'Once in a lifetime': Singapore footballer Zulqarnaen Suzliman on what it's like facing Spurs

SINGAPORE: As Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison wiggles his way into the penalty box, he drags a dangerous cross across the face of the goal.

Lurking is his teammate, South Korean superstar Son Heung-min.

There is widespread adulation for Son in Singapore. The announcing of his name before kickoff is greeted with cheers of approval and there is a frisson of excitement which greets his every touch of the ball.

Many in the excited crowd think they are about to witness him net the equaliser at the Singapore Sports Hub.

But they didn't count on Lion City Sailors footballer Zulqarnaen Suzliman, all 1.69m of him.

The full-back slides in at full-stretch, knocking the ball away for a corner. His heroics win him high-fives from teammates.

Spurs are repelled once again, for now.

The game on Wednesday (Jul 26), though a friendly, is a special one for Zulqarnaen. One year ago, he wouldn't have been able to walk properly, let alone kick a football.

"WE WERE SHOCKED"

The day before the game, the Sailors were being put through their paces at a closed-door training session at Bishan Stadium.

It was there that this reporter spoke to Zulqarnaen, who was sporting a new look. His hair was dyed blonde, the sides trimmed neatly. He doesn't have any pre-match superstitions, but before big games he often gets a haircut.

"(It helps me) to feel good, look nice. I would always cut my hair two days before national team games. But if my hair was still short, I won't cut it," he said.

It was via a text in the club's WhatsApp group chat about two weeks ago that Zulqarnaen found out that the Sailors would face Spurs.

"We were shocked," he said. "To be able to play Spurs is a once-in-a-lifetime (opportunity)."

The Singapore Premier League (SPL) side replaced Serie A club AS Roma, who had initially been slated to face Spurs.

The match between Spurs and the Sailors is part of the inaugural Singapore Festival of Football which is running from Jul 26 to Aug 2. Other matches during the event include Liverpool's matches against Bayern Munich and Leicester City.

Taking the field against Spurs would be a special moment for Zulqarnaen, who had missed the Sailors' previous friendly with a big European side. They faced Borussia Dortmund last November and fell to a 2-7 defeat.

"It was an opportunity lost," he said. "(But) opportunities will come eventually and this Spurs game is a good opportunity for me to play."

The 25-year-old had to go under the knife in August last year after a scan on a left hamstring tear revealed a benign 4cm tumour.

After the surgery came months of painful rehabilitation. "I couldn't walk properly, I couldn't tiptoe, I had to drag my foot. So that was quite scary," he recalled.

"I tried to keep it positive. But sometimes after a long day, you will sit back and think: 'When can I start playing?' All these negative thoughts come to mind, but my mum, 'sister' Fizah (national team and former Sailors physiotherapist Nurhafizah Sujad whom players refer to as sister) and my wife always motivated me."

It was only in January that Zulqarnaen resumed light football-related activities.

Before the match against Spurs, Zulqarnaen was expecting to face the likes of Ivan Perisic, Emerson Royal, and perhaps Son.

"To play against them is a good test for us to see which level we are at ... It's more about experience than the results," said Zulqarnaen, who was told earlier in the week that he would be in the starting 11.

"I KNOW HIS QUALITY"

And it is the mercurial Son who Zulqarnaen goes up against.

He starts the game as right-back, and will have to cope with the 31-year-old Korean's pace and guile. On corners, Zulqarnaen is tasked with marking Wales full-back Ben Davies.

Son does not see much of the ball early on, and looks to drift wide before cutting in, so Zulqarnaen has to be extra sharp.

"I know his quality, I know his style," said Zulqarnaen, speaking to CNA after the match. "It was a privilege to play against him."

As a Spurs penalty appeal is waved away and a player receives treatment, the Singaporean has a chat with Son.

"He was telling me that it was a penalty, (but) I said no!" Zulqarnaen recalled later. "I told him that when I watched him on TV, he looked so small. But in real life, he's really big. He said: 'Oh really?'"

In the stands is Zulqarnaen's wife, his mother Madam Rafeah Awang and the rest of his family.

Mdm Rafeah is one of Zulqarnaen's biggest supporters, and makes it a point to attend all of her sons' games as far as possible.

"He is very committed to what he wants to be," she said before the match. "He always works hard for what he wants to have."

Zulqarnaen's older brother Zulfadhmi plays professionally for SPL side Tanjong Pagar, while his other two brothers play in the Singapore Football League.

"I always tell him to do your very best, do what you can ... and enjoy the game. It is important to enjoy the game," Mdm Rafeah added.

PRE-MATCH PREP

At the Sailors' expansive Mattar Road training center, there was a clatter of boots and a buzz in the air on the afternoon of the game.

A group of boys just within earshot discussed the details of the Spurs game as they headed towards the training pitches.

Minutes later, Zulqarnaen and teammate Rusyaidi Salime arrived.

"I slept very early last night! I think by 11.30pm I was asleep," said Zulqarnaen. "(It was a combination of) being tired plus excited for match. You just want to wake up and play the match."

