Sabah FA

Sabah United FC

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Full name	SabahUnited Football Club (Kelab Bola Sepak Sabah Bersatu)
Nickname(s)	Sabah Rhinos
Founded	1963 (1963)
Ground	Likas Stadium Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Ground Capacity	35,000
Chairman	Musa Aman
Manager	Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan
Coach	Vjeran Simunić
League	Malaysia Premier League
2015	Malaysia Premier League, 7th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours

Sabah United Football Club (Malay: Kelab Bola Sepak Sabah Bersatu) is an football club that supervises football in the state of Sabah. The association's football team competes in Malaysia's football league representing the state of Sabah in Borneo. Sabah is a professional football team and one of the 14 state teams of the Malaysian football structure. They currently competes in Malaysia's second division professional football league, the Malaysia Premier League.

The team's home matches are played at the 35,000 capacity Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu, the capital city of Sabah.

History

North Borneo football team became the first season winner of the Borneo Cup in 1962, one year before the merger to form Malaysia.

In the 1950s until 1963 Sabah competed as North Borneo football team in the Borneo Cup together with Sarawak football team and Brunei national football team. The North Borneo Football Association (NBFA) changed its name to Sabah Football Association (Sabah FA). Sabah qualify into the Malaysia Cup for the first time in 1977 and enter the competition in 1978.

Amateur and Semi-pro Era

Sabah was a well known team during the Malaysian football amateur and semi-pro era as state team produced many quality players namely the trio of James Wong, Hassan Sani and Peter Rajah. These players during their time led Sabah to become one of Malaysian football's most feared teams during the 80's.

One fine example was during the 1979 Malaysian League where Sabah started slowly. After a run of 8 matches, they stood with 3 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses but, during the later stages they stepped up a gear or five by winning all their remaining 8 matches with most of them by huge margins, including an incredible 8–0 thrashing of Sarawak, 11–0 hammering of Perak FA and the 6–1 beating of Terengganu FA. At the end of the season, Sabah finished as runners-up behind Singapore FA and became the highest scoring team with 49 goals in 12 games, which is an average of 3 goals per game.

In 1991, Sabah striker Matlan Marjan became the first Malaysia to score a double against England in 'A' international matches on 12 June 1991.

Professional Era

When professional football was introduced by Football Association of Malaysia, Sabah also made a reputation of being one of the Malaysian League's most competitive teams. Quality professional players were produced from the ranks during the 1990s, most notably Matlan Marjan who helped Sabah finish as runners-up during 1993 and 1994 Malaysia FA Cup, and who at one time was appointed as the national team captain by the then Malaysian national team coach Claude Le Roy.

The positive results gained from the beginning of professional era however was cut short by the match fixing scandal that rocked Malaysian football in 1994. The scandal almost destroyed Sabah and Malaysian football in general. Sadly, Matlan was the one of several players found guilty for being involved in the scandal. As a punishment for their involvement in match fixing, he and the other players were banned for life by FIFA from being involved in football.

After the scandal, Sabah began its rebuilding process to regain their reputation in Malaysian football. Sabah won their first professional trophy, the Malaysia FA Cup in 1995. In the 1996 season, Sabah won their first league title and went through to the final of the Malaysia Cup for the first time but were beatened by Selangor FA on penalties.

The 2000 season could be considered as Sabah's worst since joining the Malaysian professional league. They were relegated to the second division and could not get past the group stages of the Malaysia Cup. However, Sabah quickly regained its performance in the 2001 season where they finished as runners-up behind Johor FC.

In the 2002 season, Sabah lining up players of calibre such as Zainizam Marjan, Khairul Azman Mohamed, and foreign striker Josiah Seton, finished third in the league and again managed to get through to the final of Malaysia Cup by beating Selangor Public Bank and Perak FA. Sabah however finished as runners-up yet again by losing to the same team that beat them in 1996 final, Selangor FA. This time, Sabah lost by 'golden goal' scored by Mohd Amri Yahyah.

In 2003, Sabah again finished third in Malaysia Premier League One. Sabah again reached the final of Malaysia Cup. This time they lost to club-side Selangor MPPJ by 3–0, with hattrick from Juan Manuel Arostegui.

When Malaysian Super League was introduced in 2004, Sabah struggled to be competitive against other teams in the top league. Sabah only managed to stay in Super League for two seasons as they were relegated to Malaysia Premier League for the 2005/06 season.

After the relegation to 2nd tier league, Sabah continued to struggle for promotion to get back into the top division. They lost to Pahang FA in the 2006/07 season play-off for a place in 2007/08 Malaysia Super League.

