- Mohd Safee Mohd Sali
-
This is a Malay name; the name Sali is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Safee.
Safee Sali Personal information Full name Mohd Safee Mohd Sali Date of birth January 28, 1984 Place of birth Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in) Playing position Striker Club information Current club Pelita Jaya Number 10 Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 2003-2005 Kuala Lumpur FA 31 (20) 2003 → Melaka TMFC (Loan) 4 (0) 2005-2006 Sarawak FA 26 (10) 2006-2011 Selangor FA 105 (36) 2011-current Pelita Jaya FC 13 (7) National team‡ 2004-2010 Malaysia U-23 28 (14) 2006- Malaysia 33 (18) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of June 21, 2011.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of October 7, 2011Mohd Safee Mohd Sali commonly known as Safee Sali (born on January 29, 1984 in Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia) is a professional Malaysian footballer who is a Striker for Pelita Jaya FC of Indonesia. Safee also represents the Malaysia national team at the international level and was a member of the Malaysian team who won the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup for the first time with Safee being the top scorer. Safee previously played for Melaka TMFC, Kuala Lumpur FA, Sarawak FA and Selangor FA.
Safee is currently known widely as the best striker in Malaysia during his generation and was compared to the late, legendary Mokhtar Dahari. The Malaysian King of Football, Datuk Abdul Gahni Minhat also considered Safee to be the current best striker in Malaysia having professionally playing outside Malaysia.[citation needed]
Safee is also the first Malaysian to play at the Indonesian Super League with Pelita Jaya FC.
Contents
Club career
Kuala Lumpur FA
Safee was brought to Kuala Lumpur FA by coach, Igor Novak. Igor spotted Safee's talent and brought him to Kuala Lumpur. He scored his first hat trick while part of Kuala Lumpur in a Malaysia Premier League II match against Perak TKN, which ended in a 6-2 trashing. He netted 11 goals in his first season to become the second top local goalscorer behind Azman Adnan.[1] During the 2004 season, he only managed to score 2 league goals. In his last season with Kuala Lumpur, he scored 7 league goals, 3 goals in the 2005 Malaysia FA Cup, leading Kuala Lumpur FA to the semi finals, and 1 goal in the 2005 Malaysia Cup.
TMFC
Safee wore TMFC jersey in the 2003 Malaysia Cup as Kuala Lumpur failed to qualify for the cup competition. He scored one goal in the competition against Sarawak in their final group match.[2] He return to Kuala Lumpur following TMFC failure to qualify for the quarter final.
Sarawak
He later joined Sarawak FA in East Malaysia. He became the top local goalscorer with 10 goals. His performances attracted the fans and the national coach. His finishing ability was compared to the late Mokhtar Dahari. At the end of the season, he scored a total of 19 goals in all competition, making him the top scorer for Sarawak at the 2005/06 season. He later joined his home town, Selangor FA which he always wanted to play for since he started his career.
Selangor
Safee joined Selangor FA for the 2006/07 season. He was given the number 10 jersey which was once worn by legendary Selangor FA and Malaysian national team player, the late Mokhtar Dahari. With Selangor, Safee impressed K. Devan by bringing the team both to the FA Cup and Malaysia Cup final. However, Selangor lost to Kedah FA in both finals with the same score of 3-2. He scored a total of 11 goals in his first season with Selangor.
During the 2008 Selangor Sultan Cup, Safee scored a superb goal against the Singapore selection.[3] On his second season with Selangor, he scored an amazing 11 goals in 10 matches, but he had an injury that made him missed half of the 2007/08 season. Despite having a poor performance in the 2009 season, he returned to be the second top scorer at the 2010 Season. He also scored the winning goal for Selangor in a 2-1 win against Negeri Sembilan FA at the 2010 Malaysia Charity Shield.
After the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup and his superb performance at the early stages in the 2011 Super League Malaysia season, Safee agreed to join with the Indonesian Super League team, Pelita Jaya in order to gain more experience. Safee's last game with Selangor was a 1-1 draw against Kuala Lumpur FA. This was Safee's last game before his departure to Karawang, Indonesia to join with Pelita Jaya.
