Malaysian footballer
Mohd Shahrul bin Mohd Saad (born 8 July 1993) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as a centre back or a right back for Malaysia Super League club Johor Darul Ta'zim and the Malaysia national team.
Club career
Youth
Shahrul started his career at Perak youth team. He was then transferred to Malaysia national youth setup and has played for Harimau Muda B in the 2011 Malaysia league and Harimau Muda A in the 2012 Singapore S.League. In 2014 he played 22 matches for Harimau Muda in the Australian National Premier Leagues.[2]
Felda United
In 2015, he graduated from the national youth setup and was signed by Felda United. At Felda, he was converted from a defender to a defensive midfielder by head coach Irfan Bakti Abu Salim.[3] He made his debut in the second match of 2015 Malaysia Super League against Sime Darby coming on from a bench in the 81st minute. He made his first start against Johor Darul Ta'zim on 3 May 2015 and become a regular until the end of the season. His only league goal for Felda was in the final league match against Johor Darul Ta'zim, where Felda won 2-1.
Perak
In 2016, Shahrul returned to Perak. He won the 2018 Malaysia Cup with Perak and finished as league runners up in 2018, hence qualified to the AFC Champions League play-off round.
Johor Darul Ta'zim
On 8 May 2021, Shahrul joined Johor Darul Ta'zim. He was given the number 32 shirt. He made his debut against Sabah in the 2021 Malaysia Cup. He also scored his first goal for Johor Darul Ta'zim in the same competition against Kelantan.
International career
In 2012, Shahrul played his first match for the national under-23 team in the final match of 2012 Olympic qualifiers against Syria. He featured in two Southeast Asian Games (2013 and 2015) and 2014 Asian Games for the Malaysia national under-23 team. He was also a part of the 2013 Merdeka Tournament winning team and played for the 2013 Malaysia Universiade team.
Shahrul made his debut for Malaysia on 8 October 2015 in a 3-1 win against Laos.[4][5]
On 10 September 2018, he scored his first international goal against Cambodia in a friendly.
He achieved his 50th cap against the Solomon Islands on 14 June 2023.[6] On 20 June 2023 which was also his 51st cap, he was chosen as the captain for the Malaysia national team against Papua New Guinea.[7][8]
From May to December, Shahrul, along with Goh Sze Fei and Nur Dhabitah Sabri were appointed as the brand ambassadors for Nutrilite Malaysia.[9]
Shahrul was also was a member of the nation's squads at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
Personal life
Shahrul has two older brother who also have played professional football, Shahrizal Saad and Syamsul Saad. Like him, both brothers have played for Perak and Malaysia national team. Shahrul even played under Syamsul when his brother was the head coach of Perak in 2016.[13]
