Wardun Yussof

Mohammad Wardun bin Yussof (born 14 September 1981) is a Bruneian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for DPMM FC and the national team.[1]

In this Malay name, the name Yussof is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Wardun.
Wardun Yussof
Wardun during a training session
Personal information
Full name Mohammad Wardun bin Yussof
Date of birth (1981-09-14) 14 September 1981
Place of birth Brunei
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position(s) Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 DPMM FC
Number 25
Youth career
Wijaya FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2001 PAPP FC
2000–2004 Brunei
2004 DPMM FC
2005–2006 Wijaya FC
2006– DPMM FC
2010–2011 → Majra FC (loan)
National team‡
2001 Brunei U-23 3 (0)
2001– Brunei 23 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 December 2017
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23 January 2017

Club career

Wardun has been playing for DPMM since 2006, having returned from Wijaya FC after a brief spell in 2004.[2] Previously, he was a squad member of the Brunei team that participated in the M-League.[3]

Wardun was sent on loan to Majra FC in 2010 as Brunei (and in extension DPMM) served a two-year FIFA ban.[4] He became the team captain in that period and even converted a penalty in the semi-final of the 2011 Brunei League Cup.[5] He went on to win the final.[6]

Returning to the S.League with his parent club in 2012, Wardun became the undisputed number one ever since. He did not miss a game in the 2015 season when DPMM finally clinched the S.League title after coming close twice.[7]

On 2 April 2017, Wardun dropped to the bench and missed his first league game in three years, allowing longtime rival Alizanda Sitom to be the oldest player to start in the S.League.[8] The reason was due to an ankle injury.[9] Another injury to his thumb in May further blighted his season, and in the end he managed only 8 starts in DPMM's disastrous 2017 campaign.[10]

Despite a pre-season injury to last season's starter Mu'izzuddin Ismail in 2018, Wardun was kept away from the starting lineup by the signing of youth international keeper Haimie Anak Nyaring. He finally made his bow for the season on 3 June against Albirex Niigata (S) after Haimie was red-carded in the 74th minute.[11]

At the start of the 2019 season, Wardun became the starting goalkeeper under new coach Adrian Pennock, who also appointed him as team captain.[12] He kept three clean sheets in consecutive matches for DPMM against Home United, Geylang International and Albirex Niigata (S) before finally conceding to a Khairul Amri strike in the 83rd minute in the home victory against Tampines Rovers on 7 April.[13] His form continued into the second half of the season when on 6 July, in the away game against Warriors FC, Wardun produced a string of magnificent saves including saving a Jonathan Béhé penalty and keeping out a point-blank header by Khairul Nizam in the final minutes of the game to keep the score at 3–3 and thus salvage a point for DPMM.[14] His age-defying save drew gratuitous praise from Pennock who compared it to a similarly iconic save by one of England's finest goalkeepers, Gordon Banks.[15]

On 29 September 2019, Wardun lifted the Singapore Premier League trophy as DPMM captain after a 5–4 win against Hougang United concluded a triumphant league campaign for the Bruneian team.[16] He also boasted the most clean sheets for the season with 10 in 24 games.

Wardun announced in January 2020 that he intended to retire at the end of the 2020 season.[17]

International career

Wardun made his first start for Brunei at the 2002 World Cup qualifying round for Asia, in a 0-5 loss against Yemen on 7 April 2001. He appeared a total of four times in the campaign. He was in goal for the 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification matches held in the Maldives.

After a huge gap without any international appearances, Wardun played in the 2008 Suzuki Cup qualifying when the whole Brunei team was represented by his club, DPMM FC.[18]

Wardun was the keeper when Brunei gained their first World Cup qualifying victory over Chinese Taipei in Kaohsiung on 12 March 2015.[19] A year later, he was also in the starting lineup for the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup qualification matches in Cambodia. Wardun conceded eight goals in three games as Brunei finished third in the qualifying group.[20]

Wardun's next international tournament was a month later at the 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup held in Kuching, Malaysia.[21] In the semi-final against Macau on 12 November, Wardun was sent off in the 55th minute for denying Niki Torrão a goal-scoring opportunity at the edge of the penalty box.[22] Brunei went out 4-3 on penalties thereafter, with Tarmizi Mat Johari between the goalposts.

Wardun was included in the national team's 23-man squad for the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup qualification matches against Timor-Leste in September 2018.[23]

Honours

Team
Wijaya FC
DPMM FC
Majra FC
  • Brunei League Cup: 2011
gollark: This is also irrelevant because a micronation doing this could just not tax it.
gollark: There aren't taxes on arbitrary transactions in most places as far as I know.
gollark: Yes, some country really should have caught onto this by now.
gollark: Technically, as it counts transactions, you can just transfer that money back and forth several trillion times a second and outcompete all other economies.
gollark: I mean, they can say "we'll exchange X currency 1 for Y currency 2" for any value of X and Y, but for many values it would be a bad idea to.

References
  1. "Wardun Yussof". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  2. "Brunei 2004". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 26 May 2005. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  3. "M-League - Brunei get three valuable points". Borneo Bulletin. 10 July 2001. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  4. "BPL under watchful eyes of DPMM FC". The Brunei Times. 3 March 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  5. "6-star Majra in Cup final". The Brunei Times. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  6. "Majra take League Cup". The Brunei Times. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  7. "DPMM FC bask in glory". The Brunei Times. 22 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  8. "Wasps Secure First Victory Of The Season Against Cheetahs". S.League. 2 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  9. "DPMM FC face Balestier Khalsa FC tonight". BruSports News. 6 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  10. "WARDUN FIGHTING HIS WAY BACK TO THE TOP". BruSports News. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  11. "Albirex unstoppable with 11th win of the season against 10-man Brunei DPMM". Fox Sports Asia. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  12. "DPMM FC make positive change as Razimie helps seal home win". Borneo Bulletin. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  13. "DPMM FC defeat Tampines Rovers FC 2-1". Borneo Bulletin. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  14. "Wardun rescues DPMM FC with top saves in six-goal thriller". Borneo Bulletin. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  15. "Pennock pleased with crucial point against Warriors". Borneo Bulletin. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  16. "Champions DPMM FC hoist league title". Borneo Bulletin. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  17. "WARDUN TO RETIRE AT SEASON'S END". BruSports News. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  18. "DPMM FC head to Cambodia". The Brunei Times. 15 October 2008. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  19. "Brunei make history". The Brunei Times. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  20. "Brunei put up strong fight". The Brunei Times. 22 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  21. "AFC Solidarity Cup: Brunei Darussalam 4-0 Timor-Leste". Asian Football Confederation. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  22. "Macau to face Nepal in AFC Solidarity Cup final". Asian Football Confederation. 12 November 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  23. "Minister urges national team to make impact at AFF Suzuki Cup qualifier". Borneo Bulletin. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
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