PETALING JAYA: After an arresting season with the Cops, Police midfielder Fadi Awad has been rewarded with a call-up to the Jordanian national team for the Asian Cup in Qatar from Jan 12-Feb 10.
The 30-year-old defensive midfielder, who last played for his countryin 2016, said it was truly an honour to be back and was heartened to know that his performances were noticed by coach Hussein Ammouta.
Awad has been one of the best defensive midfielders in the Super League and is always a mainstay for the Cops as he played 30 matches in all competitions this season.
The former Al-Wehdat and Al-Tadhamon player, who stands only 1.67m, is known as a pocket dynamite due to his superb work rate and ability to help the defence with his interceptions and tackles.
With those qualities in mind, Jordan will be hoping that Awad can produce such performances in Qatar, where they will also be facing Malaysia in the first game of Group E at the Al-Janoub Stadium on Jan 16.
Awad is certainly looking forward to taking on the nation that gave him the platform to showcase his talents.
“It’s my dream to fight for my national team and I’m always ready for that, especially in the Asian Cup,” he said.
“The Malaysian team have developed well in the last three years but our national team are strong enough to win this game.
“I’ve chatted with my Malaysian mates about this game, but my focus is on getting three points for my country as we’re looking to get into the semi-final.”
Awad, who was a police sergeant in Jordan, said it was fitting for him to be donning Police colours in the Malaysian League.
“In Jordan, most of the football players work in the Army or Police as a second job. So when my agent told me about the Police offer in Malaysia, I thought that would be interesting as I like the police atmosphere.’’