After 6 years playing in the 2nd tier Premier League, Australian coach Gary Phillips was able to guide Sabah to promotion in 2010 – his first season in charge. After poor results which have affected Sabah's performance in the 2011 league and also the cup, Gary Phillips was replaced by Justin Ganai to save Sabah from relegation zone. Ganai improved Sabah FA performance in 2011 Malaysia Cup where the team reached the quarterfinals. Justin Ganai retained as Head Coach for the 2012 MSL season but step down as the league game were 2 games left. Sabah also relegated back to Malaysia Premier League after lose to Kedah in play-off match by which Pahang (was MPL side) won the play-off. Salt was added to the wound as the relegation was followed by they was failed to qualify to the group stage of the 2012 Malaysia Cup.

Sabah started their 2013 season back in Malaysia Premier League (2nd tier) as their main defenders, Sipitang duo Ronny Harun and Mafry Ballang left for Borneo rival, Sarawak FA and young striker Rozaimi Abdul Rahman was loaned out to Harimau Muda A. 2013 season was led by Northern Irishman, David McCreery and they end up in 5th place but still available for Malaysia Cup play-off by which they lose heavily 4–0 to Negeri Sembilan at Shah Alam Stadium. McCreery left at the end of the season with disappointment.

2014 saw major changes in the team's sponsorship by which local brand Carino was signed as their kit supplier and Ararat Sports plus BSA as their sponsors. During this season, Sabah ex-player and also a legend in 90's, Milomir Seslija become their Head Coach replacing McCreery in the hot seat. National striker, Rozaimi and winger/midfielder Maxsius Musa also returned after their loan to Harimau Muda A and Harimau Muda B respectively finished. But to no avail, they finished 8th out of 12 in the MPL, missed the Malaysia Cup group stage for third consecutive seasons and also kicked out from FA Cup in the early stage. This was worser than the 2013 season. Milomir's contract was not renewed at the end of the season.

Dioufmania and TC Goh came back as manager (2015)

Just after 2014 season finished, another major changes was made by which George O'Callaghan was signed as their Technical Director and Justin Ganai is back as temporary head coach. Dato' TC Goh also came as team manager by which he and O'Callaghan makes a big signings. Carino remained as their kit supplier but only for the women team, futsal team, President Cup and U19 team. Adidas, Globaltech, UZMA, Grace One, BSA and Ararat Sports are their current sponsors. Sabah FA successfully signed twice African Player of The Year, El-Hadji Diouf and his compatriot Abdoulaye Faye followed by Liberian, Eamond Zayed plus Singaporean striker Fazrul Nawas. Fazrul and O'Callaghan were released early in the season few weeks before MPL kick off. Fazrul was replaced with Joel Chianese during the mid-season transfer window in April and O'Callaghan was replaced with Brisbane Roar ex-head coach Mike Mulvey in February 2015. Both Mulvey and Chianese are Australian. After 3 games working as Technical Director, Mike Mulvey was appointed as Sabah FA new head coach as Justin Ganai went back to the President Cup team. During this current season, fans began to fill and flood Likas Stadium as few of their home matches were full house.

Stadium

Likas Stadium, the home stadium for Sabah FA.

• Likas Stadium
• Penampang Stadium
• Tawau Stadium

Likas Stadium is the current home ground for Sabah FA. Penampang Stadium is occasionally used for afternoon matches, usually when Likas Stadium was renovated or if floodlights require maintenance. Tawau Sports Complex is a regular venue that is only used sometimes for the Malaysia Premier League.

Kit manufacturers and Shirt Sponsors

Period	Kit manufacturers	Shirt sponsors
2011–2015	Adidas	Graceone

Club culture

Supporters

• North Borneo Ultras (NBU)
• SabahRhinos.com since 1997
• Kelab Penyokong Sabah Rhino
• sabah football fans club

Mascot

Sabah FA was formerly called the Rhinos since the golden 90s era but in 2010 SAFA changed the mascot to Hawks to rebrand the ailing football team. It was a controversial move as Kuala Lumpur FA was already known as the Hawks. Sabah FA reinstated its name as the Rhinos starting from 2015.

Rivalry

Sabah FA neighbouring rival is Sarawak FA with both claiming the title of 'the best in Borneo' and referred to as the Borneo Derby.

Broadcasting

Radio coverage of regular season matches are broadcast on Sabah FM 89.9 in Malay language.

