Shahril Ishak

In this Malay name, there is no family name. The name Ishak is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Shahril.

Shahril Ishak

Shahril playing for LionsXII in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Mohammad Shahril bin Ishak
Date of birth	(1984-01-23) 23 January 1984 (age 39)
Place of birth	Singapore
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder/Forward
Youth career
2000–2002	National Football Academy
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2006	Young Lions	201	(56)
2007–2010	Home United	98	(42)
2011	Persib Bandung	7	(1)
2012	Medan Chiefs	32	(5)
2012–2013	LionsXII	40	(23)
2013–2016	Johor Darul Ta'zim II	75	(23)
2017	Warriors	27	(16)
2018–2021	Lion City Sailors	53	(24)
2021–2022	Hougang United	6	(0)
International career‡
2003–2018	Singapore	146	(14)
Medal record Men's football Representing   Singapore Sea Games Sea Games 2007 Football Asean Football Championship Winner AFF Suzuki Cup 2004 2004 Winner AFF Suzuki Cup 2007 2007 Winner AFF Suzuki Cup 2012 2012
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 January 2018 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 November 2018

Shahril Ishak (born 23 January 1984) is a Singaporean former footballer who last played as a central-midfielder, winger or striker for Singapore Premier League club Hougang United and the Singapore National Team. A former captain of the Singapore national football team and winner of the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup MVP, Shahril led Singapore to become the first nation to win four titles in the tournament's history. He followed it up by winning the 2012 AFF Championship Most Valuable Player and the AFF Player of the Year (Men) award in 2013. ^[1]

Along with Baihakki Khaizan, Hassan Sunny and Khairul Amri, Shahril was in the pioneer batch of the National Football Academy in 2000. ^[2]

Club career

Young Lions

Shahril joined the newly created Young Lions ahead of the 2003 S.League season and soon made his international debut. After four seasons, Shahril left the Young Lions in 2007 to join Home United.

Home United

Shahril made his Home United debut in at the start of the 2007 season. He played his final game for Home United on 21 September 2010, scoring two crucial goals against title rivals Tampines Rovers. He then left for Indonesia with five games remaining in the S.League season. He finished his last season in Home United with 17 goals to his name and was the third highest scorer during the 2010 S.League season. ^[3] He also won the 2010 S.League Player of the Year award. ^[4]

Persib Bandung

In 2010, Shahril signed a 1-year contract with Indonesian side, Persib Bandung, along with his fellow Singapore national football team player, Baihakki Khaizan. ^[5]

Medan Chiefs

In February 2011, Shahril signed a one-year deal worth $400,000 with Liga Primer Indonesia side, Medan Chiefs. He then went on to score 8 league goals in 32 matches for Medan Chiefs. ^[5]

LionsXII

Shahril returned to Singapore with newly formed club side LionsXII in December 2011. During his stint at LionsXII, he won the 2013 Malaysia Super League title in his second season as well as scoring 17 goals in 34 appearances, finishing as the club top scorer in the 2013 season.

Johor Darul Ta'zim II

Shahril Ishak as LionsXII captain receiving the 2013 Malaysia Super League trophy from Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong after beating FELDA United at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

Shahril signed a 4-year contract at the end of the 2013 Malaysia Super League by joining Malaysia Premier League club, Johor Darul Ta'zim II. He was given the number 17 shirt upon his arrival to the club. He was appointed as the captain for his new club in the 2014 Malaysia Premier League. He was converted back to a centre midfielder/play-maker role and led his new club to a 5th placing position, finishing the season with 7 goals and 8 assists for his new team. He led Johor Darul Ta'zim II for the 2015 Malaysia Premier League as the captain again, and led his club to a 5th placing position again, finishing the season with 5 goals and 6 assists. In total, Shahril scored 23 goals in 75 appearances for JDT II between 2014 and 2016. ^[5]

Warriors FC

Sharil returned to Singapore to play in the S.League with Warriors FC for the 2017 S.League campaign together with Baihakki Khaizan. ^[6] He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–3 win over the Garena Young Lions and notched his first brace for the club in a 2–2 draw with Home United, scoring both goals in the final 9 minutes of the match, extending the Warriors' unbeaten run at the start of the season to 6 games. ^{[7] [8] [9]} He scored a further two goals in the Warriors' tenth league game of the season, sealing a 2–0 win over Geylang International to end a wretched two months spell for his club, where they only won once and was dumped out of the Singapore Cup. ^[10] Shahril had a great season despite his advancing years, scoring 1/3 of his team's goals (11) and playing in all 24 league games, starting 23 of them. ^[11]

Return to Home United (Now known as Lion City Sailors)

Sharil returned to Home United for the newly revamp 2018 Singapore Premier League season, coming into replace last season's top-scorer Stipe Plazibat who had left for Thailand as well as Khairul Nizam who had moved in the other direction to Warriors FC. ^[4]

In 2020, Home United was privatised by new owner, Forrest Li and was rebranded as Lion City Sailors. In his first season with the sailors, Shahril scored appeared 9 times and scored 3 in all club competitions.

