional futsal that JDT are benefiting from most.

JDT have won back-to-back MPFL titles. With Andresito pulling the strings at wing, a third looks well within reach.