Muhammad Safuwan bin Baharudin (born 22 September 1991) is a

Singaporean Singaporeans, or the Singaporean people, refers to citizens or people who identify with the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country. Singaporeans of Chinese, Malay, Ind ...

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, rugb ...

who last played as a defender for

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

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sem ...

and the Singapore national team. Starting off his professional career as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, Safuwan's attributes and versatility also allow him to play as a midfielder or forward when required.

Club career

Early years

Safuwan started out playing as a striker during his

Institute of Technical Education The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) is a post-secondary education institution and statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Education in Singapore. Established by the Ministry of Education, it was formerly known as Vocational ...

years and subsequently as a midfielder at the National Football Academy (NFA). Salim Moin, his NFA Under-17 coach, was credited with switching him to the centre-back position he currently plays in.

Young Lions

Safuwan began his professional football career with

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 re ...

club Young Lions in July 2009, after he was promoted from the National Football Academy Under-18s. Safuwan was one of the Young Lions players that got involved in an on-pitch fight with several

Beijing Guoan Talent Beijing Guoan Talent Singapore Football Club (北京国安精英队) was a Chinese professional soccer club which was formed to play as a foreign team in Singapore's S.League in 2010. The club was a satellite team of the Chinese Super League c ...

players in their S.League match on 7 September 2010. He was charged by the FAS for gross misconduct and bringing the game into disrepute, and was fined S$2,000 for his part in the brawl.

LionsXII

In December 2011, the FAS announced that Safuwan will join the newly formed LionsXII in the

2012 Malaysia Super League The 2012 Liga Super ( en, 2012 Super League) also known as the Astro Liga Super for sponsorship reasons is the ninth season of the Liga Super, the top-tier professional football league in Malaysia.http://www.rsssf.com/tablesm/malay2012.html 201 ...

. The LionsXII finished runners-up in their debut season. Safuwan formed a strong understanding with

Baihakki Khaizan Baihakki bin Khaizan (born 31 January 1984) is a former Singaporean professional footballer who played as a centre back for the Singapore national team. Football career Club career Along with Khairul Amri, Shahril Ishak and Hassan Sunn ...

in central defence as LionsXII won the

2013 Malaysia Super League The 2013 Liga Super ( en, 2013 Super League) also known as the Astro Liga Super for sponsorship reasons, is the 10th season of the Liga Super, the top-tier professional football league in Malaysia.http://www.rsssf.com/tablesm/malay2013.html 2013 ...

with the competition's best defensive record. He contributed with five goals in 26 matches. Amid interest from Thai, Indonesian and rival Malaysia Super League sides including T-Team, he put pen to paper in a new two-year deal with LionsXII in November 2013. Safuwan capped off his league performances by becoming the first male recipient of the annual Straits Times Athlete of the Year award in 2013. Following the departure of regular defensive partner Baihakki in 2014, Safuwan formed a new partnership with new LionsXII recruit Afiq Yunos. He also showed his versatility with lauded displays in advanced midfield and attacking roles. Safuwan's performances up front and LionsXII's poor goal scoring form led to head coach

Fandi Ahmad Fandi bin Ahmad (born 29 May 1962) is a Singaporean professional football manager and former player. During his professional career, he mainly played as a striker, but also played as a midfielder. Along with the Singapore FA, he had also pla ...

having to consider playing him as a forward in more games. Safuwan started in an advanced midfield role behind striker

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 w ...

in a Malaysia Super League match away to

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a 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 Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

on 15 March. On 25 March, he scored a late winner over

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand' ...

to send LionsXII up to 5th in the league table. He scored his second goal in as many games four days later as LionsXII drew 1–1 with T-Team and followed it up with the opener off a

Shahfiq Ghani Muhammad Shahfiq bin Ghani (born 17 March 1992), also known as just Shahfiq, is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays mainly as a forward or midfielder for Singapore Premier League club Geylang International and the Singapore nation ...

cross against

Sime Darby Sime Darby Berhad () is a Malaysian trading conglomerate. Its core businesses operate and serve in the industrial, motors and logistics sectors as well as the healthcare, and insurance segments. Background The modern Sime Darby Berhad corpo ...

on 5 April.