Pelita Jaya
On 5 February 2011, Safee officially transferred to the Indonesian Super League team, Pelita Jaya on a USD 30,000 transfer fee and his salary reached USD 10,000 or RM 30,360. Safee also got a condo and a driver from his manager.[4][5] Safee signed a 1 year contract with Pelita Jaya. This transfer makes Safee the first Malaysian player to play at the Indonesian Super League.[6] Safee originally was given the number 10 shirt, But after a registration problem, he chose to have the number 55 instead of his original number. Safee made his unofficial debut against amateur club, Ragunan FC in a 6-0 win, which Safee scored twice and assisted twice. Safee made his first League debut against Sriwijaya FC. The match ended with a 1-0 win which Safee scored to give Pelita Jaya's first win in 5 matches. Safee was also the man of the match. Safee Sali returned with a bang to net two goals as Pelita Jaya defeated Bontang FC 2-1. In the next match, Safee executed a spectacular scissor kick in a 2-0 win over Persijap Jepara thus adding his tally to four goals.
The 2010–11 Indonesia Super League Season ended with Pelita Jaya in 12th place, avoiding relegation zone. In total, Safee Sali scored 7 goals in 13 appearance on his first season.
On October 12, 2011, Safee Sali was announced as Pelita Jaya FC captain for the upcoming 2011-12 Indonesia Super League Season and changed his shirt number into the number 10 instead.
Trials
On August 2011, Safee told the press that a unnamed German club has offered Safee a trial and if successful, a fully contract with the German club. The unnamed club has also stated that they are willing to give Safee a contract in the future.[7][8]
With the help of Datuk Chan Tien Ghee, Safee was given a trial by Cardiff City FC. Datuk Chan Tien Ghee announced that he has given a two week trial for Safee.[9] The Malaysian Captain, Mohd Safiq Rahim was also given a trial by Cardiff after the 2011 Malaysia Cup.[10] Safee officially started his trial with Cardiff on 13th September 2011 and ended on 27th September. Even though Safee managed to impress Cardiff, he failed to secure a contract as it was rejected by the UK government since Malaysia is not in the top 70 in the FIFA ranking and the British government only permits non-EU players if the player is playing for the country and the country is ranked below 70 in FIFA ranking.[11][12] Despite not having to secure a contract, Malky Mackay stated that he will offer Safee another trial, but this time longer with Cardiff.[13][14]
International career
Youth team
Safee started representing Malaysia Under-23 during the 2004 Olympic Games qualifiers. He played all the qualification matches but mostly played as the substitute. He was then selected to represent Malaysia Under-23 at the 2005 Pre-South East Asian Games in Thailand under the then-coach Bertalan Bicskei. He managed to score only one goal in the tournament against the Philippines Under-23. He however did not make it into 2005 South East Asian Games squad that won the bronze medal. After the 2005 South East Asian Games, Safee was given a chance by coach Norizan Bakar to represent the Under-23 side for the 2006 Doha Asian Games. He again failed to make it into the squad.
After the national Under-23 sides failure in the 2006 Asian Games, Safee was selected as the main striker by coach B. Sathianathan. Together with striking partner Mohd Zaquan Adha Abdul Radzak, they managed to win the 2007 Merdeka Tournament after defeating Myanmar 3-1 in the final and becoming the top scorer with 4 goals. He then was chosen to represent the country in the 2007 South East Asian Games in Thailand. Safee managed to score 2 goals in the tournament but the Under-23 national team failed to advance into the semifinal after a draw against rivals the Singapore.
For 2008, Safee was chosen as the main striker in the 2008 Malaysia Intercontinental Cup. He managed to score all Malaysia's 3 goals in Malaysia's 1-3 defeat to the Republic of Ireland, 1-0 win against the Iraq and an impressive 1-1 draw against the Nigeria. The match against Nigeria was Safee's last game with Malaysia national under-23 team.
In 2010, Safee received called up for the Asian Games squad. He played three matches in Eximbank Cup in Vietnam. He did not chosen as the three senior members for the final squad to the Asian Games.
In 2011,Safee scored 2 out of 3 goals in a match against Liverpool in Kuala Lumpur.
Senior team
After an impressive season with Sarawak in the Malaysia Premier League, Safee managed to make it into the national team. He was given his first senior caps against New Zealand on February 19, 2006. He then scored his first international goal on his second cap against New Zealand.
He then became the part of the national football team preparing for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. He was then chosen into the squad of Malaysia 2007 Asian Cup. He only made his first appearance in the Asian Cup in the third group match against Iran where Malaysia lost 0-3.
