Malaysian side Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) have made a habit of breaking records recently. Just take their final game of last season, when they strolled to a 14-1 win against Kelantan The Real Warriors -- the biggest margin of victory in Malaysian Super League history -- and became national champions for a record-extending 12th year in a row.
What was most special about that victory, however, is that it also equaled the world record for the longest men's league unbeaten streak (108 matches) that had stood for 32 years, set by Ivorian side ASEC Mimosas from 1989 to 1994. But because that game was also the final day of the season, the past few months have been agonizing for JDT as they waited for their chance to notch their 109th straight league game without defeat and break the record.
That wait ended on Friday, in their opening match of the 2026-27 season against last season's runners-up Kuching City, as JDT claimed a 3-0 victory on home turf. Among those celebrating the landmark moment at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium was Tunku Ismail Idris, the Crown Prince of Johor and the club's owner, whose arrival on the scene more than a decade ago set the Southern Tigers on their path of unprecedented dominance.
Royal intervention
Life at JDT wasn't always this way. The club is based in Johor Bahru -- the capital city of the Malaysian state of Johor -- and in 2006, the side who were then known as Johor FC were promoted from Malaysia's second tier. Within three years, they were playing in the AFC Cup -- then Asia's version of the UEFA Europa League -- but soon came a period of decline ... until Malaysian royalty stepped in.
Fans had lobbied for the Crown Prince (whose family's wealth is estimated to be around $5.7 billion) to get involved at the club, and in 2012 he answered their calls. He became president of the local football federation and brought in reforms, the biggest of which was to combine all the teams in the state into a single club: Johor Darul Ta'zim.
JDT were soon making a splash in the transfer market, signing Spain's Euro 2008 winning striker Dani Güiza in November 2012, followed by ex-Argentina international midfielder Pablo Aimar in September 2013. The following year, they became national champions for the first time -- a title they have not relinquished.
Since then, Tunku Ismail Idris' role has only increased. In 2016, he became the club's majority shareholder, as well as announcing plans for a 40,000-capacity stadium. He invested in state-of-the-art training facilities and continued to spend lavishly on players in comparison to the rest of the league (JDT hold the top eight most expensive transfers in league history, and have twice spent over €1 million on a single player, where no other team has ever exceeded €360,000).
Critics argue that JDT have simply bought their success. So, have they? "I don't think that's the case," JDT chief executive Luis García, who used to play for Liverpool, tells ESPN. "It's helpful [the money], of course ... But I think the work behind [the scenes] is something people do not see; you see the success, but you don't see the hard work behind it."
Modern football is littered with examples of vast financial imbalances leading to one team dominating titles. Then again, it doesn't always work.
"If you look at Europe, I can give you five or six examples of big amounts of money spent on players, academies and facilities, and the success is not there," Garcia says. "Not long ago, Paris Saint-Germain probably had the world's best strike force with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, but I don't remember them winning any Champions Leagues."
That will come as scant consolation to other clubs in Malaysia, who have witnessed JDT demolish everyone in their wake. The club have claimed four domestic quadruples in a row, and their 12 successive league titles is now the longest active streak in world football (Bulgaria's FC Ludogorets were finally dethroned this summer after 14 years straight of title victories). JDT now need just three more league titles in a row to equal the men's world record set by Tafea FC of Vanuatu (15) in 2009.
But JDT's success has not been confined to the domestic stage. In 2015, they won the AFC Cup thanks to a victory in the final over Istiklol of Tajikistan. And in recent years, they have started to progress further in the AFC Champions League Elite, reaching the quarterfinals for the first time last season, losing 2-1 to eventual champions Al Ahli.
"I felt bad afterwards," García says. "I don't want to sound cocky, but we had it [under control]... We found ourselves 1-0 up and I think at some point, we thought to ourselves: 'We are here, we are winning, what is happening?' I think we were afraid to win."
Surely it is only a matter of time before JDT start to impact the AFC Champions League in a more meaningful way.
