Muhammad Safawi bin Rasid (born 5 March 1997) is a Malaysian professional

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 for

Thai League 1 The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from August ...

side

Ratchaburi Ratchaburi ( th, ราชบุรี, ) or Rajburi, Rat Buri) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in western Thailand, capital of Ratchaburi Province. Ratchaburi town covers the entire ''tambon'' Na Mueang (หน้าเมือง) of Mueang ...

, on loan from

Malaysia Super League The Malaysia Super League ( ms, Liga Super Malaysia) is the men's top professional football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP), now known as the Malays ...

club

Johor Darul Ta'zim Johor Darul Ta'zim Football Club or simply JDT is a professional football club based in Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. The club was founded in 1972 as PKENJ FC and currently competes in the top division of Malaysian football, the Malaysia Super ...

, and the Malaysia national team. He mostly plays as a winger but he can also play as a striker. He is known for his free kick ability to curl the ball and ability to conjure curving long-range strikes.

Early life

Safawi lives in Kampung Bukit Chatak,

Dungun Dungun is a coastal district of the Malaysian state of Terengganu. Kuala Dungun is the capital of the district. Dungun is made up of eleven 'mukim', or subdistricts: Abang, Besol, Jengai, Jerangau, Kuala Dungun, Kuala Paka, Kumpal, Pasir Raja, Ras ...

and attended school at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Seri Dungun, Dungun, Terengganu in 2010 before moving to Sekolah Sukan Bukit Nenas, Setiu, Terengganu to improve his football talent until 2014. He had played football for his school team since his first year of being a secondary school student. Safawi has 13 siblings and most of them are involved with sports such as sepak takraw, football, and hockey. His two younger brother Syakir played for Terengganu F.C. III, and Alfi played for

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area ...

. He is the ninth sibling and the pride of the Dungun people.

Club career

Youth career

By 2011, T-Team had established a football academy all over six

Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', Jawi: ), formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu, is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l- Īmān'' ("Abode of Faith"). ...

cities,

, Marang,

Besut Besut is a district in Terengganu, Malaysia. It is bordered by the state of Kelantan to the north and west and the South China Sea to the east. It is the northern gateway to Terengganu. Kampung Raja is the district capital, though Jerteh is more ...

Kemaman Kemaman is a Districts of Malaysia, district in Terengganu, Malaysia. Kemaman District is bordered by Dungun District to the north and the state of Pahang to the south and west. It is the southern gateway to the state of Terengganu. The district ...

Setiu Setiu is one of the districts in Terengganu, Malaysia. This district is bordered by Besut to the north, Hulu Terengganu to the south, and on the east, Kuala Nerus District. Setiu is the second youngest and least populated district in Terenggan ...

and

Kuala Terengganu , image_seal = Seal of Kuala Terengganu City Council.png , image_flag = Flag of Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu.svg , image_skyline = , image_caption = From top, left to right:The Crystal Mosq ...

by their 2011 head coach, Jibang Marzuki. All the football academy players must be below 18 years old and Jibang Marzuki managed to hold a game for each team every week to ensure the best performance before going to T-Team Football Club pre-selection at the end of the year. Safawi Rasid, who was only 15 years old when he joined the Dungun T-Team Football Club Academy, always made the first-eleven for his team on each game. He used to play as a

central 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 ...

and loved scoring long-range shots with his left foot. His manager at the time, recalls going to his house and forcing him to attend training as he believed that Safawi had a bright future ahead. Since then, Safawi represented Terengganu's football team each year for the MSSM tournament. When he was 16 years old, he moved to Sekolah Sukan Bukit Nenas to improve his football skills, 66 kilometres away from home. Due to his fantastic talent at the Sports School League, T-Team coach,

Rahmad Darmawan Rahmad Darmawan (born 28 November 1966), is an Indonesian former football player who currently works as a football coach for Liga 1 club Barito Putera. He previously played for ATM FA and Persikota Tangerang in Indonesia. Rahmad started his c ...

selected him to attend training with the first team. Safawi quickly impressed Rahmad and soon became an integral part of the first team.

T-Team

At the age of 17, Safawi made his professional debut in the 2014 Malaysia Cup against Selangor on 13 August 2014.

Johor Darul Ta'zim

In December 2016, it was announced that Safawi had agreed to sign with champions

. He was assigned the number 29.

