KUALA LUMPUR − The debut appearance of young striker Muhammad Hadi Fayyadh Abdul Razak in Japan’s professional football league is the result of sheer hard work after undergoing numerous trials and tribulations with J-League club Azul Claro Numazu.
Despite having just recovered from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, his head coach Masataka Imai said Hadi remained calm and was able to muster his best in all the training sessions.
“Hadi (Fayyadh) came to Japan at the age of 18 and I feel that his first appearance in this league was a reward after going through various challenges here.
"Despite being in a difficult situation before, he always understood his job as a team striker. The team and I are very happy with that (his first appearance),” he said in a statement today.
Imai added that Hadi, who was on loan to the J-League club, also became the focus of football fans in Malaysia after emerging as the first national player to officially play in the J-League.
“I have high hopes to see him in action from now, therefore he must always display his best to contribute to team strength and I am very confident he will continue to find success here,” said Imai.
Meanwhile, Yakult Malaysia managing director Hiroki Yanase stated that he would continue to provide moral support to the player (Hadi) in Japan.
“We are confident that he will continue to perform as a successful footballer and be an inspiration to young footballers in Malaysia, who want to succeed like him.
“We will also continue with our grassroots football development programmes by organising football activities at the school level soon,” Yanase said.
Hadi was also listed for the second match against Fujieda City Hall for the Emperor Cup yesterday.
The young striker has also received the national call-up to join the centralised training camp with the Malaysian Under-23 squad bound for the Hanoi Sea Games in Vietnam next month. – Bernama, April 26, 2022
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