Faliq Firdaus (FF13)
Haziq Zikri Elias (HZ)
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| Haziq Zikri Elias, 20 |
FF13 : Haziq, who you look upto when you were small?
HZ : When I was small I was amazed from watching the then Barcelona striker Ronaldo (Brazilian), he was my idol. He would terrorize defenders with his pace and superb dribbling with composure in front of goal- he had everything I thought. Pass him the ball and he would do the rest.
FF13 : Based on your experience back in Stevenage, football is seen as a lucrative career in England, do you see Malaysia is heading towards it in the near future? if not, what are the mechanism that can be done to make it achievable?
HZ : From my experience and with friends currently playing in England, I see that everyone in England plays football, literally everyone! There's always new talent coming in from everywhere and the youth players signed on with professional academy teams are always fighting to keep their place, because they can so easily be released if another player is better than them. Simple as that. So many of my ex-team mates in England have come from professional academies that didnt make the grade or because of injury. Football there is treated as a business, a cut-throat business. You have to be at your very top every single day to prove your manager and peers you deserve your week's wages. Fans come to the stadium to watch their players play and they expect a performance, its what us players are paid to do for the fans. The players that get the professional contracts are true athletes and model professionals in and outside of training. They look after their body- (look after their diet, have enough sleep, and stay hydrated) But of course being human; once or twice a month you can have the odd takeaway and when its appropriate timing to have fun they have fun.
From playing in Malaysia- The pressure is not as high as it is in England. And sadly the mentality is not the same. Players not playing as if it could be their last day. However under Coach Rajagobal he instills a good mentality among his players (a winning mentality and never say die). And it shows in the players that successfully won the SEA Games and AFF Suzuki Cup. I believe if we keep Coach Rajagobal, Malaysia can keep on improving step by step and encouraging more fans to come and support the MSL. Its not that easy to give an answer for this question, there's a lot I would like to write on this issue but I dont want to bore you all. Maybe another day I will share my views on this.
FF13 : Why didnt you pursue your career in England, instead of choosing Malaysia?
HZ : I tried my luck in England, believe me I would love to play for an English team any division as long as its professional of course! But sadly I wasnt good enough to get the professional contract at 18. Only 1 player got that contract from my U18s team. Competition is fierce over there, at 18 over there, its just too late to play for a professional team unless you have some luck and get scouted from the lower non-league teams like Chris Smalling, Ian Wright, and Ben Foster was!
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| Haziq(hitam), masa game. |
FF13 : What is your first impression of Malaysian Super League?
HZ : I love playing in these big Malaysian stadiums its just a shame its not packed every game. Players here are all fast and aggressive with sound technical ability. I wish the refereeing standards would be better because their not really protecting the players from dangerous tackles- if a player deserves a red card just show it and dont be scared to accept abuse from the fans or players. I wish more football pitches here were flat and even haha. Im looking forward to going up against the best of the super league this year InsyaAllah.
FF13 : The strongest team in the MSL?
HZ : Hmmm I would say Negri Sembilan this year, they've invested in some new players and they look strong with Farizal in goal and Faakri upfront and now that Aidil is back from injury! when Zaquan comes back, I predict Faakri and him will do some damage to defenders in the MSL.
FF13 : Your dream striking partner in the national team, someday?
HZ : I trained with these 2 players for a bit and they were top class watching Norsyarul and Faakri linking up constantly and scoring goals for fun in training. I would be more than happy playing with either of them if I ever get the chance, I would like to experience playing with Zaquan but the opportunity hasnt come my way yet.
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| Haziq yang berambut Mohican. |
FF13 : If you had to choose somebody, who would be the best player in the world right now?
HZ : I use to think Cristiano Ronaldo but Messi is just too terrifying. Looks like the ball is glued to his feet! He can turn a game on its head in a matter of minutes, he never hides and always has an impact, I hope arsenal can contain him for the away leg again.
FF13 : What is your long term plan in improving your career as a footballer?
HZ : Well, I'm just getting back into training with the squad so for now I'm just concentrating on getting my match sharpness back but in the long term I hope to improve on my touches, vision in bringing players into attack, short sprint burst and composure in front of goal when shooting.
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| Harimau Muda A |
FF13 : What is your favourite pair of boots?
HZ : Mercurial Vapours, the 2nd and third edition years ago but im starting to really like the new F50's (Messi's current boots).
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| Mercurial Vapour II, Haziq's fav. |
FF13 : I heard you are suffering from an injury? is it true? what kind of injury?
HZ : Yeah thats right, Im recovering from a torn ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) injury in my knee. Longest rehab I've been through (coming up to 8 months now!)
FF13 : Apart from football, what are your interests?
HZ : Well I'm a big gamer, I love to play Fifa 11 on the games console (Xbox360 or PS3). Anyone dare to give me a game? ;) Cinema now and then when there is a movie worth watching, Karaoke even though im terrible haha. I like to play sports in general, any type of sports especially basketball.
FF13 : Thanx Haziq for answering all of the questions. Apa Kata Faliq is glad to be the medium for all the fans to know more about their idol.
HZ : Thank you very much guys for all your questions, I hope I answered all your questions to your liking. Hope you guys will keep supporting Malaysia football and come to the stadium whenever you have the chance. Show your support tonight when Malaysia take on Pakistan for the Olympic qualifying at the Shah Alam stadium!
Wah, Haziq challenge FIFA 11 nampak, ahhaaa. Pape pun, aku respect Haziq. Sangat friendly with all of his fans. Kalau korang masih samar-samar pasal Haziq Zikri (born 5 April 1991 in Kuala Lumpur ) ni, dulu dia pernah kluar Buletin Utama TV3 pada masa awal-awal kemunculannya. Tak silap aku, Ong Kim Swee pernah kata, physical attributes dia sangat baik dan memiliki ciri-ciri penyerang yang baik. Namanya sering diperkatakan di internet. Aku berharap Haziq Zikri terus success dan memberi cabaran kepada national teammates yang lain, seperti Izzaq Faris, Zaquan Adha, Shakir Ali, dan Safee Sali.
*Sorry Haziq, aku sebat gambar-gambar hang. Hehehehe.
lovely Haziq <3
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