Safawi dedicates AFC Champion League's Best Goal of Decade Award to all Malaysians

The Terengganu-born player said he was very grateful to all JDT fans and Malaysians who had helped him win the award which he described as a great honour and significant in his career development.

“For me, this award is very motivating because it is not easy for our players to get the best goal and it is something that I really appreciate.

"Thank you Malaysians for helping me win the best AFC Champions League (ACL) goal,” he said when met after the Super League match between JDT and Terengganu FC at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, last night.

Safawi’s triumph came at the end of three weeks of open voting with Asia’s football fans coming together to celebrate the best AFC Champions League goals from the last 10 years.

According to the AFC poll results, Safawi garnered 34 per cent of the votes against 19 other finalists.

In another development, Safawi, who is also a national player, said he had not thought about his move to Portuguese club Portimonense SC because he wanted to focus on helping JDT defend the Super League title with the remaining four games.