Heavy heart: Former national striker Safee Sali announcing his retirement from professional football at the age of 39.
KUALA LUMPUR: Safee Sali, one of the most prolific national strikers in the modern era, has hung up his boots at the age of 39.
The 2010 AFF Cup champion and Golden Boot winner announced his retirement yesterday after a glorious 19 years in the M-League, which saw him win the Super League, FA Cup and Malaysia Cup multiple times.
He had turned out for Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak, Selangor, Indonesian side Pelita Jaya, Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), PKNS and Petaling Jaya City.
The Kajang-born player also has the distinction of being the first Malaysian footballer to play in two Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup finals with JDT in 2015 (won) and KL City in 2022 (lost).
He was also instrumental in helping Malaysia win the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup for the first time in 2010. He also picked up the Golden Boot award for scoring five goals in the regional competition.
Malaysia have not won the AFF Cup since then.
Safee, who had scored 47 goals with Harimau Malaya and 136 goals at the club level, was choked with emotion as he pondered over his football journey.
Safee, who was even compared to Mokhtar Dahari at times, said he decided to retire after the M-League clubs lost interest in him.
“I have always worked hard in matches and training but when people don’t trust your abilities ... it hurts and I felt there’s no point in stressing myself out anymore,” said Safee, who also paid tribute to his fans, colleagues, clubs and sponsors who stood by and supported him over the years.
“I’ve seen many ups and down since I started my career as a 17-year-old. I have to thank a lot of people for their support and I learned a lot when I moved from KL to Selangor and then to Pelita Jaya in Indonesia. I then came back to join JDT.’’
Commenting on his future plans, Safee said football will still remain a big part of his life.
“I want to use my experience and knowledge to give back to my beloved country by being an enabler for the next generation of Malaysian footballers. I’m excited to announce that I’m working on establishing a football academy that will aim to nurture young talent at the highest level.
“I’m also in the works of co-producing a documentary titled ‘SEPULUH’ which will showcase the story of my life and footballing career.”
Safee is also joining Astro Arena as a football pundit for the national league and will also announce the soon-to-be-launched “Sports Tarik’’, a YouTube channel dedicated to covering and amplifying interesting topics and insights on personalities in the world of sports.
