Azhar Baksin (born 26 November 1976) is an ex-
Singaporean international footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for
NFL Division 2 side
Admiralty FC
Admiralty Football Club, also commonly known as Admiralty FC, is a football club which plays in the Division 2 of the Singapore Football League, the third tier of football in Singapore.
History
Admiralty FC started off in 1987 as a participa ...
.
Apart from his playing duties, he was also appointed as the coach of the
Wolves
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...
following the departure of former player coach
Mohd Noor Ali
Mohd Noor Ali is a Singaporean former footballer and current head coach.
Club career
Throughout his career, he played as a midfielder or winger for Tampines Rovers, Geylang United, SAFFC, Woodlands Wellington and Hougang United in the S.League, ...
to
Geylang United
Geylang International Football Club is a professional football club based in Bedok, Singapore, which plays in the Singapore Premier League, the top division of football in Singapore. The club was founded in 1973 with the purpose of building a s ...
in June 2012.
Club career
A true veteran, Azhar has played for
S.League
The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which r ...
sides
Tampines Rovers
Tampines Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Tampines, Singapore, that competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of Singapore football league system. Founded in 1945, the club have won the national league ...
,
Geylang United
Geylang International Football Club is a professional football club based in Bedok, Singapore, which plays in the Singapore Premier League, the top division of football in Singapore. The club was founded in 1973 with the purpose of building a s ...
,
Home United
Lion City Sailors Football Club, commonly referred to as The Sailors or LCS, is a Singaporean professional football club competing in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of the Singapore football league system. Since the 2021 season, the ...
and
Sengkang Punggol
Hougang United Football Club is a Singaporean professional football club that competes in the Singapore Premier League.
History
Hougang United Football Club was founded as Marine Castle United Football Club, which was formed by Newcastle Unit ...
, before switching over to
Admiralty FC
Admiralty Football Club, also commonly known as Admiralty FC, is a football club which plays in the Division 2 of the Singapore Football League, the third tier of football in Singapore.
History
Admiralty FC started off in 1987 as a participa ...
during the 2012
NFL Division 2 season.
Azhar scored a goal from the half-way line when he was playing for
Geylang United
Geylang International Football Club is a professional football club based in Bedok, Singapore, which plays in the Singapore Premier League, the top division of football in Singapore. The club was founded in 1973 with the purpose of building a s ...
against
Woodlands Wellington
Woodlands Wellington Football Club is an inactive professional association football, football club which played in the S.League, the top division of football in Singapore. They are based in Woodlands, Singapore, Woodlands at the 4,300 seater Woo ...
in 2002, lobbing the ball past Woodlands' custodian
Fadhil Salim
Fadhil Salim (born 24 January 1983) is a Singaporean goalkeeper who played for S.League club Hougang United FC
Hougang United Football Club is a Singaporean professional football club that competes in the Singapore Premier League.
History
...
. That goal was subsequently nominated for the
2002 S.League Goal of the Season but did not win in the end.
His honours include winning the
S.League
The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which r ...
with
Geylang United
Geylang International Football Club is a professional football club based in Bedok, Singapore, which plays in the Singapore Premier League, the top division of football in Singapore. The club was founded in 1973 with the purpose of building a s ...
in 2000, and the
S.League
The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which r ...
and
Singapore Cup
The Singapore Cup is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic Singaporean football. Established in 1998, it is the foremost football cup competition in the country.
It is open to clubs in the Singapore Premier League.
Since ...
double with
Home United
Lion City Sailors Football Club, commonly referred to as The Sailors or LCS, is a Singaporean professional football club competing in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of the Singapore football league system. Since the 2021 season, the ...
in the 2003 season.
International career
Azhar Baksin was first noted as an outstanding player during a training tour of
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
for the
Singapore national team's reserve squad between 21 and 30 November 1997. He emerged as the top contender among the up-and-coming footballers, which included
Indra Sahdan and
Ahmad Latiff Khamaruddin, for a national team call-up based on his performances during the training tour.
He was called up to the
Singapore national team after scoring two goals in
Tampines Rovers
Tampines Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Tampines, Singapore, that competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of Singapore football league system. Founded in 1945, the club have won the national league ...
' 2-0 victory against
Gombak United
Gombak United Football Club was a professional football club which competed in the S.League, the top division of football in Singapore. The club was based in Bukit Gombak. During the early years of the S. League, Gombak United played their ho ...
on 21 March 1998.
Azhar played in the
Asian Cup
The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...
qualifier against a star-studded
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
team featuring the likes of
Shinji Ono
is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for J1 League club Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo.
Career Urawa Reds
Ono grew up in the Shizuoka Prefecture and began his professional career with Urawa Reds in the J1 League in 1998. ...
and
Masashi Nakayama
is a Japanese football manager and former player who is the manager of Azul Claro Numazu from 2023. He played as a forward in his playing career.
Club career
Playing as a forward, Nakayama made his J1 League debut on 11 March 1994. From then ...
in 2000.
One of his most memorable international goals came in the NTUC Income Challenge Cup in 2002, where he fired home a blistering right-footed volley to lift
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
to a 2-1 victory over
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
after coming on as a second-half substitute.
Azhar's fine form with
Geylang United
Geylang International Football Club is a professional football club based in Bedok, Singapore, which plays in the Singapore Premier League, the top division of football in Singapore. The club was founded in 1973 with the purpose of building a s ...
made him a notable replacement for the off-form
Mirko Grabovac
Mirko Grabovac (born 19 September 1971) is a Croatian former professional football player and coach. He had changed his nationality to Singaporean in 2001 in order to play for the Singapore national football team before renouncing it in 2008.
...
during the
2002 Tiger Cup
The 2002 AFF Championship, officially known as the 2002 Tiger Cup, was co-hosted by Indonesia and Singapore from November 2002 to 13 January 2003 and participated by all national teams of the member associations of the ASEAN Football Federatio ...
.
He also has the honour of being the first
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
international to score at the newly constructed
Jalan Besar Stadium
Jalan Besar Stadium, officially the Jalan Besar ActiveSG Stadium, is a association football, football stadium located in Kallang, Singapore. The stadium is part of the Jalan Besar Sports and Recreation Centre, a community sports facility that i ...
on 4 March 2003 after just 8 minutes
in an international friendly against the
Maldives
Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
. The match ended 4-1 in favour to the
Lions
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...
with
Indra Sahdan,
Syed Fadhil
Syed Fadhil (born 16 April 1981) is a professional soccer player who plays for the Warriors FC in the S.League and the Singapore national football team.
He is a natural defensive midfielder.
Club career
Fadhil has previously played for S.Leagu ...
and
Fadzuhasny Juraimi
Fadzuhasny Juraimi (born 3 September 1979) is a retired Singaporean footballer for S-League and also the Singapore national football team. He is currently coaching Singapore U19.
He is a natural striker who is known for his volleys and clinical ...
getting on the scoresheet for
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
as well.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azhar Baksin
Singaporean footballers
Singapore Premier League players
Singapore international footballers
1976 births
Living people
Tampines Rovers FC players
Geylang International FC players
Home United FC players
Hougang United FC players
Association football midfielders