Hougang United

After 4 season with his previous club, Sharil joined Hougang United in January 2021. ^[12] He helped them win the 2022 Singapore Cup, their first ever piece of silverware in the club history.

On 21 February 2023, he announced his retirement from football at age of 39.

International career

Singapore's most natural creative midfielder to emerge in recent years, Shahril quickly established himself as the heartbeat of the Lions engine room since he made his international debut aged just 19 against Maldives on 4 March 2003. ^[13]

With winger Ridhuan Muhammad, defender Baihakki Khaizan and keeper Hassan Sunny, he was part of the "NFA Gang of Four", the quartet which had played together since their early teenage years and earned senior international honours in 2003.

He has been employed in various positions across the midfield by coach Radojko Avramović, but Shahril staked a strong claim for an influential central role with a series of convincing performances there in the second half of 2004.

He played a major role in the victory in the Tiger Cup in 2005 and also the 2007 AFF Championship, He was also part of the 2005 SEA Games squad and the 2006 Asian Games.

Shahril Ishak marking Juventus star, Andrea Pirlo in a pre-season friendly in August 2014.

He was part of the Singapore Under-23 team that took part in the 2007 Southeast Asian Games in Korat, Thailand that won a bronze medal.

Capped for Singapore at senior, U23, U18 and U16 levels.

In August 2010 Shahril was revealed as the new captain of the national team, and led the Lions for the AFF Suzuki Cup in December.

On 24 February 2011, Shahrill Ishak converted a penalty into a goal in a 2–2 draw against Azerbaijan national football team.

Shahril is an inductee of the FIFA Century Club. ^[13]

As captain, he was instrumental in Singapore's 2012 AFF Championship win, scoring 4 goals in 7 appearances to help the Lions win their 4th title. ^[14]

Singapore selection

Shahril was selected as part of the Singapore Selection squad for The Sultan of Selangor's Cup to be held on 6 May 2017. ^[15]

Personal life

Away from the pitch, Shahril is also the founder of inlovebytns, a clothing brand jointly managed with his wife, Nur Hidayah, that was started in late 2014. The business began in 2013 as a streetwear label called The Number Seventeen – a reference to Shahril's jersey number and TNS for short. All TNS apparel are designed by Shahril. ^[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 10 Oct 2021. Caps and goals may not be correct.

Club	Season	S.League		Singapore Cup		Singapore League Cup		Asia		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Young Lions	2003	??	??	-	-	-	-	—		??	??
	2004	??	??	-	-	-	-	—		??	??
	2005	??	??	-	-	-	-	—		??	??
	2006	??	??	-	-	-	-	—		??	??
	Total	101	20	0	0	0	0	0	0	101	20
Home United	2007	??	??	-	-	-	-	—		??	??
	2008	??	8	-	-	-	-	—		??	8
	2009	23	0	-	-	-	-	—		23	0
	2010	29	17	1	0	-	-	—		30	17
	Total	98	42	1	0	0	0	0	0	99	42
Club	Season	Indonesia Super League		Indonesia FA Cup		Indonesia League Cup		Asia		Total
Persib Bandung	2010–2011	11	0	-	-	-	-	—		11	0
	Total	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
Medan Chiefs	2011–2012	32	8	-	-	-	-	—		32	8
	Total	32	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	32	8
Club	Season	Malaysia Super League		Malaysia FA Cup		Malaysia Cup		Asia		Total
LionsXII	2012 [17]	19	10	3	1	10	3	—		32	14
	2013 [18]	21	8	1	0	6	1	—		28	9
	Total	40	18	4	1	16	4	0	0	60	23
Johor Darul Takzim II	2014	??	??	??	??	??	??	—		??	??
	2015	??	??	??	??	??	??	—		??	??
	2016	??	??	??	??	??	??	—		??	??
	Total	75	23	0	0	0	0	0	0	75	23
Club	Season	S.League		Singapore Cup		Singapore League Cup		Asia		Total
Warriors	2017	24	10	1	0	4	4	0	0	29	14
	Total	24	10	1	0	4	4	0	0	29	14
Home United	2018	23	13	5	2	0	0	12	5	40	19
	2019	16	7	1	0	0	0	3	0	20	7
	Total	39	20	6	2	0	0	15	5	60	26
Lion City Sailors	2020	9	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	3
	Total	9	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	3
Hougang United	2021	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
	2022	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
Career total		437	145	11	3	16	4	15	5	479	167

• Young Lions and LionsXII are ineligible for qualification to AFC competitions in their respective leagues.