For the 2008 Merdeka Tournament, Safee scored another similar style of goal that was scored earlier during the 2008 Sultan Of selangor Cup against the Nepal. He became the top scorer of the tournament with 5 goals despite Malaysia losing 6-5 through penalty kicks against Vietnam in the final.
In November 2010, Safee was called up to the Malaysia national squad by coach K. Rajagopal for the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup. Safee scored twice against Vietnam to secure a 2-0 win in the first leg in the semi finals. Safee again scored another two goals in the first leg of the finals to secure a 3-0 win against Indonesia. On the second leg of the Final, Safee scored another goal to earn 5 goals, thus becoming the tournaments top goal scorer. Malaysia won the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 title for the first time in their history.
Malaysia XI
Safee also represented in the Malaysia XI squad against Arsenal and Liverpool at the Shah Alam Stadium on 29 July 2008. He was one of the impressive Malaysian players on the match. The Malaysia XI eventually lost. [15]
On 16 July 2011, Safee was included in the match against Liverpool in which the Malaysia XI lost 3-6. He came on as a substitute and scored 2 goals.[16]
Attributes
Safee previously wears the legendary jersey No. 10 which was once worn by legendary Selangor FA and Malaysian national team player, the late Mokhtar Dahari. He is a member of the Malaysia national football team. His aggressive playing style, combined with great pace, good physique despite his height of 172 cm and his shooting techniques recently made him a regular first team member for the national team. Being one of the Malaysian players with the best flair, Safee also contributes spectacular goals with his long shots and overhead kicks for both the national team and Selangor FA.
Commercial endorsements
Safee is under sponsorship with American sports-brand, Nike, after previously being the face of Adidas for South East Asia. Safee was given his own Mercurial Football Boot with his name on it. It was given exclusively by Nike.[17]
Statistics
Club Season League Cup League Cup AFC Cup Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Kuala Lumpur FA 2003 11 – 0 – 11 2004 2 0 0 – 2 2005 7 1 3 – 11 Total 20 1 3 – 24 Melaka TMFC 2003 – 1 – – 1 Total – 1 – – 1 Sarawak FA 2005-06 10 8 3 6 6 – 19 Total 10 8 3 6 6 – 19 Selangor FA 2006-07 0 1 2 – 3 2007-08 11 4 9 9 – 24 2009 12 5 1 – 18 2010 12 3 2 5 3 17 2011 3 1 – – – 3 1 Total 36 13 14 5 3 66 Club Season League Cup Other AFC Cup Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Pelita Jaya 2010-11 13 7 – 2 3 – 15 10 2011-12 5 4 – 5 4 Total 13 7 7 7 – 20 14 Malaysia 66 18 23 5 3 110 Indonesia 13 7 – 7 7 – 20 14 Career total 73 18 30 5 3 124 International goals
Under-23 # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. February 23, 2004 MPPJ Stadium, Kelana Jaya Maldives
1 2-0 (W) Friendly 2. September 9, 2005 Bangkok, Thailand Philippines
1 2-1 (W) AFF U-23 Youth Championship 3. August 20, 2007 MBPJ Stadium, Kelana Jaya Laos
1 2-0 (W) 2007 Merdeka Tournament 4. August 27, 2007 MBPJ Stadium, Kelana Jaya Singapore
2 3-1 (W) 2007 Merdeka Tournament 5. 6. August 29, 2007 Shah Alam Stadium, Shah Alam Myanmar
1 3-1 (W) 2007 Merdeka Tournament 7. November 11, 2007 Bangkok, Thailand Thailand
1 1-1 (D) Friendly 8. November 26, 2007 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Indonesia
1 1-1 (D) Friendly 9. December 3, 2007 Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand Laos
2 4-0 (W) 2007 SEA Games 10. 11. May 15, 2008 MBPJ Stadium, Kelana Jaya Republic of Ireland
1 1-3 (L) Inter Continental Cup 12. May 17, 2008 MBPJ Stadium, Kelana Jaya Iraq
1 1-0 (W) Inter Continental Cup 13. May 19, 2008 MBPJ Stadium, Kelana Jaya Nigeria
1 1-1 (D) Inter Continental Cup 14. November 2, 2010 MBPJ Stadium, Kelana Jaya Maldives
1 4-0 (W) Friendly Senior Team # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 February 23, 2006 Auckland, New Zealand New Zealand
1 2-1 (L) Friendly 2 October 10, 2008 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Pakistan