Zulqarnaen and his teammates trooped into a meeting room for a pre-match meeting. All eyes were on Sailors' head coach Aleksandar Rankovic as he walked them through plans for the evening.

Rankovic wants his players to enjoy the experience, give their opponents a challenge for as long as possible and avoid conceding an early goal. Don't leave anything in the tank, he told his charges.

The idea is to play in a 5-4-1 formation, keeping space between the lines compact and to hit Spurs on the counter-attack.

The starting line-up and substitutes are flashed on the screen - every player will get game time, with most of the team playing about 45 minutes. 

Next, a pre-match meal upstairs.

While some players opted to load up on carbs and others chose fruit, Zulqarnaen kept it light with a small serving of pasta and meatballs, as well as a cup of tea.

Midway through the meal, he was briefed on his defensive set-piece duties. Given the quality of the opponents, Zulqarnaen is told not bomb forward as often as usual to stop any possible Spurs' counter-attack.

On the short journey to the Singapore Sports Hub, Zulqarnaen opted for his usual pre-game Spotify playlist of reggaeton and R&B. It has no title, just the single dance emoji.

"It helps me to get some hype," he said.

Zulqarnaen expected about 50 to 60 people to be in the stands to cheer him on, more than any other game he's played in.

"Even people who are not my close friends but social friends, they DM (direct messaged) me: 'Can't wait to see you play. I've watched you on TV and this is the first time I'm watching you live,'" he added.

A SURPRISE LEAD

Against the run of play, the Sailors lead against their fancied opponents. A delicious Maxime Lestienne cross finds Shawal Anuar, and his touch loops the ball past the despairing Guglielmo Vicario.

"We were hoping we could maintain this scoreline till halftime," said Zulqarnaen, who dashes over to join into the joyous celebrations. "When we scored the goal, we were happy and more motivated."

Stung into action by going behind, Spurs continue on the offensive.

Minutes after his goal-saving challenge, there is a heart-in-mouth moment for Zulqarnaen as a quickly taken free-kick sees Son ghost in from the left. He scores, but the offside flag is up.

There is a sense of relief for Zulqarnaen, who later told me he would have probably got into trouble had that goal stood.

On the stroke of halftime, Spurs get their equaliser as Harry Kane rifles home from the spot after Rui Pires is adjudged to have fouled Pape Matar Sarr.

"If VAR checked, it might have been 50-50?" suggested Zulqarnaen. "But I think overall, the first half was wonderful, to play against quality players ... How we defended and how we scored the goal. We really had a good half."

The half-time talk from Rankovic is "short and sharp".

"The coach was really happy with what he saw, this was what we had trained for," said Zulqarnaen.

Sailors ring in the changes and Zulqarnaen watches the rest of the game from the bench.

But there is no disappointment at having to come off as Zulqarnaen knew that there would be wholesale substitutions.

"This game is more about the exposure for players, to give players an opportunity to play against this kind of team. I think one half was enough for me," he said.

Furthermore, it had been a tiring first half for the pacy full-back who had recently recovered from injury. He clocked about 7km in the first 45 minutes.

Zulqarnaen would witness Spurs dominate in the second half, with Richarlison leading the show as the Brazilian's hat-trick and a goal from Giovani Lo Celso lifted Spurs to victory.

"We were all just motivating the players to keep on going," he said. "We knew Spurs' quality and we knew they were going for the win, so we just wanted to motivate and support our teammates."

The match finishes 5-1 to the away side, who have run out comfortable winners.

There are handshakes all round, and while others exchange shirts, the full-back is not one of them.

"I don't care about swapping shirts," he said. "If I could, if I wanted to, I would have asked from Son. But I would rather keep mine because it is a very rare edition."

It is the name printed on the back of the blue Lion City Sailors jersey which makes it special, he said. For Singapore Premier League games, he is only allowed to have "Zulqarnaen" printed, whereas for friendlies such as today's, his nickname of "Mamat" can be used.

Zulqarnaen and his teammates trot over to acknowledge and thank the Lion City Sailors faithful. "The Crew", as they are known, have been boisterous for much of the game, bringing much of the noise despite being a sliver of blue in a stadium of white.

And before heading down the tunnel, he makes sure to give his family and friends, including his mum, a big wave. "Happy and proud of him," she texted this reporter.

"I got a lot of texts from friends and family who said: 'Oh you did a great job, you really closed Son down'," Zulqarnaen added. 

Later, the amiable footballer was upbeat.

Zulqarnaen declined to give himself a rating for the 45 minutes which he featured. That, he said, is up to the fans. But some media did dish out grades for the Spurs players.

"Found it hard to take on his man, and though looked more reminiscent of his younger self when darting into space, his delivery was subpar," said one football website, which gave Son a 5/10 rating.

"Struggled to carve out opportunities," was the verdict of another, which rated Son 5 as well.

"Overall it's quite a happy day for us. (Playing in front of) 25,000, we got at least a goal against Spurs. This is one of the days that we're going to treasure the most," said Zulqarnaen, before bidding me farewell. 

"Hopefully in the future we can play against these kinds of teams. Who knows, Liverpool might want to play against us?"