Written by: Muhammad Yazid

It may be just a friendly, but one of Singapore’s most creative midfielders, Shahdan Sulaiman, is gearing up for one of his biggest games in his career as he joins forces with the Singapore Selection side to take on Serie A conquerors Juventus at the Sports Hub on the 16 August.

“I am looking forward to it and it would not be easy to play against Juventus,” the 26-year-old commented in an interview with S.League.com

“Honestly I was not expecting the call-up for this game. I do not expect every call-up and thus any call-up is a surprise for me.

“It would be a very good experience for me to play against World Class players and I cannot wait for it,” he said, regarding the opportunity as an honour.

The Juventus side will consist of top players who donned their national colours in the recent World Cup, including the likes Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Pirlo, Patrice Evra, Claudio Marchisio and Paul Pogba.

Known for his exquisite ball control, pin-point set-pieces and majestic through-balls which break apart defences on most occasions, Shahdan would probably be facing the most difficult midfield in his career, consisting of Pirlo and Pogba.

The Singapore International also feels that the game could not have been scheduled at a better period, which was after their Austria trip a month ago.

“The Austria trip helped us not only technically, but also in terms of understanding, as the team bonding is good,” he remarked.

“I have worked with most of the teammates in Austria so hopefully we can do well this Saturday.”

When asked if he foresees an offer from the Italian side, the Tampines Rovers player chuckled, “Hopefully, but it is unlikely. I just got to do my best.”

Watch Shahdan and Co take on Juventus on Saturday at the newly opened Sports Hub at 6:00 pm.