Instead, it s Lion City Sailors star Saifullah Akbar making it clear that he will not let his stature get in the way of fulfilling his lofty ambitions.
Standing just 1.65m tall, the gifted midfielder may be smaller than the average player, but with a fiery determination and unrelenting attitude, one wouldn’t bet against him realising his dream of representing juggernauts of European football in the coming years.
Courtesy of his father Akbar Nawas’ relationship with the game, the 22-year-old has been in love with football ever since he was a child.
“I started playing football when I was five. I remember my dad brought me to a street soccer court to play with the older boys,” Saifullah said in an exclusive interview with
Goal. “I’m not necessarily from Singapore originally, but I classify myself as Singaporean.
“My parents both grew up in India and met in college. They then got jobs in Hong Kong, and they migrated and lived there for around 11 years. Singapore is my home, definitely. I feel most comfortable here, but I’m not your regular Singaporean kid, because I went to an international school and I wasn’t born here. Singapore means everything to me, it’s my home, but probably not the same way a local would feel because I don’t have ancestors here. It’s all I know, though.