Ahmad Fauzi Shaari

Football player infobox
playername = Ahmad Fauzi Shaari


fullname = Ahmad Fauzi Bin Shaari
nickname = Paklong
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1982|4|30
cityofbirth = Kulim, Kedah
countryofbirth = Malaysia
height =
years = 2004-
clubs = Kedah FA
currentclub = Kedah FA
clubnumber =11
position = Midfield
youthyears = 2002-2004
youthclubs = Kedah FA
caps(goals) = 35(5)
nationalyears = 2004
2007
nationalteam = Malaysia U-23
Malaysia
nationalcaps(goals) = 1 (0)
0 (0)
pcupdate =
ntupdate = April 24, 2007

Ahmad Fauzi Shaari (born 30 April 1982 in Kulim), is a Malaysian professional football player currently playing for Kedah in the Malaysian Super League. He is a midfielder.

Ahmad Fauzi Shaari grew up in Ladang Anak Kulim, where his father was a supervisor (Malay:"mandor" ) and her mother used to ease their financial burden by tapping rubber there. He started playing football since young, often with his multi-racial friends at the estate. His non-stop running style and talent in football was then discovered by teachers at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Serdang (a secondary school in Serdang) when he was 16 years old.

There was no stopping Fauzi, or known as Pak Long among his Kedah teammates. In 2002, he was selected for the Sukma Games to represent Kedah state, and two years later, his ability to cover acres of space, no doubt due to his running around during his estate days, was discovered by Allan Harris. The Englishman, who helmed the Malaysia national football team from 2000 to 2004, quickly roped him in as an all-action man for the pre-Olympic campaign. Fauzi played in one match - in the 4-1 defeat to Iran on 3 March 2004. It was an unforgettable moment for the slightly-built player, because he remembered being outplayed by the physically superior Iranians. That remains to this day Fauzi's only appearance in the national jersey. He recalled his first cap for Malaysia during an interview in 2006:

“I found out the hard way the standard between the national league and the Asian level. The gap is worlds apart. That was the only time I was called for duty. Maybe the selectors thought I did not have the physique to survive the modern game.” [cite news
url=http://www.tmfootballchannel.com/portal/Main2?id=player
title=It all began in an estate
publisher= tmfootballchannel.com
date=28 February 2007
accessdate=2007-02-28]

That has not dampened his spirits. His game is valued highly by the Kedah management who have placed their trust on him to stoke the engine room. He has been playing an important role in Kedah's good run in season 2006/2007 and has scored some important goals for the club, mainly from long range. During the 2007 AFC Asian Cup campaign, Fauzi was called by head coach Norizan Bakar to represent the country. Although he was part of the squad that thrash by China, Uzbekistan and Iran, he did not selected to play any single match on the tournament.

References