Shahrul Saad

Shahrul Saad
Shahrul in 2023
Personal information
Full name Mohd Shahrul bin Mohd Saad
Date of birth (1993-07-08) 8 July 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back, right-back
Team information
Current team
Johor Darul Ta'zim
Number 3
Youth career
2008–2010 Perak President's Cup
2011–2014 Harimau Muda B / Harimau Muda A
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011 Harimau Muda B 17 (0)
2012–2014 Harimau Muda A 41 (0)
2015 Felda United 17 (1)
2016–2021 Perak 94 (9)
2021– Johor Darul Ta'zim 34 (0)
International career
2012–2015 Malaysia U23 27 (0)
2015– Malaysia 58 (5)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Malaysia
AFF Championship
Runner-up 2018
King's Cup
Runner-up 2022
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 October 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 March 2024

Mohd Shahrul bin Mohd Saad (born 8 July 1993) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Malaysia Super League club Johor Darul Ta'zim and the Malaysia national team.

Shahrul has individually won 3 FAM Football Awards 'Best Defender Award' in 2018, 2019 and 2022.

Club career

Youth

Shahrul started his career at Perak youth team. He was then transferred to Malaysia national youth setup and has played for Harimau Muda B in the 2011 Malaysia league and Harimau Muda A in the 2012 Singapore S.League. In 2014, he played 22 matches for Harimau Muda in the Australian National Premier Leagues.[2]

Felda United

In 2015, Shahrul graduated from the national youth setup and was signed by Felda United. At Felda, he was converted from a defender to a defensive midfielder by head coach Irfan Bakti Abu Salim.[3] He made his debut in the second match of 2015 Malaysia Super League against Sime Darby coming on from a bench in the 81st minute. He made his first start against Johor Darul Ta'zim on 3 May 2015 and become a regular until the end of the season. His only league goal for Felda was in the final league match against Johor Darul Ta'zim, where Felda won 2–1.

Perak

In 2016, Shahrul returned to his hometown club Perak where he won the 2018 Malaysia Cup with the club and finished as Malaysia Super League runners up in 2018, hence qualified to the AFC Champions League play-off round.

Johor Darul Ta'zim

On 8 May 2021, Shahrul joined Johor Darul Ta'zim. He was given the number 32 shirt. He made his debut against Sabah in the 2021 Malaysia Cup. He also scored his first goal for Johor Darul Ta'zim in the same competition against Kelantan.

In 2024, Shahrul changed his jersey number from no.32 to no.3 after Adam Nor Azlin left the club. He debuted in the no.3 jersey during a friendly match against Singapore side, Lion City Sailors on 4 April 2023 at Bishan Stadium. During the 2024 Malaysia FA Cup first leg match on 29 June 2024 against Malaysian University, Shahrul scored Johor Darul Ta'zim 1000th goal since being rebranded in 2013 scoring the fourth goal in 5–0 win.

International career

Youth

In 2012, Shahrul made his debut for the Malaysia U23 team in the final match of 2012 Olympic qualifiers against Syria. He featured in two Southeast Asian Games (2013 and 2015) and 2014 Asian Games for the Malaysia national under-23 team. He was also a part of the 2013 Merdeka Tournament winning team and played for the 2013 Malaysia Universiade team.

Senior

Shahrul made his debut for Malaysia on 8 October 2015 in a 3–1 win against Laos.[4][5]

On 10 September 2018, he scored his first international goal against Cambodia in a friendly.

He achieved his 50th cap against the Solomon Islands on 14 June 2023.[6] On 20 June 2023 which was also his 51st cap, he was chosen as the captain for the Malaysia national team against Papua New Guinea.[7][8]

Shahrul was also a member of the Malaysia squad at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup held in Qatar.

