Ahmad the model player (The Malay Mail)

AFTER 13 seasons Ahmad Yusof is still going strong.
 Ahmad, who turns 36 on August 8, hails from Penang but has been with
Pahang since 1983 - the year Pahang won the Malaysia Cup the first time.
 His teammates then - Tajuddin Nor and Yunus Alif - are now the team
manager and coach for Pahang respectively but Ahmad is still sluging it
out on the pitch.
 Ahmad is an model professional and the game still excites him after all
these years.
 Even a chronic back injury the last few years has not stopped Ahmad.
 He is Pahang's most valuable player and a modest one at that.
 Each time he is approached for an interview, Ahmad would politely turns
it down and requests the younger players be interviewed instead.
 "I am just a small piece in the puzzle trying to do the best I can. But
it gets harder each year," said Ahmad.
 "Last season, many teams were still affected by the absence key players
rounded up during the bribery crackdown.
 "But teams are more settled and stronger now. It is going to be a keen
competition this time around," said Ahmad who is the oldest player in the
League after Sarawak's Jalil Rambly.
 Ahmad used to play in midfield but of late he has been used as a stopper
or sweeper.
 "Ahmad may be the oldest but he is the heartbeat of the team," said
Yunus.
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