KUALA LUMPUR: Shahrul Saad hopes that when his children google about him, they will read about the football exploits of their father.
And he hopes that his three daughters will read about Malaysia's football glory starting with Thursday's World Cup qualifier against Kyrgyzstan.
Centre-back Shahrul is committed to help Harimau Malaya achieve their goal of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
It will be a long and challenging campaign but he believes the current team have the quality to succeed.
That is the kind of legacy that the Perak-born hopes to leave behind.
The 30-year-old comes from a footballing family. His brothers, Syamsul, 48, and Shahrizal, 36, formerly played for various M-League clubs, including serving their home team, Perak FC, and were briefly with the national team.
Shahrul, who hopes to be remembered for more than just his M-League achievements, said: "I have thought about what I want to leave behind, what type of legacy and obviously I want to be known for positive things.
"As my kids get older, they know how to google my name," he said.
"I hope to inspire my kids
and motivate them and others for the future.
"I have always had this dream, to set up a football academy to unearth talents."
Shahrul, who plays for Johor Darul Ta'zim, has already won nine M-League titles, eight of which was achieved with the Southern Tigers.
Though his match minutes in this season's M-League was curbed by a hamstring injury that sidelined him for two months, national head coach Kim Pan Gon still sees Shahrul as an asset and called him up for the 25-man team for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Kyrgyzstan and Taiwan (Nov 21).
In fact, Pan Gon penciled in Shahrul's name four times this year alone.
His last game for Harimau Malaya was back in June when Malaysia thrashed Papua New Guinea 10-0 in an international friendly.
"I have been waiting for this opportunity (pre-World Cup) and. hopefully, I'll get to play and if I do, I will do my best for Malaysia," said Shahrul.
"Malaysia will play at home against Kyrgyzstan, I think we can use this advantage to win."