Personal life

Shahrul has two older brother who also have played professional football, Shahrizal Saad and Syamsul Saad. Like him, both brothers have played for Perak and Malaysia national team. Shahrul even played under Syamsul when his brother was the head coach of Perak in 2016.[9]

From May to December 2023, Shahrul, along with Goh Sze Fei and Nur Dhabitah Sabri were appointed as the brand ambassadors for Nutrilite Malaysia.[10]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 16 December 2023[11][12]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Harimau Muda B 2011 Malaysia Premier League 17 0 2[a] 0 19 0
Total 17 0 2 0 19 0
Harimau Muda A 2012 S.League 19 0 19 0
2014 National Premier Leagues 22 0 22 0
Total 41 0 41 0
Felda United 2015 Malaysia Super League 17 1 1 0 10 0 28 1
Total 17 1 1 0 10 0 28 1
Perak 2016 Malaysia Super League 16 2 5 0 6 1 27 3
2017 Malaysia Super League 20 2 1 0 10 2 31 4
2018 Malaysia Super League 19 0 3 0 8 0 30 0
2019 Malaysia Super League 21 3 7 0 8 0 2 0 38 3
2020 Malaysia Super League 10 2 0 0 1 0 11 2
2021 Malaysia Super League 8 0 8 0
Total 94 9 16 0 33 3 2 0 145 12
Perak II 2021 Malaysia Premier League 1 0 1 0
Total 1 0 1 0
Johor Darul Ta'zim 2021 Malaysia Super League 0 0 3 1 3 1
2022 Malaysia Super League 20 0 5[b] 0 6 1 6 0 37 1
2023 Malaysia Super League 9 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 11 0
Total 29 0 6 0 9 2 6 0 50 2
Career total 199 10 25 0 52 5 8 0 284 15
  1. ^ 1 appearances against Selangor in 2011 Malaysia FA Cup and 1 appearances against Hougang United in 2011 Singapore Cup.
  2. ^ 1 appearances in 2022 Piala Sumbangsih and 4 appearances in 2022 Malaysia FA Cup.

International

As of 26 March 2024[13]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Malaysia 2015 4 0
2016 9 0
2017 1 0
2018 15 2
2019 11 2
2021 3 1
2022 5 0
2023 3 0
2024 7 0
Total 58 5

International goals

As of match played 8 June 2022. Malaysia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Shahrul Saad goal.
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 10 September 2018 Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia 17  Cambodia 1–1 3–1 Friendly
2 11 December 2018 Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Bukit Jalil, Malaysia 26  Vietnam 1–2 2–2 2018 AFF Championship
3 2 June 2019 30    Nepal 1–0 2–0 Friendly
4 5 October 2019 36  Sri Lanka 2–0 6–0
5 9 December 2021 Bishan Stadium, Bishan, Singapore 38  Laos 3–0 4–0 2020 AFF Championship

Honours

Club

Perak
Johor Darul Ta'zim

International

Malaysia U23

Malaysia

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Shahrul Saad - Player Profile - Football". Eurosport.
  2. ^ Player Profile - National Premier Leagues.
  3. ^ Vijhay Vick (20 October 2015). "Unlikely standout Shahrul eyeing transition into holding role". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  4. ^ Vijhay Vick (28 March 2016). "Possible Malaysia XI against Macau". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Malaysia down Laos 3-1 for first win of the year | New Straits Times | Malaysia General Business Sports and Lifestyle News". Nst.com.my. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  6. ^ HarimauMYstats - Twitter, 14 June 2023.
  7. ^ HarimauMYstats - Twitter, 20 June 2023.
  8. ^ Persahabatan: Harimau Malaya Belasah Papua New Guinea 10-0 - BERNAMA, 20 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Shahrul Saad: Syamsul mampu menjadi pemimpin yang berjaya – footballmalaysia". Footballmalaysia.com. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  10. ^ "LIVE YOUR BEST with Nutrilite's Nationwide Branding Campaign | AmwayNow". amwaynow.my. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Shahrul Saad Statistics". www.soccerpunter.com. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  12. ^ "Shahrul Mohd Saad". www.malaysianfootballleague.com. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  13. ^ "Saad, Shahrul". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 5 December 2018.