Nooa Hamzah Laine (نووا حمزة لاين, IPA: Malay pronunciation: [nuwaa hamzah la'ɪne]; born 22 November 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Malaysian Super League club Selangor, on loan from SJK. Born in Finland, he plays for the Malaysia national team.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nooa Hamzah Laine | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 22 November 2002 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Jyväskylä, Finland | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | |||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||
Current team |
Selangor (on loan from SJK) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| –2019 | JJK[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | HJK | |||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | JJK | 15 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Klubi 04 | 26 | (5) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2021– | SJK II | 16 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2021– | SJK | 64 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | → Selangor (loan) | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Finland U15 | 2 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Finland U16 | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Finland U17 | 9 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2022– | Malaysia U23 | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Malaysia | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 February 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Early life edit
Laine was born in Jyväskylä, Finland, to a Finnish mother and Malaysian father.[2] As a result, he holds dual citizenship of Finland and Malaysia.[3] His father, Faried bin Baharin,[4] is from Kampung Batu Laut, Tanjung Sepat, Selangor, Malaysia.[5] Laine started training when he was six with a summer team in the municipality of Jyväskylä.[5]
Club career edit
JJK Jyväskylä edit
Laine started playing football at his hometown club JJK Jyväskylä, where he made his debut in the second-tier Ykkönen at the age of 15 in 2018, scoring one goal in 15 appearances.
Klubi 04 edit
In April 2019, Laine then moved to HJK Helsinki reserve team, Klubi 04 for the 2019 season, where he scored four goals in 23 appearances in the third-tier Kakkonen league.[6]
SJK Seinäjoki edit
Laine joined the current club first division side SJK Seinäjoki in January 2021, cited the good facility is what attracting him to the club.[7] He was chosen as the man of the match in his debut match against IFK Mariehamn.[8] In July 2022, Laine scored his first European goal against Norwegian club Lillestrøm SK in the UEFA Europa Conference League second qualifying round. Laine became a regular starter for SJK under coach, Joaquin Gómez, playing various roles and positions in midfield.[9]
Laine signed a new contract with SJK until 2024, with an option for 2025, in February 2023. He is regarded as one of the most promising young players in Finland and one of the key players for SJK under coach Joaquin Gómez.[9]
Selangor (loan) edit
On 9 February 2024, Laine joined Malaysia Super League side Selangor on a loan deal until the end of the season.[10]
International career edit
Youth edit
Laine has played for Finland U15 team.[citation needed]
Laine also trained with Malaysia's under-23 team in April 2022, with the goal of competing in the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.[11] He did not, however, make it into the squad because the citizenship documentation process was still ongoing.[12] On 12 September 2022, the Football Association of Malaysia denied a claim that Laine was supposed to be on the call-up list for the national squad but was cancelled at the last minute. They explained that they had only contacted Laine recently to get an update on the process of documenting his status as a heritage player. He was not on the list for the central training call-up at this time because he was not scheduled to return to Malaysia until October 2022 to complete the process of obtaining documentation.[13]
In November 2022, Laine was selected for the Finland U-21 by the new coach Mika Lehkosuo. He joined the team for a training camp and an internal match in Eerikkilä on 6–8 December.[14]
Senior edit
In March 2023, Laine was called up by Malaysia senior national team head coach, Kim Pan-gon for a centralized training camp in Johor Bahru ahead of the two Tier 1 International Matches against Turkmenistan and Hong Kong on 23 and 28 March 2023.[15] Laine made his international debut for Malaysia in a match against Turkmenistan, coming on as a substitute in the second half.
Honours edit
Malaysia
- Merdeka Tournament runner-up: 2023
Style of play edit
Laine is a versatile midfielder who can play as an attacking midfielder, a central midfielder or a defensive midfielder. He is known for his technical skills, vision, passing range and work rate.[9]
References edit
- ^ Tulospalvelu Palloliitto, N.Laine, Finnish FA/ Palloliitto
- ^ "SJK kiinnitti poikamaajoukkuepelaajat – Kuivila lainalle AC Ouluun". sjk.fi. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ Larsen, Mette (25 January 2021). "Finnish-Malaysian Nooa Laine moves up the football tier in Finland". Scandasia. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
- ^ a b "'My dad told me to play football rather than ice hockey' - The remarkable story of Finnish-Malaysian wonderkid Nooa Laine | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
- ^ "JJK Jyväskylä – Nooa Laine siirtyy HJK:hon" (in Finnish). Retrieved 2021-12-20.
- ^ "SJK kiinnitti poikamaajoukkuepelaajia - Nooa Laine ja Oliver Günes sopimuksiin". www.veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 2021-12-20.
- ^ "Nooa Laine iski debyyttimaalin SJK:n kotivoitossa". SJK (in Finnish). 2021-06-30. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
- ^ a b c Runsas, Leo (2023-02-18). "Veikkausliigan SJK kiinnitti nuoren keskikenttälupauksen: "On tullut koko ajan tärkeämmäksi meidän pelisysteemissämme"". Futisfani.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
- ^ "Nooa Laine #isRed". selangorfc.com. Selangor FC. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ "Pemain Kacukan Malaysia-Finland, Nooa Laine Sertai Kem Latihan Skuad B-23 Tahun". VOCKET FC (in Malay). 2022-04-26. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
- ^ "Nama Nooa Laine Tercicir Dari Skuad Piala Asia B-23" (in Malay). 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
- ^ Dito (2022-09-13). "Nooa Laine Dalam Proses Selesaikan Dokumentasi". VOCKET FC (in Malay). Retrieved 2022-09-13.
- ^ Paski, Lari (2022-11-25). "SJK pelaajia mukaan Pikkuhuuhkajiin". SJK (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
- ^ "SIARAN MEDIA: SENARAI 27 PEMAIN KE KEM LATIHAN PUSAT HARIMAU MALAYA BERMULA 18 MAC 2023 | FAM". fam.org.my. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
External links edit
- Nooa Laine at Soccerway