Honours

Titles	Winners	Runners-up
Malaysia Cup		1996, 2002, 2003
Malaysia Super League (1x)	1996
Malaysia Premier League		2001, 2010
Malaysia FA Cup (1x)	1995	1993, 1994, 1998
Malaysian Charity Shield		1996
Borneo Cup (14x)	1962, 1963, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985	1987

Record

Year	Position	League	FA Cup	Malaysia Cup
1995	5/15	Premier League	Champion	Semi-final
1996	Champion	Premier League	Quarter final	Final
1997	3/15	Premier League	2nd Round	Group Stage
1998	5/12	Premier League	Runners-up	Semi-final
1999	4/10	Premier 1	Semi-final	Group Stage
2000	11/12	Premier 1	1st Round	Group Stage
2001	Runners-up	Premier 2	Semi-final	Group Stage
2002	3/14	Premier 1	Quarter-final	Runners-up
2003	4/13	Premier 1	Semi-final	Runners-up
2004	6/8	Super League	Quarter-final	Semi-final
2005	8/8	Super League	Quarter-final	Group Stage
2006	4/8	Premier League (Group B)	1st Round	Group Stage
2007	6/11	Premier League	Quarter-final	Semi-final
2008	4/13	Premier League	Quarter-final	Group Stage
2009	9/13	Premier League	1st Round	Group Stage
2010	Runners-up	Premier League	1st Round	Group Stage
2011	10/14	Super League	1st Round	Quarter-final
2012	13/14	Super League	1st Round	DNQ
2013	5/12	Premier League	2nd Round	DNQ
2014	8/12	Premier League	2nd Round	DNQ
2015	7/12	Premier League	1st Round	DNQ

Performances In The Regional Tournaments

• Asian Cup Winners' Cup: 1 appearance

1996: Round of 16

Squad

No.	Name	Nationality	Position
Goalkeepers
	Irwan Jamil		GK
	Endre S. Tipay		GK
			GK
Defenders
	Julamri Muhammad		LB,LM
	Mohd Badrul Afendy Mohd Fadzli		CB
	Rosdin Wasli		CB
	Rawilson Batuil		CB, DM
	Muhd Nazri Ahmad		CB, DM
Midfielders
	Dedi Kusnandar		CB, DM
	Zuraindey Jumai		DM, CM, RB
	Jenius Karib		DM, RB
	Leopold Alphonso		ST,AM, RM,RW,RB
	Shafuan Adli Shaari		CM
			RM, RW
	Alto Linus		RM,RB, RW, LM, LW
	Maxsius Musa		RM, RW
	Azzizan Nordin		CM, DM
	Rexjeson Pitrus		RM, RW
	Marco Tulio		CM
Forwards
			ST
			ST
			ST

Transfer In 2016

For recent transfers, see List of Malaysian football transfers 2016

In

Melaka United

Name	From
Igor Cerina	Tampines Rovers
Rexjeson Pitrus	Melaka United
Rico Nigel Milus	Presiden team
Dendy Lowa	Open Trial

Out

Pos.	Name	To
DMC	Didie Arizal Ibrahim	AirAsia F.C.
GK	Mohd Fazli Paat	Johor Darul Ta'zim II F.C.
DLC	Hardy Charles Parsi	Malacca United S.A.
ST/AMR	Joel Chianese	Negeri Sembilan FA
AMLR	Muhd Izuan Salahuddin	PDRM FA
ST	Muhammad Shafiq Jamal	PDRM FA
AMLR	Mohd Ezaidy Khadar	Perlis FA
DL	Mohd Khairi Kiman	Perlis FA
ST	Éamon Zayed	Indy Eleven
LW/ST	Rozaimi Abdul Rahman	Johor Darul Ta'zim II F.C.
RW/ST	R. Surendran	Ipoh FA
DC/DM	Abdoulaye Faye
AMRC/ST	El Hadji Diouf

Season 2015 President's Cup team

For the president's cup squads, see Sabah FA President's Cup Team.

Sabah President's Cup Squad

No.	Name	Nationality	Position	D.O.B
Goalkeepers
1	Mohd Fazrul Iman Malan		GK	25/5/95
22	Masran Masri		GK	18/2/96
25	Datu Mohd Armin Datu Muhammad		GK	16/3/95
Defenders
2	Mohd Azfizam Norli		RB,RWB	13/11/95
			CB
4	Mohd Zulfadlisham Roseland		RB,RWB	13/9/95
5	Randy Baruh Samson		LB,LWB	19/6/95
11	Mohd Ikhmal Akid Bahari		LB, LM	28/7/95
13	Amirjan Yunus		CB	1995
14	Rafis Etin		CB	1995
15	Zulhafiz Abdul Mahal		CB	24/10/95
			CB
23	Dyrrance Junaidih		CB	4/11/95
Midfielders
6	O'Neil Shanahan Marcellinus Bungkilan		LM, LW, ST	4/2/96
			CM
			RM, RW, ST
			RM, RW, LM, LW
			DMC,MC
			CM
24	Mohd Fazzrey Karim		LM, LW	14/4/95
	Fazriel Hanafi Stepanus		AMC,CM	15/5/96
Forwards
9	Saliun Mastar		ST,AMC	14/10/95
12	Josesua Jubin		ST, LW	8/7/95
			ST
21	Rahman Shah Marajeh		ST	10/7/96

