Mahathir Azeman is a Singaporean former footballer widely known as the first Singaporean to play football professionally in Brazil, having been involved in the U23 reserve team for Boavista SC.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mahathir Azeman | ||
| Date of birth | 17 January 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Singapore | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2013–2014 | Boavista Sport Club[1] | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015 | Balestier Khalsa | 0 | (0) |
| 2015–2017 | Home United | 7 | (0) |
| 2017 | Balestier Khalsa | 0 | (0) |
| 2019—2020 | Hougang United | 11 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 2016 | Singapore U22 | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of November 10, 2017 | |||
Club career
editYouth
editBoavista
editAfter his impressive performances in the Lion City Cup, he was brought by former S.League player and head coach of his secondary school team, Fabio Fanticelle Da Silva, for a training stint with Brazilian side Boavista Sport Club.[2] After initially impressing on a five-month stint, Mahathir was handed a one-year extension to his contract.[2] He impressed so much that he was given the No. 10 shirt, an honour in Brazilian football.[3][4] He was also the youngest member, at 18, to link up with the Under-21 squad.[5]
Mahathir is also a trailblazer for young Singaporean footballers as following his stint at Boavista, the Brazilian club once again handed two young Singaporean footballers, Ryan Goh and Winchell Ng, six-month contracts after they impressed on a one-month stint.[6]
Mahathir returned to Singapore after an 18-month stint in Brazil to fulfill his National Service (NS) obligations. However, he has received an open invitation to return to Boavista following the completion of his NS.[3]
Senior
editBalestier Khalsa
editFollowing his return to Singapore, Mahathir trained with S.League side Balestier Khalsa, who had partially sponsored his trip to Brazil.
Home United
editHe joined Home after enlisting for NS in the Singapore Police Force and linked up with the Home United prime league squad. Mahathir was trusted by the then-coach, Philippe Aw. His first game was against the Young Lions, which Home won 2–0.
Following Philippe Aw's promotion to Head Coach of the 1st team squad, Mahathir was also given chances to play for the first team in 2015 despite being registered only for the Prime League team.
He was retained for the 2017 S.League season.[7]
International career
editMahathir was a key player for the Singapore national U15 football team that finished third in the 2011 Lion City Cup. [5]
He was called up to the Singapore national under-19 football team for the 2013 AFF U-19 Youth Championship.[8]
He had his sights trained on earning a spot in the Singapore national under-23 football team that was due to play in the 2015 SEA Games on local soil and had his chances boosted when he was called up to the under-22 side that was gearing up for Olympics qualification. However, he was injured during training with Balestier and was ruled out for six months, missing out on the 2015 SEA Games in the process.[3]
He was called up to the 2016 Sultan of Selangor Cup Squad to face Selangor FA.[9] Mahathir was also called up to the Singapore national under-21 football team in 2016.[10]
Career statistics
editAs of 21 April 2017[update][11]
| Club | Season | S.League | Singapore Cup | League Cup | ACL | AFC Cup | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Home United | 2015 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2016 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | ||||
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Hougang United | 2019 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | |
| Career total | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | |
References
edit- ^ "Mahathir flies Singapore flag in Brazil". June 13, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
- ^ a b "17-year-old Mahathir Azeman to train with Boavista - Goal.com". Goal.com. April 3, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- ^ a b c "Brazil-trained midfielder Mahathir out for 6 months". AsiaOne. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- ^ "Football: A toast to Mahathir Azeman". AsiaOne. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- ^ a b "Fit-again Mahathir Azeman ready for big year ahead - Goal.com". Goal.com. January 8, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- ^ "Boavista beckons again for Winchell and Ryan". The New Paper. March 30, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- ^ "Home United swoop in for Tampines defender Afiq". FourFourTwo. January 5, 2017. Archived from the original on May 18, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- ^ "Singapore squad named for AFF U19 Championships - Goal.com". Goal.com. September 5, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- ^ "SOS Squad".
- ^ "Tardy calls up Gautam, Mahathir for Bahrain U21 friendly". FourFourTwo. August 30, 2016. Archived from the original on April 22, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- ^ Mahathir Azeman at Soccerway