Khairul Amri

Mohammad Khairul Amri bin Mohammad Kamal (born 14 March 1985) is a Singaporean footballer who plays as a forward for Tanjong Pagar United in the Singapore Premier League. He is known for his pace, sharp dribbling skills and a powerful shot with either foot. He was named the first ever Lions' Player of the Year for his performance in the 2006 S.League season on 4 January 2007.

Club career

Young Lions

Along with Baihakki Khaizan, Shahril Ishak and Hassan Sunny, Khairul Amri was in the pioneer batch of the National Football Academy graduates in 2000.

Khairul Amri had begun his professional footballing career at S.League club Young Lions in 2004.

The 2006 S.League season was a breakthrough season for the youngster, scoring more than 20 goals in all competitions, including a 4-bagger in a FA Cup Malaysia match. Khairul Amri was amongst the top scorers in the 2006 season of the S.League and many of his goals have come from free kicks. He went on to captain the Young Lions team in 2007 after then-captain Baihakki Khaizan left to join Geylang International.

In total, he scored 54 goals in 114 appearances before leaving the club.

Tampines Rovers

In the mid-season transfer window of the 2008 S.League season, Khairul Amri moved to Tampines Rovers and capped off the season by winning the S-League's Young Player of The Year. However, he sustained a metatarsal injury in the 88th minute of the third-place play-offs of the 2008 Singapore Cup against his former club, the Young Lions, which ultimately ruled him out of action for two months.

Persiba Balikpapan

In 2010, Khairul Amri moved overseas for the first time to join Indonesian football club Persiba Balikpapan. Khairul Amri substantiated his decision to join the Indonesian side on the fact that it was a rare opportunity, not just for him to prove himself overseas as a footballer, but also to expand the profile of Singaporean football. The move would also allow Khairul Amri to be exposed to a different type of challenge as he had already been playing in the S.League for 5 years.

Khairul Amri made a dream start to his foreign stint as he managed to score on his debut appearance. He, however, tore one of his leg muscles and was sidelined for approximately 7 to 8 months during a match, halfway through the season. Due to the severity of the injury, Khairul Amri's stint with the Indonesian Super League side was a short-lived one. He finished his only season with Persiba Balikpapan with 9 goals in 23 matches.

Khairul Amri had originally been slated to stay for a longer period with Persiba Balikpapan. Prior to the match that caused his knee injury, the management team had proposed a contract extension to him. However, he had told the staff to wait until the end of the game. The injury however, proved a serious issue as the club could not afford to keep Khairul Amri on the sidelines for an extended period of time. During his recovery from the knee injury, Khairul Amri spent his time recuperating with Gombak United, at the offer of club chairman John Yap.

LionsXII

During his recuperation, Khairul Amri was introduced to the LionsXII project by the Football Association of Singapore. In November 2011, Khairul Amri agreed to join the LionsXII squad and played for the club in the 2012 Malaysia Super League. He finished the season as the club second highest scorer with 8 goals in 27 appearances behind Sharil Ishak who scored 14 goals in 31 appearances.

Tampines Rovers

Amri later signed for Tampines Rovers in 2013. He scored 12 goals for the Stags in the league, finishing the season as the joint-top local scorer in the 2013 S.League and winning his first S.League title.

LionsXII

Khairul Amri returned to the LionsXII setup once again for the 2014 Malaysia Super League season. He scored 7 goals in 24 appearances for his team.

He started the 2015 Malaysia Super League strongly, scoring 10 goals in 25 appearances for his team, including a hat-trick in a 4–1 win against Sime Darby F.C. His fine form was rewarded as he won the May Player of the month award. However, in October 2015, his knee injury struck again, forcing him to miss the rest of the season.

Young Lions

After the LionsXII was disbanded following the conclusion of the 2015 MSL season, Amri signed on a two-year contract with the Young Lions for the 2016 S.League season as one of three overage players, together with Firdaus Kasman and Christopher van Huizen. He was also named as the captain of the team. However, he was forced to miss out the opening weeks of the season due to an injury. Khairul only eventually made his first appearance in April, 5 months after his last competitive match. Khairul's injury ravage season saw him score only 5 goals all season.

Tampines Rovers

After an early end to his two-year contract with the Young Lions, Amri was chased by a few sides, including Tampines and Hougang United. Khairul opted to sign for his former side in the end, joining the Stags for a third time.

He made his re-debut for the Stags in a 2017 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off against Filippino side Global FC and had a chance to net on his debut but his penalty was pushed away by the goalkeeper as the Stags crash out following a 2–0 defeat. His first appearance in the league, which was also a Singapore Community Shield match, ended in a similarly disappointing fashion as he came off the bench in a 2–1 defeat by Albirex Niigata Singapore FC. Khairul came off the bench and scored the winner and his first goal of the season during the Stags' first game of the 2017 AFC Cup campaign. He scored his first goal in the league in a 2–1 win over Hougang United FC.

His next goals came in a 1–3 win over Felda United