International

International goals

No	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	28 January 2004	National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore	Norway	2–2	2-5	Friendly
2	29 December 2004	KLFA Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Myanmar	4–2	4–3	2004 Tiger Cup
3	11 October 2005	Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia	Cambodia	0-1	0-2	Friendly
4	11 October 2005	Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia	Cambodia	0-2	0-2	Friendly
5	15 January 2007	National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore	Laos	4–0	11–0	2007 ASEAN Football Championship
6	24 February 2012	The Sevens, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Azerbaijan	1–2	2–2	Friendly
7	19 November 2012	Jurong West Stadium, Jurong, Singapore	Pakistan	3-0	4–0	Friendly
8	25 November 2012	Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Malaysia	1–0	3–0	2012 AFF Suzuki Cup
9				2–0
10	1 December 2012	Shah Alam Stadium, Selangor, Malaysia	Laos	1–2	4–3	2012 AFF Suzuki Cup
11				2–2
12	5 March 2014	Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat, Oman	Oman	3-1	3-1	2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification
13	10 October 2014	Mong Kok Stadium, Mong Kok, Hong Kong	Hong Kong	2-1	2-1	Friendly
14	17 November 2014	Yishun Stadium, Yishun, Singapore	Cambodia	3-2	4–2	Friendly

Honours

Club

LionsXII

• Malaysia Super League: 2013

Hougang United

• Singapore Cup: 2022

International

Singapore

• ASEAN Football Championship: 2004, 2007, 2012
• Southeast Asian Games bronze medal: 2007

Individual

• S.League Player of the Year: 2010
• Tiger Beer Goal of the Year: 2010 (40', Home United vs SAFFC on 16 July)
• AFF Championship Most Valuable Player: 2012
• AFF Player of the Year (Men): 2013
• ASEAN Football Federation Best XI: 2013
• Singapore Premier League Team of the Year: 2018

See also

• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps

References

1. "Football: S'pore sweep inaugural AFF awards, with Lions, Shahril & Raddy leading the way". The Straits Times. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
2. "Interview With Baihakki Khaizan". FAS. Archived from the original on 3 September 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
3. Tan, Kenneth. "S.League football: Shahril Ishak hits farewell goal in Home United's victory over Tampines". RED SPORTS.
4. "Shahril returns Home, joins Protectors for 2018 season". FourFourTwo. 1 January 2018. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
5. "The Singaporean footballers who tried their luck overseas". FourFourTwo. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
6. "Warriors sign up Shahril Ishak and Baihakki Khaizan". TODAYonline.
7. "S.League.com – Warriors FC". sleague.com. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
8. "Derby day draw as Shahril haunts former club". FourFourTwo. 22 April 2017. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
9. "Young Lions Unable To Hold on To Lead | Young Lions". younglions.com.sg. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
10. "Shahril double fires Warriors to victory". The New Paper. 17 June 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
11. "FFT'S S.League XI of 2017: Who makes the cut?". FourFourTwo. 22 November 2017. Archived from the original on 14 October 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
12. "Singapore stalwart Shahril Ishak joins Hougang United – Football Association of Singapore". spl.sg. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
13. "FIFA Century Club fact sheet" (PDF). FIFA. 12 April 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2013.
14. "Where are they now? Singapore's AFF Suzuki Cup 2012 Champions". FourFourTwo. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
15. "Singapore Selection Squad for the Sultan of Selangor's Cup Revealed – Football Association of Singapore" . Retrieved 2 July 2021.
16. "Off the football pitch, Shahril scores on fashion runway" . Retrieved 24 April 2017.
17. "LionsXII fixtures and results for 2012 season". LionsXII. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
18. "LionsXII fixtures and results for 2013 season". LionsXII. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2014.

Notes

• International caps milestones

• 115th – Syria, 15 November 2013 "FIFA Century Club fact sheet" (PDF). FIFA. 11 December 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2013.
• 117th – Oman, 5 March 2014 "FIFA Century Club fact sheet" (PDF). FIFA. 10 March 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2014.

External links

• Shahril Ishak at National-Football-Teams.com

Sporting positions
Preceded by Noh Alam Shah	Singapore national team captain 2010–2018	Succeeded by Hariss Harun