mo4ch:> Meet Harith Haikal - Malaysia's answer to Joe Gomez who's ready to show what he can do at the highest level | Mo4ch News - Mo4ch News

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Monday, April 20, 2020

mo4ch:> Meet Harith Haikal - Malaysia's answer to Joe Gomez who's ready to show what he can do at the highest level | Mo4ch News

From Santokh Singh to Aidil Zafuan, Malaysia has always been blessed with star quality in defence and in Harith, a new star is on the horizon.

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the biggest names in world football, if not the biggest. A career that has spanned 17 years and playing for the world’s biggest clubs in Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus - it is no wonder that he has been an inspiration to many young budding footballers.

One of them is Harith Haiqal, who is considered one of the premier young talents in Malaysian football, who got into football having spent years watching his idol thrilled and excited fans all around the world. Originating from Klang, the 18-year-old was one of the stalwarts of the Malaysia Under-18 side in their run to a second place finish in the 2019 AFF U18 Championship.

“It has always been my dream to be a footballer. When I was young, Cristiano Ronaldo was the one I admired and he’s the reason why I got hooked into football. So to be able to become a professional and to get that income to help my family, this is a dream come true,” Harith told Goal.

Playing for his school at Under-12, Harith was spotted and invited to join the National Football Development Programme (NFDP) and was earmarked for the elite squad that was the Mokhtar Dahari Academy (AMD). Initially starting out as a striker, it was there at AMD that Harith found his true calling as a centre back, thanks to the one former director of the program.

“When I first started playing, I was actually a striker. It was when I went to AMD that I was converted into a defender. Coach Lim Teong Kim was the one who told me that I’m better suited to be a centre back. At that time there was a lot of competition for the striking position including people like Luqman (Hakim), so I thought I’ll give it a go and hope for the best.

“When I started to play there, I got more and more comfortable with the position and now I cannot imagine playing anywhere else on the pitch.”

Harith Haiqal, Selangor 2

With the new position comes a different perspective and Harith started to concentrate more on what players in his position would do, down came the Ronaldo posters and up went a Sergio Ramos one. Such is his ability even at a young age, Harith’s performances impressed Datuk Ong Kim Swee enough to take him to the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Philippines.

With Syamer Kutty Abba and Dominic Tan present in the squad, Harith was reduced to an observer role but one which allowed him to see where exactly he was lacking.

“Watching from the bench during the SEA Games I saw that I needed to bulk up, in terms of my physicality. I saw that size was very important for me to compete. You can see Dominic who is strong and has to play against strikers who are equally as strong, if not more. That is where I know I had to improve on.

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“They were confident on the ball and confident in themselves, so there were plenty of things that I managed to pick up despite not playing.”

The eldest of five siblings, there’s a lot of growing up for Harith to do on and off the pitch. Joining Selangor 2 after his time at AMD was up, it was exactly the challenge he was seeking. For any teenager, the Premier League can be a very unforgiving division to learn the ropes but it has been priceless thus far for Harith, who has started all four of Selangor 2’s matches thus far.

“The purpose of Selangor 2 is to give players like me exposure and experience. We are young but we have been given a chance. To go up against more senior players, players who have played for the senior national team before and people who have been in the professional game for a long time - I can only learn more and quicker!”


Source : Football News, Live Scores, Results & Transfers | Goal.com

Meet Harith Haikal - Malaysia's answer to Joe Gomez who's ready to show what he can do at the highest level

Meet Harith Haikal - Malaysia's answer to Joe Gomez who's ready to show what he can do at the highest level