Shahrazen apologises, may give India another go

HAVING had time to gather his thoughts, striker Shahrazen Hj Md Said realises he should have tried harder to make his trip to Goa, India, work out.

The 25-year-old hitman was to become the first local footballer to try his luck abroad when he left last Monday for a tryout with India League's (I-League) 2nd Division side Sporting Clube de Goa.

But a stressful journey to the coastal Indian State and the culture-shock that came from being in a new country for the first time saw the emotional striker return to Brunei after less than two days in India.

"I am sorry for what I said earlier (on Thursday). I didn't mean it," Shahrazen said, referring to comments he made in yesterday's edition of The Brunei Times.

"I was homesick as this was the first time in my football career that I had travelled alone without teammates around me," he said yesterday.

Shahrazen (pic) took nearly a day to reach Goa, travelling from Brunei to Bangkok and Mumbai before finally touching down at 6.50am in the coastal Indian State.

All is not lost though, and Shahrazen said he would be willing to give the western Indian State another chance.

"I may go back (to Goa) because the president of the club invited me to return after two weeks," he said.

"I also want to thank the club for inviting me to play there in the first place," he added.

In all fairness, the situation in Goa was not what Shahrazen had expected.

His agent had told him the club were already mid-way through their season and that he would be offered a contract immediately.

But when Shahrazen arrived he found out the club were on a break until April, when they would compete in a month-long tournament to fight for a place in the I-League 1st Division play-offs.

He would also have to complete trials.The Brunei Times