2017 season

On 7 February 2017, Safawi featured in the

2017 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs The 2017 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs were played from 24 January to 8 February 2017. A total of 23 teams competed in the qualifying play-offs to decide eight of the 32 places in the group stage of the 2017 AFC Champions League. Teams ...

against

Gamba Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Gamba'' comes from the Japanese , meaning "to do your best" or "to st ...

which his side lost 0–3. On 27 January 2017, Safawi made his league debut in a 3–1 win over

Felda United Felda United Football Club is a Malaysian football club based in Jengka, Pahang which is owned by the Malaysian Federal Land Development Authority (Felda).Malaysian Super League The Malaysia Super League ( ms, Liga Super Malaysia) is the men's top professional football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP), now known as the Malaysi ...

for his new club in a 3–1 victory against

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

. At the end of the season, Safawi picked up his first

and

2017 Malaysia Cup The 2017 Malaysia Cup (Malay language, Malay: ''Piala Malaysia 2017'') was the 91st edition of the Malaysia Cup tournament organised by Football Association of Malaysia. The 2017 Malaysia Cup began on August with a preliminary round. A total of 1 ...

medal, helping Johor Darul Ta'zim win their 4th consecutive league title and first

Malaysia Cup The Malaysia Cup ( ms, Piala Malaysia), formerly known as ''Malaya Cup'', is an annual association football, football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popular ...

in their history.

2018 season

During the

2018 AFC Cup group stage The 2018 AFC Cup group stage was played from 10 February to 16 May 2018. A total of 36 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 11 places in the knockout stage of the 2018 AFC Cup. Draw The draw for the group stage was held on 6 December 2 ...

, Safawi showed an impressive performance in a 3–0 victory over

Persija Jakarta Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Jakarta ( 'Indonesian Football Association of Jakarta'; abbreviated as Persija), is an Indonesian professional football club based in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta. Persija Jakarta is one of the most suc ...

, scoring a stunner along the way. On 17 March, he scored his first hat-trick in a 2–3 victory in the third round of the

2018 Malaysia FA Cup The 2018 Malaysia FA Cup (also known as Shopee Malaysia FA Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 29th season of the Malaysia FA Cup, a knockout competition for Malaysia's state football association and clubs. 40 teams entered the competition. Qua ...

against

UiTM The MARA Technological University ( Malay: ''Universiti Teknologi MARA''; Jawi: اونيۏرسيتي تيكنولوڬي مارا; abbr. UiTM) is a public university based primarily in Shah Alam, Selangor. It was established to help rural Mala ...

. On 14 April 2018, he scored his first goal of the Malaysian Super League season against PKNS.

2019 season

During the

2019 AFC Champions League The 2019 AFC Champions League was the 38th edition of Asia's premier club association football, football tournament, organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 17th under the current AFC Champions League title. Al Hilal SFC, Al ...

group stages Safawi scored a curler goal against China based team

Shandong Luneng Shandong Taishan Football Club () is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Jinan, Shandong and their home stadium is th ...

that made him win the AFC Goal of the Decade.

2020 season: Loan to Portimonense

Safawi joined Portuguese

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

club

Portimonense S.C. Portimonense Sporting Clube is a Portuguese sports club based in Portimão. Founded on 14 August 1914, it is most notable for its professional association football, football team, which currently plays in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...

from

on a season long loan. He made his debut for the U-23 side on 16 October 2020, which ended in a 3-1 loss against

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

U-23. The loan was cut short at the end of December 2020 because of lack of playing time given by the coach, making Safawi leave without any first team appearances.

2021 season

During the opening match of Malaysia Super League against

Piala Sumbangsih Piala Sumbangsih (English: Malaysia Charity Cup), also known as Piala Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah ( en, Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Cup), is the Malaysian super cup competition. It is the curtain raiser match to the new Malaysian football season, pitting ...

he scored his goal for the club after return from loan spell in Portugal. However, in the next match Safawi injured his knee, making him out for three months.

2022-23 season: Loan to Ratchaburi

On 4 December 2022, Ratchaburi FC chairman Tanawat Nitikanchana has announced that the club have signed Safawi during the 2022/23 Thai League transfer window. He made his debut for the team on 21 January 2023, which ended in a 2-0 loss against

Khon Kaen United F.C. Khon Kaen United Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลขอนแก่น ยูไนเต็ด) is a Thai professional Association football, football club based in Khon Kaen province. The club currently plays in Thai Leagu ...

International career

Safawi made his debut for the Malaysia Under-22 in the

2016 Nations Cup The 2016 Nations Cup was the inaugural edition of the Nations Cup hosted in Malacca City, Malaysia from 3 to 5 June 2016. It was organised by MP & Silva with the under-21 teams of Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand as well as the Vietnam U-19 tea ...

