SINGAPORE – Former Lions captain Shahril Ishak has called time on his 19-year professional career, he confirmed in an Instagram post on Monday.
Shahril told The Straits Times on Tuesday: “I’m 39 now, and I think it is the best time for me to step away as a player. I did what my body told me to after I cleared my mind and planned my future out. It was a great honour to play for and captain my country.”
The midfielder is Singapore’s third-most capped player with 138 appearances, behind centre-backs Daniel Bennett (142) and Baihakki Khaizan (140).
Baihakki, 39, retired in February 2022 and is currently the lead of special projects and ambassador with the Football Association of Singapore. Bennett, 45, last played for Tanjong Pagar United during the 2022 Singapore Premier League (SPL) season and is currently without a club.
Shahril was part of the pioneer batch of National Football Academy graduates in 2002, alongside Baihakki, Hassan Sunny and Khairul Amri.
He recalled that his first national call-up in 2003 was a bittersweet moment. “I was both happy and sad at that moment,” he said. “My late mum was no longer around but I knew she would have been really proud of me. She had always supported me.”
Among his other career highlights, he noted, was sharing the pitch with Brazilian star Ronaldinho in a friendly match against the Brazil Olympic team in July 2008 at the old National Stadium.
Shahril won three Asean Football Federation (AFF) Championships, including consecutive ones in 2004 and 2007.
He added: “Besides when we won back-to-back Suzuki Cup titles in those years under captain Aide Iskandar, I think the best moment in my career is when I captained and led Singapore to the title as MVP (Most Valuable Player) in 2012.”
He led Singapore to their fourth AFF Championship title in 2012 after being appointed as captain two years before.
In that edition, Shahril scored four of his 14 international goals in seven games. His last international appearance was against the Philippines at the 2018 AFF Championship as the Lions failed to reach the semi-finals.
In his 14 seasons in the S-League, the SPL’s predecessor, Shahril scored close to 100 goals. He last played for Hougang United during the 2022 season, after spending the bulk of his career at Home United (who were later privatised as Lion City Sailors), where he racked up seven campaigns in two spells. He also played in Indonesia (Persib Bandung, Medan Chiefs) and Malaysia (Johor Darul Takzim II).
He won the S-League Player of the Year and Goal of the Year awards with Home in 2010 but captured only one league title, when the LionsXII won the 2013 Malaysia Super League.
Speaking about the next generation of Singapore footballers, Shahril hopes they will not shy away from hard work.
He said: “There’s much to be done. We cannot compare my era and their era. But there is no easy way out. They have to train doubly hard and dream big because that is the only way.”
Shahril, who is pursuing an AFC B coaching licence, will go into private coaching after his retirement. He added: “I’m doing my best to improve my coaching skills for now. I want to give back to the clubs and the next generation.”
