Why was Taufiq ‘Player of Quarter (July-Sept’07)’?

In the beginning I didn’t notice Taufiq as he was soft-spoken and didn’t seem to be physically commanding. I remembered Taufiq only because he played as a defender and also because of Singapore’s other more famous Taufiq.

My impression was soon to change, and impressed I was.

As time had shown, Taufiq has proven not only to me, but to the whole team, as a Tough and Fair player, and even more importantly Tenacious, traits that sit well with me. He proved time and time again in his performances on the very trait that every coach would love, of ‘never-giving-up’.

Taufiq also shows his football intelligence in technical and tactical balance especially in knowing when to go for the lose ball while maintaining tactical maturity. Knowing when to stray out of position to provide cover and knowing which technique to utilize in different ball situations.

This culminated in Taufiq being utilized as a DM in one match when he scored a screamer from over 20 yards, being his reward and also present to the team. That goal will surely stay in his memory.

His personality is definitely a bonus. Some has commented that he is

‘overly-passionate’ during a match but that’s what I like. However during training, he is unassuming and always willing to listen and learn, as witnessed by everyone during the soccer camp on his ‘lecture’ on principles of play.

Taufiq definitely loves football by allowing his football do all the talking.

It doesn’t take long for a player his quality to stand-out. Taufiq has not only become the first name on the team sheet, he also has the honor of being the first player to receive the Schwarz Star Player of the Quarter July-Sept 2007. Congrats!

Taufiq wins a Nike award sponsored by Coach.