KUALA LUMPUR: Former national football player Datuk M. Karathu said the national football arena lost of a legend with the passing of Shaharuddin Abdullah due to asthma at Taiping Hospital, Perak, early this morning.
Karathu,who has also coached a number of teams, stated that the late Shaharuddin, who was once his teammate during the Merdeka Tournament in the 1960s, was a highly talented player and formidable striker, especially when given the responsibility to play in the forward position.
“When we played representing the national team during the Merdeka Tournament in the 1960s, he was still young but already a reliable goal scorer. His shots were powerful, and he scored many goals for the team.
“He was a prolific striker, and producing great strikers like him is challenging, so for me, he is among the best former players,“ he said when contacted by Bernama today.
Shaharuddin, who represented the country in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, was confirmed to have passed away by his second child, Shahrina Shaharuddin, 42, due to asthma at the age of 75 at Taiping Hospital in Perak, at 5:07 am today.
Shaharuddin began playing for the national team in 1967, and his agility on the field earned him the nicknames ‘The Black Cat’ and ‘Sharpshooter.’
He also played for the Penang team from 1967 to 1969 but later joined the Penjara FC team until 1973 before returning to play for the Penang team from 1974 to 1982.
To date, Shaharuddin is also the fourth-highest goal scorer in Malaysia, with a total of 39 goals in 70 appearances. –Bernama