Melbourne City

On 29 January 2015, Safuwan signed a 3-month loan contract with

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

team Melbourne City. Safuwan earned the contract after his standout performance at a MCFC's training camp in Abu Dhabi, which was held from 10 January 2015 to 19 January 2015. He attended the training camp as part of a development opportunity arranged with the FAS. The club substantiated the decision to take Safuwan on loan with his impressive performances during the training camp, both as a centre back and as a full-back during the club's two friendly matches in the UAE. In the friendly matches, he was pitted against several notable players, such as former

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...

striker

Mirko Vučinić Mirko Vučinić (, ; born 1 October 1983) is a Montenegrin former professional footballer who played as a forward. Having caught the attention of Pantaleo Corvino, the sporting director of the Italian club Lecce, he transferred there in the s ...

. He played as a substitute in the side's second friendly match with

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( uk, "Українська Прем'єр-ліга", ''Ukrayinska Premier Liha'') or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha ( uk, Вища ліга, ''Top League' ...

outfit

FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Football Club Dnipro ( uk, Футбо́льний Клуб «Дніпро́», ) was a Ukrainian football club based in Dnipro. The club was owned by the Privat Group that also owns BC Dnipro and Budivelnyk Kyiv. In 2018 FC Dnipro was forced i ...

, with the match concluding in a 1–1 result. Safuwan made his debut for Melbourne City in the A-League on 7 February 2015 for the Melbourne Derby against

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory ...

. Safuwan scored his first goal for the club against

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was founded in 2003 to fil ...

on 27 February 2015. He scored his second goal just a couple of weeks later, against

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...

to hand his side a 1-0 lead although they could not hang onto the lead and crash to a 3–2 defeat in the end. Following a spine injury that he sustained in a competitive match against

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...

, Safuwan's loan contract was allowed to lapse and was not renewed, despite earlier rumours stating that the club was interested in offering him a permanent contract. After his release, Safuwan returned to play for the LionsXII in the

2015 Malaysia Super League The 2015 Liga Super ( en, 2015 Super League) is the 12th season of the Liga Super, the top-tier professional football league in Malaysia.http://www.rsssf.com/tablesm/malay2015.html 2015 Liga Super The season was held from 31 January and conclude ...

season. In July 2015, it was reported that there was interest from J.League club

Yokohama F Marinos is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club competes in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Having won the J-League title four times an ...

to sign Safuwan on loan for the rest of the season. Although Safuwan stated that he was open to a second move overseas, even if it was on a short-term contract, the move ultimately did not materialise, and Safuwan remained with the LionsXII.

PDRM FA

Upon the dismissal of LionsXII from the

following the end of the 2015 season, Safuwan was linked with multiple Malaysian and Thai football clubs upon noting his potential availability. Safuwan signed a one-year loan deal with

PDRM FA Royal Malaysia Police Football Club (), well known as PDRM FC, is a Malaysian professional football club associated with the entity of the Royal Malaysia Police, that participate in the Malaysia Super League. The club is based in Kuala Lumpur. ...

for the 2016 Malaysia Super League season. The transfer fee was initially estimated as being about S$45,000, but was found later to be closer to S$32,000. This deal was extended for a year despite PDRM FA's relegation into the

Malaysian Premier League The Malaysia Premier League ( ms, Liga Premier) was the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia. The league replaced the former second-tier league, Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system. The Malaysia Premier Leag ...

Pahang FA

In 2018, Safuwan signed a contract with Malaysian Super League runners up

Pahang FA Sri Pahang Football Club () is a Malaysian professional football club based in Kuantan, Pahang. Founded in 1959 and has traditionally worn a yellow home kit since. At the beginning, club's home matches were held around the city public fields ...

and was presented alongside Malaysian forward, Norshahrul Idlan. He scored his first goal in a 2-1 victory against

ATM FA Armed Forces Football Club, commonly known as Armed Forces, enters a team in Malaysian football competitions to represent the Malaysian Armed Forces. The club's home stadium is the Mindef Stadium. The club currently plays in the 3rd division of ...

in 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 ...

. During his time with Pahang, he helped the club win the 2018 Malaysia FA Cup Final before being released at the end of the

2019 Malaysia Super League The 2019 Malaysia Super League ( ms, Liga Super Malaysia 2019) is the 16th season of the Malaysia Super League, the top-tier professional football league in Malaysia. Johor Darul Ta'zim are the current defending champions from the 2018 Malaysia ...

season despite being contracted until 2020.