. In August 2016, Safawi was called up to the Malaysian national team for the match against

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. He made his debut for the senior team in the match as a starter, as Malaysia lost 0–3. He was then called up again for the 2016 Causeway Challenge against rivals,

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 ...

, which ended 0–0. Before the start of the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup, Safawi was omitted from the final 23-man squad. The demotion of Safawi from

Ong Kim Swee Ong Kim Swee () is a Malaysian football manager and former footballer, who is the Head coach of Malaysia Super League club Sabah. He spent most of his career playing for East Malaysian teams, notably Sarawak and Sabah during the mid 1990s. Ong ...

was heavily criticized by Malaysian football fans despite veteran striker, Safee Sali managing to be in the squad despite having a poor season earlier with

. During the

2017 Southeast Asian games Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanes ...

, Safawi was selected for the 20-man squad by Ong Kim Swee. He scored the first goal of the tournament with a stunning volley from a cross by his fellow countryman Matthew Davies in a 2–1 victory against

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

. Safawi scored his second goal of the tournament during the 3–1 victory against

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

. Despite receiving the silver medal after losing 1–0 during the final against

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 ...

, Safawi was one of the best players of the tournament and showed consistent performances throughout the tournament. On 10 November 2017 Safawi scored his first international goal in the

2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification The 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification was the qualification process organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to determine the participating teams for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, the 17th edition of the international men's football champions ...

against North Korea national football team. During

Football at the 2018 Asian Games - Men's tournament Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

at the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 A ...

in Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia. Safawi was also selected for the 20-man squad by Ong Kim Swee. On 17 August, when Malaysia was playing against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, he scored twice to secure a 2–1 win in their second the group match. In November 2018, Safawi was called up to the

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

national squad for the

2018 AFF Championship The 2018 AFF Championship was the 12th edition of the AFF Championship, the Association football, football championship of nations affiliated to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), and the 6th under the name AFF Suzuki Cup. This was the first t ...

. Safawi scored one goal in the tournament, against

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

in the final first leg. On 9 December 2021, he scored his first international hat-trick in a 4–0 win over

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

in the 2020 AFF Suzuki Cup group stage. Safawi is also part of the Malaysian team that qualified for the

2023 AFC Asian Cup The 2023 AFC Asian Cup will be the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It will involve 24 national teams after expansion in 201 ...

. He played all 3 matches against

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

in Third Round Group E Qualification.

Career statistics

Club

International appearances

International goals

Senior

:''Scores and results list Malaysia's goal tally first.''

Malaysia Under-23

Honours

JDT *

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

Malaysia FA Cup The Malaysia FA Cup ( ms, Piala FA) is an annual national knock-out football tournament in Malaysia. The cup was first held in 1990. The competition was previously managed by Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), before being transferred to Fo ...

Malaysia U-23 *

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...

Silver Medal: 2017 Malaysia *

AFF Championship The ASEAN Football Federation Championship (less formally the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup for sponsorship reason, is the primary association football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football ...

runners up:

King's Cup __NOTOC__ King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King Cup (sometimes named King's Cup), Saudi Arabian men's football nati ...

runner-up:

Individual *

Top Scorer:

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

Goal Of The Decade: 2020 * Malaysia Cup Top Scorer:

* Malaysia Cup Best Player:

FourFourTwo ''FourFourTwo'' is a football magazine published by Future. Issued monthly, it published its 300th edition in May 2019. It takes its name from the football formation of the same name, 4-4-2. In 2008, it was announced that ''FourFourTwo'' had e ...

ASEAN ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...

Young player of the year: 2018 * Malaysia Football League Most Promising Player: 2016, 2018 * Malaysia Football League Best Eleven: 2018, 2019 * Malaysia Football League Best Midfielder: 2018 * Malaysia Football League Best Striker: 2019 * Malaysia Football League Most Popular Player: 2019 * Malaysia Football League Most Valuable Player: 2018, 2019 *

: Best Eleven

References

External links

Safawi Rasid website
* {{AFF Cup top scorers 1997 births Living people Malaysian footballers Malaysia international footballers Terengganu F.C. II players Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C. players Portimonense S.C. players Malaysia Super League players Malaysian people of Malay descent

Safawi Rasid Muhammad Safawi bin Rasid (born 5 March 1997) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays for Thai League 1 side Ratchaburi, on loan from Malaysia Super League club Johor Darul Ta'zim, and the Malaysia national team. He mostly plays as a ...

People from Terengganu Association football wingers Southeast Asian Games silver medalists for Malaysia Southeast Asian Games medalists in football Footballers at the 2018 Asian Games Competitors at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games Asian Games competitors for Malaysia Malaysian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Portugal Malaysia youth international footballers