U19 team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 3 DF Masmilan Anil Matlan 4 DF Ranilson Batuil 5 DF Mohd Sellehudin Akmad 6 MF Mohd Syazwan Roslan 7 MF Rickson Pang Tabias 8 MF Mohd Juraidi Lijas 9 FW Mohd Syazwan Jamain 10 FW Fazrel Hanafi Stepanus 12 MF Mohd Fuad Amin 13 DF Mohd Yusri Abdullah 14 DF Bellry Renno Ripin 15 MF Malik Jukup 18 FW Mohd Reezam Roslee

No. Position Player 19 FW Masrani Mohd Asri 20 MF Fazrian Shah Azri 21 FW Mohd Zaki Sapri 22 GK Mohd Sakri Masri 23 FW Yussedy Yusman 24 DF Mohd Ramzainee Ramlee 25 GK Mazlan Norli 26 FW Nik Mohd Ileyzley Rosley 28 DF Jeniun Karib 42 MF Mohd Shahrul Asmadin 44 DF Mohd Yazid Abdul Rashid 45 DF Mohd Aidil Shahrolmizan Asimin

Source:

Current coaching staff

Position	Name
Chairman	Datuk Seri Musa Aman
Deputy chairman 1	Tawfiq Abu Bakar Titingan
Deputy chairman 2	Lawrence Gimbang
C.E.O	Datuk Goh Thian Chuan
Manager	Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan
Asst. Manager 1	Hassan Sani
Asst. Manager 2	James Wong
Technical Director	Justin Ganai
Head Coach	Vjeran Simunić
Asst. Coach	Johnny Dominicus
Coach	Jelius Ating
GK coach	Mark Damun Sagar
Fitness coach	Andrew Majanggim
Physio	Matlan Basir
U21 Manager	Datuk Juil Nuatim
U21 Head coach	R. Gopalkrishnan
U21 Asst. coach	Awang Sabtu Jamil
U21 coach	Matasan Ahmad
U21 GK coach	Vestadius Jobi
U21 Fitness coach	Rozlee Idris
U21 Physio	James Edwin
U19 Manager	Othman Abdullah
U19 Head coach	Razali Zinin
U19 Asst. coach	Fakhrurazi Hamzah
U19 GK coach	Jasrin Jabidin
U19 Physio	Azirul Hassan
Massuer	Mr. Hu
Kitman	Anizam Zainudin

Transfers

For recent transfers, see List of Malaysian football transfers 2015

Managers and coaches

Managers

• Goh Thian Chuan (1999)
• Osman Jamal (2000–2001)
• Mohd Joehari Mohd Ayub (2004–2005)
• Abdul Rahman Zakaria (2006–2009)
• Mohd Asyraaf Fong Abdullah (2009)

• Gary Phillips (2010–2011)
• Shahriman Abdullah (2011–2012)
• Alijus Sipil (2013–2014)
• Abdul Rahman Zakaria (2014)
• Goh Thian Chuan (2015)

Coaches

• Stanley Chew (197?–1979)
• Gerd Schmidt (1980–1983)
• James Wong (1984)
• Stanley Chew (1985)
• Azah Ezrein (1986)
• Stanley Chew (1987–1988)
• Frank Upton (1989–1990)
• Roy Lorenson (1990–1992)
• Oldřich Sedláček (1992–1995)
• Kelly Tham (1995–1996)
• Ron Smith (1996–1997)
• Ken Shellito (1998)
• Justin Ganai (1999)
• Ken Worden (1999)
• David Woodfield (2000–2001)

• Peter Butler (2001–2004)
• José Garrido (2004–2005)
• José Luis (2005)
• Justin Ganai (2005–2006)
• Drago Mamic (2007–2008)
• Wathiq Naji Jasim (2008–2009)
• Mohd Asyraaf Fong Abdullah (2009)
• Gary Phillips (2010–2011)
• Justin Ganai (2011–2012)
• Andrew Majjangkim (2012)
• David McCreery (2012–2013)
• Johnny Dominicus (2013)
• Milomir Seslija (2014)
• Justin Ganai (2015)
• Mike Mulvey (2015–)

Former notable players

Players that represented the Malaysia national football team while playing for Sabah.

• Rozaimi Abdul Rahman
• Khairul Azman Mohamed
• Ong Kim Swee
• Ronny Harun
• Mohd Anis Faron
• G. Jeevananthan
• Dass Gregory Kolopis
• Matlan Marjan
• Hassan Sani
• James Wong
• Syed Adney

Football Clubs

Affiliated Clubs within the Association

• Cebagoo F.C.
• DYS F.C.
• KDM Malaysia F.C.

Affiliated Clubs outside the Association

• Sarawak FA

External links

• Official Website
• Sabah FA
• Sabah Football Supporters Website
• Sabah team latest statistics
• Sabah individual player stats