Selangor

Safuwan signed for

for the

2020 Malaysia Super League The 2020 Malaysia Super League ( ms, Liga Super Malaysia 2020), known as the CIMB Bank Liga Super Malaysia 2020 for sponsorship reasons, was the 17th season of the Malaysia Super League, the top-tier professional football league in Malaysia. Joh ...

season, ensuring that he will be playing in Malaysia for the 9th season. Safuwan made his debut for the club in the opening match of the

season against his former club,

Pahang Pahang (; Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a sultanate and ...

International career

Youth

Safuwan was part of the

Singapore national under-23 football team The Singapore national under-23 football team is the national under-23 association football team of Singapore. The team comes under the organisation of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS). Players are mostly selected from the S.League ...

that won the bronze medal at the 2009 and 2013

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 sup ...

Senior

Safuwan made his international debut for Singapore at the age of 19 in a

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 nat ...

match 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 b ...

on 17 January 2010. Safuwan contributed to

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, bor ...

's then-record fourth

ASEAN Football 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 ...

win in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

. He found himself increasingly paired with

as regular centre-back Daniel Bennett was gradually phased out of the national team set-up. On 31 August 2017, Safuwan scored from the penalty spot to help Singapore snatch a draw against

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

. He scored his first international hat-trick on 21 November 2018, helping Singapore to a 6-1 demolition of Timor-Leste in the

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

. Safuwan made his 100 caps for the national team on 14 December 2021 against Timor-Leste in the

2020 AFF Championship The 2020 AFF Championship (officially AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 for sponsorship reasons) was the 13th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of nations affiliated to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), the 7th and the last editio ...

Singapore Selection

Apart from national team commitments, Safuwan was also part of the Singapore Selection XI squad on several occasions. The selected squad are made up of current Singapore international footballers, as well as players currently participating in the

. Safuwan has appeared in all four matches that the Singapore Selection XI has played thus far, such as in the Peter Lim Charity Cup match against

2013–14 La Liga The 2013–14 La Liga season (known as the ''Liga BBVA'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 83rd since its establishment. Match days were drawn on 9 July 2013. The season began on 17 August 2013 and concluded on 18 May 2014; all top-flight Europe ...

champions

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based i ...

, a pre-season friendly match against

, as well as in the 2015 Barclays Asia Trophy held in Singapore at the

National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...

Personal life

Safuwan is born to Baharudin Abdul Ghani and Suria Haniffa. Safuwan married Alia Qistina, an air stewardess, in 2013. Safuwan was the first Singaporean to be featured in

FIFA 15 ''FIFA 15'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released on 23 September 2014 in North America, 25 September in Europe and 26 September in the United King ...

Career statistics

Club

* Young Lions and LionsXII are ineligible for qualification to

AFC AFC may stand for: Organizations * Action for Children, a UK children's charity * AFC Enterprises, the franchisor of Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits * Africa Finance Corporation, a pan-African multilateral development finance institution * A ...

competitions in their respective leagues.

International

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

Honours

Club

LionsXII *

: 2013 *

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

: 2015 Pahang FA *

: 2018

International

Singapore *

: 2012 *

: bronze medal – 2009, 2013

Individual

*2014 Singapore Sports Awards: Meritorious Award *2013 Goal Singapore Football Awards: Singapore Player of the Year *

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was establish ...

Athlete of the Year: 2013 *Goal.com-Nike 2012

Under-23 Player of the Tournament *Goal.com 2012

Best XI *2011

People's Choice Award *

ASEAN Football Federation The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) is an organisation within the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and is an international governing body of association football in Southeast Asia. It consists of the federations of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia ...

Best XI: 2019

References

External links

* {{Pahang FA squad 1991 births Living people Singaporean footballers Singapore international footballers Singapore Premier League players LionsXII players Malaysia Super League players Young Lions FC players Association football central defenders Singaporean people of Malay descent A-League Men players Melbourne City FC players Singaporean expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in Australia Singaporean expatriate sportspeople in Australia Footballers at the 2010 Asian Games Footballers at the 2014 Asian Games Southeast Asian Games bronze medalists for Singapore Southeast Asian Games medalists in football Competitors at the 2009 Southeast Asian Games Competitors at the 2013 Southeast Asian Games Asian Games competitors for Singapore FIFA Century Club