SHORTLY after the prestigious friendly with Chelsea on Tuesday night, the Malaysian dressing room at the Shah Alam Stadium was graced by a brief appearance of the Man-of-the-Match, Frank Lampard.
The all-action England international was obviously there for a specific reason.
Clad in a towel and clasping the famous No 8 jersey soaked in his sweat, it was clear Lampard was looking for one particular player.
“No 25…This is for player No 25,” he said.
It was a pleasant surprise for Perlis midfielder Azi Shahril Azmi.
Firstly he did not think a brief substitute appearance minutes earlier against a stellar cast from Stamford Bridge would have warranted such an occasion. What sort of impression can one player create in less than 10 minutes on the pitch against a multi-million pound outfit?
Secondly Azi, upon advice from certain people, did not ask to swap jerseys with anybody.
Neverthless it was a moment to cherish for Azi who came on for skipper Shukor Adan for the last 10 minutes in the 2-0 defeat as the Blues rounded off their Asian tour with 13 goals in three games.
As his fellow team mates, coach B. Sathianathan and team manager Khairy Jamaluddin applauded Lampard’s gesture, Azi stood, shook hands with the England international and shyly took the jersey.
“I was surprised. It was a nice gesture by Frank. I did not ask for it,” said the midfielder who mainly plays as a defensive cover for the backfour.
“This is the first ever jersey I’ve got from a household name. I’m not too sure whether to frame it or not. I’ll think of something.”
The microscope was never on Azi as he started on the bench as Amirulhadi Zainal, Safee Sali and Indra Putra Mahayuddin caught the eye with their dashing runs towards John Terry’s defence.
Although the hosts showed glimpses of breaking through the defensive barricade formed by Terry, Wayne Bridge, Chelsea were clearly on pre-season pace.
Hitman Nicolas Anelka struck in the 26th minute after good work by England midfielder Joe Cole before Ashley Cole got the second just seven minutes after the break when he latched on to Lampard's pass and fired home.
For Azi, he will have to come back to terra firma as Perlis are caught in a battle to qualify for the last eight of the Malaysia Cup.
On Saturday the Northern Lions take on Johor PBT at the Tan Sri Hassan Yunos Stadium, where a win will guarantee Irfan Bakti Abu Salim’s men a place in the last eight. Expect Azi to be in the thick of the action, as usual.
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