Close shaves and scrutiny
Amid the litany of trophies the club have claimed, their unbeaten streak in the Malaysian Super League has slowly accrued. Their last domestic defeat came five years ago in a 1-0 loss to Terengganu in April 2021. Since then, they have won 100 league games and drawn nine.
"It's incredible we're speaking about it," coach Xisco Muñoz, who previously managed Watford and Sheffield Wednesday, and was appointed by the club 84 games into their unbeaten streak, said. "In modern football, we have a lot of games. Maybe one day you are sleeping, maybe one day you make a mistake, or sometimes you have a bad day. And this did not happen."
Most of the run has been largely uneventful and though JDT have needed the occasional comeback to keep it going, there has really only been one time over the past 109 games where defeat was firmly on the cards: when they were 2-1 down against Sri Pahang in May 2022 before their all-time record scorer Bérgson netted in the 88th minute to salvage a point and earn a 2-2 draw.
The closer JDT got to the record, the brighter the spotlight has shone. And they even found new recognition from Europe this summer as they drew 3-3 against Xabi Alonso's Chelsea in a preseason friendly in August.
Welcome Xabi Alonso and his team Chelsea FC to JDT. pic.twitter.com/PPNoVE1KIE
— Luis Garcia (@luchogarcia14) August 9, 2026
"We felt that there have been more eyes looking at what JDT has been doing," García says. "I think it's well-deserved. This isn't something that happens every day."
Still, critics have taken aim at the club's lack of homegrown Malaysian players, despite 24-year-old winger, Arif Aiman, being the undisputed star of the league and winning the "Most Valuable Player" award in each of the last four seasons.
Malaysian Super League rules state that a maximum of six foreign players can be on the field at any one time (four global, one Asian and one Southeast Asian). But a number have gained Malaysian citizenship after playing in the country for a number of years, allowing them to count as locals on a club's books.
The process descended into a scandal last September when FIFA's Disciplinary Committee sanctioned the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and issued 12-month suspensions and fines to seven players -- including JDT's João Figueiredo, Jon Irazábal and Hector Hevel. FIFA found that the FAM had falsified documents claiming the players' grandparents were born in Malaysia, when records showed they were actually born in Argentina, Brazil, Spain and the Netherlands.
"It's something that we want to leave in the past. When we talk, it's like we are pointing [the finger] at someone. There was something missing in the middle, and we only found out later on," García says, adding that the players will be available again from either October or November.
"The players were the ones who suffered the most. As a former player, I know what it's like to be out and not even have the opportunity to train with your team. That's really painful. But now we're focused on bringing the players back."
Record breakers
Friday's opening game of the Malaysian Super League season might have been a meeting of last term's top two, but there were never any doubts about who would win.
The hosts opened the scoring through Brazilian right winger Marcos Guilherme in the 11th minute, with Spanish left winger Óscar Arribas doubling the advantage in the 55th minute. Then Iranian substitute Shabab Zahedi sealed the 3-0 win with four minutes left.
In a way, the record-breaking match epitomised JDT's dominance of the domestic scene. A starting XI featuring only two Malaysian-born players -- goalkeeper Syihan Hazmi and Aiman -- strolled to a comfortable win over their closest challengers, with all three goals coming from star imports. It was everything the critics have been complaining about.
So what's next for Johor Darul Ta'zim?
"I don't know what our ceiling is," Muñoz said. "Maybe if I say that I want to win the AFC Champions League Elite, people will think that I'm joking. But I will fight to achieve the maximum."
García, however, was more forthright: "I'm not scared to talk loudly about competing for the Asian Champions League Elite. I can tell you for sure that our main target is to be back in Saudi Arabia and to be in the top eight of the competition ... And hopefully one day we will lift that trophy."
Whether that ambitious objective is realized in the future will likely depend heavily on the Crown Prince, Tunku Ismail Idris. "It's like he is thinking 25 years ahead," smiles Muñoz.
Garcia echoes his manager's thoughts.
"When I signed for JDT, part of me getting involved was his [the Crown Prince's] passion, his mentality and his ambition," he says. "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."
JDT's world-record breaking unbeaten run has certainly helped on that front.