Sallehuddin Damit

Pengiran Sallehuddin bin Pengiran Haji Damit (born 5 November 1973) is a Bruneian retired footballer who is a coach for Kasuka FC.[1] One of the legends of Bruneian football,[2] he most notably played for the Brunei M-League representative team that won the 1999 Malaysia Cup, which is regarded as Brunei football's greatest achievement.[3][4] He also played professionally for Brunei DPMM FC for several seasons.[5]

In this Malay name, there is no family name. The name Damit is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Sallehuddin.
Sallehuddin Damit
Personal information
Full name Pengiran Sallehuddin bin Pengiran Haji Damit
Date of birth (1973-11-05) 5 November 1973
Place of birth Brunei
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Defender, Defensive midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–2004 Brunei
2004–2006 AH United
2006–2013 DPMM
2010 → AH United (loan)
2011 → AM Gunners (loan)
2015 Kota Ranger
2017–2019 Kasuka FC (1)
National team‡
1994–2008 Brunei 19+ (2+)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 January 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23 January 2017

Prior to his marriage in 2001, his given name was Awangku Sallehuddin due to naming rules for descendants of Bruneian royalty.

Club career

Early career

Sallehuddin began his sporting career playing tennis under a government scheme,[5] representing Brunei at the Davis Cup in 1994 and 1995.[6] It was around this time that he also made his football debut in the Malaysia Premier League, appearing for the Brunei representative team.[7]

Towards the turn of the century Sallehuddin found more playing time in expense of the ageing Martilu Mohamed on the left side of a back three, a formation favoured by David Booth and his successor Mick Jones. He started the 1999 Malaysia Cup final alongside captain and fellow legend Liew Chuan Fue and first-season debutant Norsillmy Taha and claimed a 2-1 victory in Kuala Lumpur through two goals by Rosli Liman.[3]

Sallehuddin inherited the captain's armband from Liew and stayed with Brunei as the severely-depleted team were immediately relegated to Premier Two, managing only two wins and conceding the most goals (53).[8][9] He stayed with Brunei in the second tier of Malaysian football until 2005.

DPMM

Sallehuddin played with local club AH United in the B-League (winning the 2005-06 FA Cup)[10] until the middle of 2006 when he transferred to Brunei DPMM FC who were playing in the Malaysia Premier League for the first time after replacing Sallehuddin's own former team, Brunei.[11] They achieved promotion to the 2006-07 Malaysia Super League that season and then astoundingly finished third in Malaysia's top tier thanks to goals from topscoring Shahrazen Said.[12]

DPMM moved to the Singaporean S.League in 2009, after the deregistration of the Brunei Football Association (BAFA) by the Registrar of Societies prompted the Football Association of Malaysia to exempt DPMM from the Super League.[13][14] Sallehuddin was appointed captain and won the Singapore League Cup of that year, despite being suspended in the final.[15] After an incident in the 39th minute in the game against Home United on 2 August, he was given a one-year ban by the Football Association of Singapore for bringing the game into disrepute.[16] A month later, FIFA suspended Brunei which meant that DPMM could no longer play in the S.League.[17] With only five matches to go, all of DPMM's results were expunged from record.

Sallehuddin returned to AH United on loan in the 2010 Brunei Premier League 1,[18] then AM Gunners for the short-lived 2011 season.[19] Recalled to his parent club after their re-entry into the S.League in 2012, the 39-year-old was still being relied on by coach Vjeran Simunic.[20] Sallehuddin won the League Cup and finished second in the league behind Tampines Rovers in 2012,[21] but after a disappointing 2013 campaign, he was released in the close season.[22]

Kota Ranger

After a year without league football, Sallehuddin lined up one last time alongside Norsillmy Taha at Kota Ranger FC in the 2015 Brunei Premier League.[23] He helped his team go top of the table and win promotion to the 2016 Brunei Super League.[24]

International career

Sallehuddin played three games for the national team at the 20th SEA Games held in Brunei, scoring the third goal in the first game against Cambodia in a 3-3 draw.[25] His next two international tournaments were the 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualifying and the 2002 World Cup qualifying, both were disastrous campaigns where Brunei scored no goals and conceded 39.

Sallehuddin went with a team composed largely of QAF FC players for the 2006 AFC Challenge Cup held in Bangladesh, Brunei failed to advance from the group stage courtesy of goal difference.[26] His final appearances for the national team were at the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup qualifying held in Cambodia where he scored a penalty in the 76th minute against Timor-Leste in their only win from 4 games.[27]

Honours
Brunei M-League representative team
AH United
Brunei DPMM FC
Kota Ranger FC

References
  1. "Pg Sallehuddin makes his long awaited return". The Brunei Times. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  2. "Brunei to host night of legends". The Brunei Times. 25 September 2010. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  3. "Rosli Double Gives Brunei The Cup". New Straits Times. Retrieved 14 October 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  4. "Will Brunei football ever relive 1999?". The Brunei Times. 6 April 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  5. "Age is just a number". The Brunei Times. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  6. "Awangku Salehuddin". Davis Cup. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  7. "Terengganu lucky to get a point". New Straits Times. 6 August 1994. Retrieved 14 October 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  8. "Malaysia First Level ("Premier One") 2000". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 10 April 2001. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  9. "Football - Brunei soccer teams unveiled". Borneo Bulletin. 4 April 2001. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  10. "AH United Win FA Cup". Borneo Bulletin. 14 March 2006. Archived from the original on 12 November 2006. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  11. "Brunei DPMM host Kelantan today". Borneo Bulletin. 22 April 2006. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  12. "Malaysia 2006/07". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 3 January 2008. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  13. "DPMM FC can't play in new season of MSL, says FAM". The Brunei Times. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  14. "DPMM FC to take part in S'pore League". The Brunei Times. 11 February 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  15. "DPMM FC enter League Cup final". The Brunei Times. 16 June 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  16. "Long bans for DPMM FC trio". The Brunei Times. 14 August 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  17. "FIFA rejects FAS' DPMM FC appeal". The Brunei Times. 17 October 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  18. "AH United and Indera FC face off in mid-table clash". The Brunei Times. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  19. "BPL under watchful eyes of DPMM FC". The Brunei Times. 3 March 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  20. "DPMM FC players raring to go: coach". The Brunei Times. 30 November 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  21. "Where do DPMM FC go? FOOTBALL". The Brunei Times. 17 November 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  22. "New players under no illusions". The Brunei Times. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  23. "DST Premier League leaders Kota Ranger rack up third straight win". The Brunei Times. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  24. "Kota Ranger win DST Premier League". The Brunei Times. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  25. "South East Asian Games 1999 Details (Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 26 April 2002. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  26. "Brunei Ready For Sri Lanka". Borneo Bulletin. 2 April 2006. Archived from the original on 17 November 2006. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  27. "DPMM FC head to Cambodia". The Brunei Times. 15 October 2008. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
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