1 4-1 (W) Friendly 3 October 15, 2008 Kelana Jaya, Malaysia Nepal
2 4-0 (W) 2008 Merdeka Tournament 4 5 October 20, 2008 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Afghanistan
1 6-0 (W) 2008 Merdeka Tournament 6 October 23, 2008 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Myanmar
1 4-0 (W) 2008 Merdeka Tournament 7 December 6, 2008 Phuket, Thailand Laos
2 3-0 (W) 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup 8 9 December 15, 2010 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Vietnam
2 2-0 (W) 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup 10 11 December 26, 2010 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Indonesia
2 3-0 (W) 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup 12 13 December 29, 2010 Jakarta, Indonesia Indonesia
1 2-1 (L) 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup 14 July 23, 2011 Jalan Besar, Singapore Singapore
2 5-3 (L) 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) 15 16 July 28, 2011 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Singapore
1 1-1 (D) 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) 17 November 16, 2011 Salt Lake Stadium, India India
2 3-2 (L) Friendly 18 Other # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 October 17, 2008 Kelana Jaya, Malaysia Sierra Leone
1 4-0 (W) 2008 Merdeka Tournament / Malaysia 2 July 16, 2011 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Liverpool
2 3-6 (L) Exhibition Match / Malaysia Selection 3 Honour
Selangor
- Malaysia Charity Shield: 2009, 2010
- Malaysia FA Cup: 2009
- Malaysia Super League: 2009, 2010
Malaysia
- Merdeka Tournament: 2007 (U-23)
- 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup Winners
Individual
- 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup Top Goal Scorer
References
- ^ 2003 England League
- ^ 2003 Malaysia Cup
- ^ Sultan Of Selangor Cup 2008
- ^ PELITA JAYA IT IS FOR SAFEE Retrieved at 8 February 2011
- ^ Safee Joins Pelita Jaya Retrieved at 8 February 2011
- ^ "bobi pergi ke Pelita Jaya (Malay)". MNFT FC©. February 7, 2011. http://mnftfc.blogspot.com/2011/02/bobi-pergi-ke-pelita-jaya.html. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
- ^ Safee keeps 'em guessing on German woo Retrieved at 26 August 2011 from UK Yahoo News
- ^ Safee Berhijrah ke kelab Jerman? (MALAY) Retrieved at 26 August 2011 from kakiGOL
- ^ Hitman Safee wanted Retrieved at 8 September 2011 from Football Everyday - The Star
- ^ Safee sambut tawaran percubaan dua minggu di Cardiff (MALAY) Retrieved at 7 September 2011 from Arena.my
- ^ Safee Sali is a good lad but work permit issues remain the stumbling block Retrieved at 26 September 2011 from Goal.com
- ^ Safee masih berharap sarung jersi Cardiff City Retrieved at 26 September 2011 from Berita Harian Online
- ^ Safee ends Bluebirds trial Retrieved at 30 September 2011 from Sky Sports
- ^ Safee Sali earns second Cardiff trial Retrieved at 30 September 2011 from ESPN Star Sports
- ^ Chelsea beat Malaysian XI
- ^ Charlie Adam and Alberto Aquilani star as Liverpool hit Malaysian side for six - Malaysia All-Star XI 3-6 Liverpool
- ^ Safee's Nike Mercurial boot Release Retrieved at 03 May 2011
External links
- Safee Sali's Football Career
- Complete Safee Sali News & Updates
- Mohd Safee Mohd Sali's Pelita Jaya FC
- Mohd Safee Mohd Sali's Profile at National Football Teams website
- Mohd Safee Mohd Sali's Profile at Selangorfc.com website
- All Safee Sali Videos
- Mohd Safee Mohd Sali's Profile at www.transfermarkt.co.uk
- Profile at worldfootball.net
Awards 1996: Netipong Srithong-in | 1998: Myo Hlaing Win | 2000: Gendut Donny Christiawan & Worrawoot Srimaka | 2002: Bambang Pamungkas | 2004: Ilham Jaya Kesuma | 2007: Noh Alam Shah | 2008: Budi Sudarsono & Agu Casmir & Teerasil Dangda | 2010: Mohd Safee Mohd SaliMalaysia Squad Categories:- 1984 births
- Living people
- Malaysian Malay people
- Malaysian footballers
- Malaysia international footballers
- Malaysian expatriate footballers
- 2007 AFC Asian Cup players
- Expatriate footballers in Indonesia
- Selangor FA players
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