Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2011
Anterior cruciate ligament injury or more commonly known within the footballing fraternity as an ACL injury is by far one of the worst injuries a player can sustain. Mainly due to the long recovery period required for the player to get back into shape, let alone be match fit.
The talented forward, Hafiz Rahim of Geylang United FC suffered three ACL injuries throughout his career, two of which happened consecutively on both legs. The count is as such – Right, Left, Right.
For an individual who wanted desperately to be a footballer from the age of five, the injuries did stop him in his tracks and made him ponder if he should walk away from football altogether.
However he was backed by a wonderful medical team in Geylang United FC who saw him through all three of his ACL injuries. They not only aided him in his swift recovery but also in keeping his career intact.
“They gave me their full support throughout my injury and my recovery period on all three occasions.” Hafiz said with tons of gratitude.
Just like how he has been with Geylang from the tender age of 14, the club repaid his faith in them by keeping him on their books even through his injury spells.
Speaking on Geylang United’s Head Coach Mike Wong, Hafiz said “He always inspires us and pushes us to believe in ourselves during both training sessions and match-days. He is very hard on the players but we all know that it is for the good of us and nothing else.”
When asked about Geylang United’s shaky start to the 2011 Great Eastern- YEO’S S-League, he put it down to luck. “It was down to luck in the first round, we played well but we had no luck. Then with a change in players in round two, we had a change in luck too.”
The success at club level was not the only high note for Hafiz this year. And It was only natural for the speedy forward to be called up for the national squad with his recent form the pitch, and happen it did, after the national team booked its place in the third round of the FIFA 2014 Brazil™ World Cup Asian Qualifiers beating arch rivals Malaysia 6-4 on aggregate.
Though he got hints that he was up for the Lions during a training session with his club, he took no heed of it. For it was his first ever call up at the age of 27, he wanted it to be confirmed before celebrating.
Speaking more on it, Hafiz said “I was at home when I got the call. I was stunned. That’s the best word to describe my emotions after I got that call confirming my first national team call up.”
He seems to have fit right into the national team from day one, having known some of the current Lions from a young age and he plans to do the same when he is called up for national duty against China. Just like the wonderful display of talent he showcased when he came on as a substitute in the International Friendly against Thailand. He caught the attention of many in those few minutes he was on the pitch and we can only hope for more from him.
You know you've got a talented player on your books when the experienced heads like V.Sundramoorthy and Mustafic Fahrudin both applauded the boy on his international debut.
Fahrudin said during one of the training sessions, "This boy(Hafiz) is good ah! He can run with the ball very fast and he can shoot."
As for coach Sundram, who is currently assisting Coach Radojko Avramovic in preparations for the game against China, he added: "Hafiz is an exciting player. He can really shoot and he just needs polish up his confidence in front of goal and not be afraid to take the goalkeeper on."
Let us wish this new member of the Lions all the best and may he never mess up his pre-match ritual of having everything start from his right side in the dressing room!
No comments:
Post a Comment