The former KRL striker said that he is now looking to take his form into the AFC Cup with FC Dordoi. PHOTO COURTESY: KALEEMULLAH
The 22-year-old from Chaman believes that the award is a statement from him and Pakistan football.
Kaleemullah won the golden boot with 22 goals after signing a Rs10 million contract with the Kyrgyz club last year.
“I fulfilled a promise that I made to myself,” Kaleemullah told The Express Tribune. “I told myself that I will prove my skills and show the world that Pakistan has footballing talent and all we need is exposure and opportunities.”
The former KRL striker added that he is now looking to take his form into the AFC Cup with FC Dordoi.
“I’m playing for the future. This award confirms that I have talent and that I need to stay focused,” he said. “I want to inspire players in Pakistan so that they don’t quit or get disheartened. This success is a success for Pakistan. I know my performances will take me to better clubs in Turkey or even Germany.”
He added that after the ceremony, Kyrgyzstan Football Federation officials praised him and urged their local players to improve on their game.
“The Kyrgyz officials were surprised because Pakistan is not even close to Kyrgyzstan in the FIFA rankings and never thought a player from a lower ranked nation can win the player of the year award in their country,” said Kaleemullah.
The striker added that he wants to see Pakistan take the 2016 World Cup qualifiers seriously, and is hoping that the team will get to showcase good players in the qualifiers.
“If the team manages to qualify for the main tournament, it opens the doors for players as well,” he added. “In international club football, it is the countries that dominate. Every club wants to hire a Brazilian or a German footballer, because the standard of these countries is so good.”
Kaleemullah will start training in Turkey from January 20 with FC Dordoi, and will play another friendly with the club against Turkmenistan on February 9.
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Dear Kaleem Well done congratulations If u want make ur career please try to enter Three leagues Barclays premier league Spanish league (Barcelona reall Madrid ) Bundsleage German I'm orthopaedic surgeon lived and worked in england now in Pakistan I'm follower of Manchester City the best team In my view Augeuro is a super class Kaleem wish u best of luck See u play for Manchester City I promise I watch u playing there
@ Rawalpindi
Pashtuns are good athletes and excel at soccer in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan close to Afghanistan like Chaman. Kandahar is the hub of soccer in southern Afghanistan and players from Chaman frequently play against teams from the city of Kandahar and other cities in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is the reigning SAFF champion and ranked higher than all South Asian nations.
The Afghan national cricket team is entirely made of Pashtuns and they just defeated Ireland earlier today and are going to play in the WC next month in Australia/New Zealand and they have been playing cricket for ten years only. Afghanistan has fast bowlers like Hamid Hassan, Shahpur Zadran and Mirwais Ashraf that are as good as any fast bowler playing for test playing nations. We all know of the talent and exploits of Pakistani Pashtuns like Shahid Afridi, Omar Gul, Younus Khan, Junaid Khan and Yasser Shah. Pashtuns are built to excel in sports.
Huge congratulations to Kaleemullah. Would have loved to hear more about him in this story, how he got started, where he played in Pakistan and what made him so successful in a short time when the facilities in Pakistan are lacking. Big achievement! Best of luck for the future. If he works hard there's no reason he cannot make it to bigger clubs in Europe.