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Johor Darul Ta'zim have made football history after extending their extraordinary unbeaten league run to 109 matches.
The Malaysian champions defeated Kuching City 3-0 at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on Friday, moving beyond the previous recognised mark of 108 top-flight league games without defeat achieved by Ivory Coast giants ASEC Mimosas between 1989 and 1994.
Marcos Guilherme, Oscar Arribas and Shahab Zahedi were all on target as JDT opened the 2026/27 Malaysia Super League season with another commanding victory.
"It's a historic night," JDT head coach Xisco Munoz said after the match.
The latest achievement adds another chapter to JDT's transformation under owner and Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail ibni Sultan Ibrahim, widely known as TMJ, who has overseen the club's rise into the dominant force in Malaysian football.
MORE: JDT reveal stunning vision for planned 39-acre training complex
JDT went into their opening league fixture knowing they needed to avoid defeat to move ahead of ASEC Mimosas' long-standing benchmark.
Brazilian winger Guilherme combined with JDT's record goalscorer Bergson da Silva before finishing into the bottom corner to put the champions in front on 11 minutes.
The reigning champions remained in control and doubled their advantage 10 minutes after half-time through Spanish midfielder Arribas.
Iran international Zahedi then completed the scoring in the 86th minute, putting the finishing touch on a 3-0 victory and confirming JDT's place in the record books.
The result also provided the perfect start to another title defence, with JDT having won the Malaysian Super League in each of the past 12 seasons.
JDT have now gone 109 consecutive top-flight league matches without defeat, with the sequence stretching back to 2021.
Their latest result takes them one game clear of ASEC Mimosas' previous mark of 108.
The Ivorian club established their record during a five-year period between 1989 and 1994, but JDT's sustained domestic dominance has now taken them beyond that figure.
Their success has not been limited to unbeaten runs either. JDT have established an unprecedented grip on Malaysian football over the past decade, combining repeated league titles with domestic cup success.
Who is JDT owner HRH Tunku Ismail and how has he transformed the club?
JDT's rise has been driven by HRH Tunku Ismail, whose investment and long-term vision have reshaped the club both on and off the pitch.
Since taking control, TMJ has overseen major improvements to JDT's infrastructure, recruitment and international profile.
The club moved into the 40,000-capacity Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in 2020 and has since revealed plans for an ambitious 39-acre training complex drawing inspiration from Real Madrid's facilities in Spain.
JDT have also consistently recruited leading Malaysian players while bringing high-profile international names to Johor.
Former Argentina internationals Pablo Aimar and Luciano Figueroa are among those to have represented the club during its modern era.
Former Watford coach Munoz believes TMJ's relentless approach has been central to JDT's progression.
"It's incredible how 12 years ago TMJ took this club and put it at this level, in the history of football," he said.
JDT strengthened their leadership structure further this year by appointing former Liverpool and Spain forward Luis Garcia as chief executive officer.
Garcia joined the club as part of its wider push to increase JDT's global presence and develop its football and commercial operation beyond Malaysia.
The former Champions League winner has spoken about the ambition behind the project and the influence of TMJ's leadership.
"When I signed for JDT, part of me getting involved was his [the Crown Prince's] passion, his mentality and his ambition," Garcia told ESPN.
"He inspires you because his work ethic is outstanding. He's in every day at 6 a.m. in the morning and finishes at 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. He won't stop until we are a club, a team, a brand that is well-known around the world."
Have JDT won an Asian trophy?
JDT's ambitions have also extended beyond domestic football.
In 2015, they became the first - and remain the only - Southeast Asian club to win the AFC Cup, defeating Istiklol of Tajikistan in the final.
That continental success represented one of the defining moments in the club's rise and provided evidence of JDT's ability to compete outside Malaysia.
More than a decade later, the club's latest world record underlines the scale of their domestic dominance, as does the recent 3-3 pre-season friendly draw against Premier League giants Chelsea.
With 12 successive league titles, major infrastructure investment, an expanding international profile and now the longest unbeaten top-flight league run in men's football, JDT's transformation continues to gather momentum.
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