The 17-year-old signed a three-year deal with Portuguese Division One club Beira Mar on Monday and will begin his professional career in a couple of months.
Turning professional at any age is never easy, not even for someone as talented and intelligent as the Kuala Lumpur-born Nazmi.
It is his work ethics and determination, as well as being guided by the right person, that has taken Nazmi to where he is today.
Wanted:
Mohd Nazmi Faiz in action during his trial with Portuguese Division One
club side Beira Mar. The club have offered him a three-year contract.
National youth head coach Aminuddin Hussein, the man responsible for churning out young talents at the BJSS since 1999, described Nazmi as an intelligent and gifted footballer.
“Nazmi has football sense and we knew this from the day he stepped into the sports school … and that he is set for bigger things in life,” said Aminuddin yesterday.
Aminuddin and his coaching staff are largely responsible for Nazmi’s and other players rise from the school to the Harimau Muda project squads.
“When Nazmi started with us, he suffered from dehydration and often could not last the pace due to cramps. We worked on his weaknesses with the assistance of the National Sports Institute (NSI) and gradually helped him overcome his shortcomings. As he is quite intelligent, it made our job easier. But we had to push him to the limit in training,” said Aminuddin.
“But then, as a young boy, he tends to be playful. So, we got the ‘rotan’ (cane) to keep him in place all the time. I am glad all the hard work has paid off.
“He is destined to become one of the better midfielders the country has produced, like our former national midfield maestro Azizul Abu Hanifah.
“In fact, we are not surprised to hear that Nazmi has won a contract with the Portuguese club.”
Beira Mar finished the season in 13th place in the 16-team Portuguese Division One with 29 points – just two spots above the relegation zone.
On his stint with the European club, Aminuddin believes Nazmi will not have any problem adapting to the conditions there.
“Nazmi has all the ingredients to excel although he may not be physically big. He is intelligent and skilful and has a good vision of the game. He can use both his legs well and has the natural talent to fit into any team,” said Aminuddin.
National Under-23 coach Ong Kim Swee feels that Nazmi’s feat heralded a new era for Malaysian football.
“This is the beginning of better things to come for our boys. In fact, I am proud of Nazmi and there are a few more of our players being eyed by clubs in Portugal,” said Kim Swee from Slovakia.
He said the Harimau Muda project has proved to be a success with players from the squad going for trials with Vion FC in Slovakia early this year.
“Yes, Nazmi is going to be a role model for Malaysian players. Well, it was by chance that I took him to the SEA Games last November,” said Kim Swee.
It all started when Nazmi received a late call-up to the National Under-23 team for the Jakarta SEA Games. Kim Swee was caught in a dilemma when both his regular midfielders – Gary Steven Robbat and Wan Zack Haikal Wan Nor – were ruled out due to injuries at the eleventh hour.
Then, Nazmi was involved in the AFF Under-19 championships in Vietnam but he answered the call-up and the rest is history.
“Everyone was surprised as to what a 16-year-old schoolboy was doing in the Under-23 squad. I did not field him in the opening game against Singapore, which we drew 0-0. I put Nazmi in the starting line-up for the second game against Thailand. It was Nazmi’s show from then on,” said Kim Swee.
Nazmi played with confidence and he even made heads turn in the final against hosts Indonesia in front of 100,000 vociferous home fans.
Any school boy would have cracked under that kind of enormous pressure but Nazmi was a cool cat. Since then, he has been a regular in the first team.
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