Former national U-23 midfielder Muhammad Syahid switches to coaching

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16  -- Former national Under-23 midfielder Muhammad Syahid Zaidon has finally decided to call time on his 15 years as a football player and move into coaching.

The 30-year-old former Harimau Muda A player said he made the decision after being offered the position of assistant coach at Akademi Mokhtar Dahari (AMD) in Kuantan, Pahang recently.

“I actually planned to play until I turned 30 and then move into coaching, with the initial plan being to own the A and professional coaching licences before reaching 40 years old. As it turned out, I recently received an offer to be an assistant coach at AMD for one year,” he told Bernama recently.

Although Muhammad Syahid, who hails from Bentong, Pahang, holds a B coaching licence from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) as well as a C licence from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), he knows that he still has a lot to learn in terms of coaching.

He began his football career by representing the national Under-17 side in 2006 before joining the now-defunct Harimau Muda A squad from 2007 to 2013.

He then joined Felda United from 2014 to 2017 before moving to Negeri Sembilan in 2018.

At the international level, he represented the national Under-21 and Under-23 squads from 2008 to 2013, making a total of 16 appearances.

Among his achievements included helping Felda United emerge as Premier league and FA Cup runners-up in 2014 as well as finishing second in the Super League two years later.

He also represented the Harimau Muda A squad in the Singapore League (S-League) in 2012 as well as in the Slovakia League the following year.

-- BERNAMA