Khairul Amri

Mohammad Khairul Amri bin Mohammad Kamal (born 14 March 1985) is a Singaporean former footballer who plays as a striker or winger.

He is known for his pace, sharp dribbling skills and his powerful shot with either foot.

Along with Baihakki Khaizan, Shahril Ishak and Hassan Sunny, Khairul Amri was in the pioneer batch of the National Football Academy graduates in 2000.

Khairul Amri had begun his professional footballing career at S.League club Young Lions in 2004.

The 2006 S.League season was a breakthrough season for the youngster, scoring more than 20 goals in all competitions, including a 4-bagger in a FA Cup Malaysia match.

Khairul Amri was amongst the top scorers in the 2006 season of the S.League and many of his goals have come from free kicks.

He was named the first ever Lions' Player of the Year for his performance in the 2006 S.League season on 4 January 2007.

He is the older brother of Khairul Nizam who was a former footballer who played as a winger or striker for Singapore Premier League club Tanjong Pagar United F.C.

He went on to captain the Young Lions team in 2007 after then-captain Baihakki Khaizan left to join Geylang International.

In total, he scored 54 goals in 114 appearances before leaving the club.

In the mid-season transfer window of the 2008 S.League season, Khairul Amri moved to Tampines Rovers and capped off the season by winning the S-League's Young Player of The Year.

However, he sustained a metatarsal injury in the 88th minute of the third-place play-offs of the 2008 Singapore Cup against his former club, the Young Lions, which ultimately ruled him out of action for two months.

In 2010, Khairul Amri moved overseas for the first time to join Indonesian football club Persiba Balikpapan.

Khairul Amri substantiated his decision to join the Indonesian side on the fact that it was a rare opportunity, not just for him to prove himself overseas as a footballer, but also to expand the profile of Singaporean football.

The move would also allow Khairul Amri to be exposed to a different type of challenge as he had already been playing in the S.League for 5 years.

Khairul Amri made a dream start to his foreign stint as he managed to score on his debut appearance.

He, however, tore one of his leg muscles and was sidelined for approximately 7 to 8 months during a match, halfway through the season.

Due to the severity of the injury, Khairul Amri's stint with the Indonesian Super League side was a short-lived one.

He finished his only season with Persiba Balikpapan with 9 goals in 23 matches.

Khairul Amri had originally been slated to stay for a longer period with Persiba Balikpapan.

Prior to the match that caused his knee injury, the management team had proposed a contract extension to him.

However, he had told the staff to wait until the end of the game.

The injury however, proved a serious issue as the club could not afford to keep Khairul Amri on the sidelines for an extended period of time.

During his recovery from the knee injury, Khairul Amri spent his time recuperating with Gombak United, at the offer of club chairman John Yap.

During his recuperation, Khairul Amri was introduced to the LionsXII project by the Football Association of Singapore.

In November 2011, Khairul Amri agreed to join the LionsXII squad and played for the club in the 2012 Malaysia Super League (MSL).

He finished the season as the club second highest scorer with 8 goals in 27 appearances behind Sharil Ishak who scored 14 goals in 31 appearances.

Amri later signed for Tampines Rovers in 2013.

He scored 12 goals for the Stags in the league, finishing the season as the joint-top local scorer in the 2013 S.League and winning his first S.League title.

Khairul Amri returned to the LionsXII setup once again for the 2014 MSL season.

He scored seven goals in 24 appearances for his team.

He started the 2015 Malaysia Super League strongly, scoring 10 goals in 25 appearances for his team, including a hat-trick in a 4–1 win against Sime Darby F.C. His fine form was rewarded as he won the May Player of the month award.

However, in October 2015, his knee injury struck again, forcing him to miss the rest of the season.

After the LionsXII was disbanded following the conclusion of the 2015 MSL season, Amri signed on a two-year contract with the Young Lions for the 2016 S.League season as one of three overage players, together with Firdaus Kasman and Christopher van Huizen.

He was also named as the captain of the team.

However, he was forced to miss out the opening weeks of the season due to an injury.

Khairul only eventually made his first appearance in April, 5 months after his last competitive match.

Khairul's injury ravage season saw him score only 5 goals all season.

After an early end to his two-year contract with the Young Lions, Amri was chased by a few sides, including Tampines and Hougang United.

Khairul opted to sign for his former side in the end, joining the Stags for a third time.