Hairuddin Omar

Hairuddin Omar (born 29 September 1979 in Setiu), is a Malaysian professional football player currently playing for Pahang in the Malaysian Super League. He can play as a striker or a midfielder.

Hairuddin Omar has made a name for himself on the Malaysian footballing scene since his debut season with Terengganu team in 2000. He has been a consistent scorer in both league and international games. In 2003 Hairuddin and his two teammates, Subri Sulong and Rosdi Talib from Terengganu decided to join Pahang whenTerengganu failed to pay their wages.

Hairuddin was the captain of the Malaysia Under-23 side that finished second to Thailand in the 2001 Southeast Asian Games and has won numerous caps since. However, since his last call-up in 2005 for the Causeway Challenge against Malaysia's rival, Singapore, he was not called up for the national team for almost two years. In 2007 Hairuddin is back in the national fold with his call-up to 2007 ASEAN Football Championship. He has been earmarked by coach Norizan Bakar for the role of the target man. He scored two goals in this championship while Malaysia lost to the eventual champion, Singapore in the semifinal.

His presence as the front man is acknowledged by many. His partnership with Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli in the national team between 2001 and 2003 was much-vaunted and produced many memorable goals. The trick in those days was for Hairuddin to out-jump his opponents to cushion head the ball to Akmal, whose speed would leave many trailing in his wake. Noted for his aerial ability, Hairuddin earned the distinction of scoring the Malaysia's solitary goal in the 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in FA Premier League Asia Cup 2003, an invitational tournament in 2003. Then he out-jumped England Under-21 international John Terry, now captain of England, to nod the ball home off a swerving corner kick from his Terengganu teammate, Rosdi Talib, four minutes after Frank Lampard had opened the scoring in the 36th minute. It was as a result of a well-worked set-piece the boys managed to translate into the game, giving the nation the first goal against an English opponent since Matlan Marjan's double against England at Merdeka Stadium in 1991.

In recent times, Hairuddin has been strongly criticized for this lack of goals as a striker for both his club and the national team. His selection during the disastrous 2007 Asian Cup was widely debated. He did not pose a threat in either of the 3 group games. As a result, new manager B. Sathianathan omitted Hairuddin from the Merdeka Tournament squad, choosing younger players like Mohd Safee Mohd Sali and Zaquan Adha Abdul Radzak. Malaysia duly won the tournament, with Zaquan and Safee both shining through, especially in the semifinal and final against Singapore and Myanmar.

Honour

• Silver Medalist 2001 Southeast Asian Games
• Champions 2004 Malaysia Super League
• Champions 2006 Malaysia FA Cup

International Goals

References