Shahdan Sulaiman

Shahdan bin Sulaiman (born 9 May 1988), better known as Shahdan, is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays as a central-midfielder most recently for Singapore Premier League club Geylang International and the Singapore national team. He is known for his free-kick abilities and long-range efforts.

A versatile player, Shahdan is also capable of playing either as a Defensive Midfielder, Attacking Midfielder and occasionally a centre-back.

Club career

Early career Shahdan previously played for S.League clubs Home United, Tampines Rovers & Young Lions. He moved to play for the LionsXII in the Malaysia Super League for the 2012 season. In 2012, while playing for the LionsXII, Shahdan Sulaiman's impressive form had attracted the attention of the Thai scouts from Pattaya United F.C. who likened him to be a player in the mould of Kaka due to his vision and passing ability. He was briefly considered by the Thai club to join as part of their foreign Asian player scheme, but the move did not happen.

Tampines Rovers He joined Tampines Rovers in the 2013 season after he was left out of the LionsXII squad as the squad was mostly made up of U-23 players in preparation of the Southeast Asian Games.

In 2013, he signed a 23 months contract with his old club Tampines Rovers. He finished the 2013 season with 4 goals and 9 assists. At the end of 2014, while playing for the national team in the AFF Championship, he picked up an injury which ruled him out for 6 months of the 2015 season.

Back to LionsXII Following his recovery from a long-term injury he picked up at the end of 2014, Shahdan re-joined the LionsXII in 2015. He made his long awaited comeback in a game against Sime Darby as a late substitute in May 2015. In his next match against ATM FA, he scored with his first touch of the ball and made his first start in July, against Kelantan.

Re-signing for the Stags In January 2016, after the disbandment of LionsXII, he went back to Tampines Rovers FC, although he has had to take a huge pay cut. Shahdan played a key role in the team, starting 10 out of 10 league games for the stags before he then missed a huge chunk of the season due to an injury that he picked up in the 90th minute of an AFC Cup tie with Selangor at the Singapore Sports Hub.

Shahdan remained with the stags for the 2017 S.League season. He had a good season, scoring 6 goals in all competitions, with his performances attracting interest from MSL side Melaka United.

Melaka United Shahdan signed for Malaysia Super League side Melaka United for the 2018 season on a season long loan from the Stags to fill their ASEAN foreign player slot. On 26 August 2018, in the Malaysia Cup fixture vs PDRM, he scored the 4th goal of the match with a free kick in a 6-1 away victory.

Returning to Tampines Rovers Shahdan returned to the Stags for the 2019 Singapore Premier League season and had a stellar season where he was one of three nominees for the Player of the Year award.

Lion City Sailors Shahdan then signed for the Singapore Premier League's first privatised club, Lion City Sailors for the 2020 Singapore Premier League season. However, he overcame these issues and established himself as a key player for Hougang United in the 2024 Singapore Premier League season with one goal and three assists from 14 appearances.

8 June 2019, he scored a free kick and got himself an assist in a 4-3 win against Solomon Islands.

In the 2020 AFF Championship 2nd leg semi-finals fixture vs Indonesia, with one swerve of his right foot, Shahdan sent a free-kick to the top left corner of Indonesia’s net, which gave nine-man Singapore a shock 2-1 lead, although the Lions ultimately lost in extra time.

1 Includes Singapore Cup and Malaysia FA Cup. 2 Includes Malaysia Cup and Singapore League Cup.

International goals Scores and results list Singapore's goal tally first.

No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition1.24 Feb 2012The Sevens Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates2–22–2Friendly2. 8 June 2012 Jalan Besar Stadium, Kallang, Singapore 2–1 2–2 2012 Causeway Challenge 3. 23 March 2018 National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore 2–1 3–2 Friendly 4. 8 June 2019 2–2 4–3 5. 11 November 2021 Al Hamriya Sports Club Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates 1–2 1–26. 25 December 2021 National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore 1–2 4–2 2020 AFF Championship

Honours

Club Tampines Rovers S. League: 2011, 2013 Singapore Cup: 2019

Lion City Sailors

Singapore Premier League: 2021 Singapore Community Shield: 2022

Hougang United

Singapore Cup Runner-ups (1): 2023

International AFF Suzuki Cup: 2012

Individual

Singapore Premier League Team of the Year: 2019, 2021

Others Singapore Selection Squad He was selected as part of the Singapore Selection squad for The Sultan of Selangor's Cup to be held on 24 August 2019.