Hendra Azam
Hendra with Brunei in 2023
Personal information
Full name Mohammad Hendra Azam bin Mohammad Idris
Date of birth (1988-08-10) 10 August 1988
Place of birth Brunei
Height 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 DPMM
Number 8
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2008 Majra
2009–2011 QAF
2012– DPMM 155 (5)
International career‡
2012–2014 Brunei U21 6 (1)
2011 Brunei U23 5 (0)
2009– Brunei 21 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 August 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 October 2023

Mohammad Hendra Azam bin Mohammad Idris (born 10 August 1988) is a Bruneian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for DPMM and captains the Brunei national team.[1]

Club career

Hendra began his career with Majra FC where he once scored from the halfway line seconds after the opposing team were celebrating an equalizer and failing to prepare for the restart.[2] He moved to QAF FC in 2009 where he won the Brunei Premier League in his first season with them.[3]

Hendra joined DPMM in 2012,[4] and broke into the first team the following year, scoring in the semi-final of the 2013 Singapore League Cup.[5]

By the 2019 season, Hendra became an integral part of the DPMM squad, starting in most matches as a deep-lying playmaker.[6] On 28 April in the home fixture against Hougang United FC, deep into injury time with the game poised at 2–2, Hendra floated in a 40-yard free-kick which bounced directly into the net to score the game-winning goal.[7] That goal became an important moment in DPMM's season as they became the league champions come September, overcoming Hougang's own title challenge.[8]

DPMM participated in the domestic FA Cup in 2022, and Hendra was instrumental in the team's advancement all the way to the final on 4 December against Kasuka FC.[9] Hendra started in midfield and was victorious with a 2–1 win, bringing DPMM their second FA Cup triumph after last winning the competition in 2004.[10]

International career

Hendra made his debut for the national team in the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup qualification against hosts Sri Lanka in a 1-5 loss, when the whole team was represented by his then club side QAF FC for the tournament.[11] He made further appearances in the AFF Suzuki Cup qualifying rounds of 2012 and 2014.

Hendra playing against Indonesia during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Hendra saw action for the Under-23s at the 2011 SEA Games in Indonesia. He was selected for the Under-21s in the 2012 Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy a year later, playing in the final for the host's maiden success. Picked again for 2014 as an overage player, he started 3 games as Brunei narrowly failed to advance from the group stage.

After featuring for the DPMM first-team for the last few seasons Hendra was in line to be called up for international duty in June 2019, but declined the invitation to play for Brunei at the 2022 World Cup qualification.[12]

Hendra returned to the international fold in 2022, taking up captaincy and playing in three friendly games against Malaysia, the Maldives and Laos.[13] He led Brunei to qualification for the 2022 AFF Championship with victory over Timor-Leste that November, winning 6–3 on aggregate.[14][15] The following month in the group stage of the tournament Hendra played two games from the start and two as a substitute as Brunei failed to earn any points in the regional tournament.[16]

Hendra stayed as captain for the 6 September 2023 unofficial friendly against Sabah FC at the Track & Field Sports Complex, which ended in a 1–3 loss.[17] He did not travel to Hong Kong for the away friendly against the Hong Kong national football team five days later, which resulted in an acrimonious 10–0 drubbing by the home side.[18] In the following month, he led the Wasps for the 2026 World Cup qualification two-legged match against a daunting opponent in Indonesia.[19] Recognising the gulf in strength, Hendra jested that their opposition would "play a 1-1-8 formation" against his team, a comment that amused Indonesia's head coach, Shin Tae-yong.[20] He started in the first leg and also the second leg five days later in Brunei but suffered a 0–6 defeat in both matches, resulting in Brunei's elimination from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[21]

Honours

Team

QAF FC
DPMM FC

International

Brunei national under-21 football team

Individual

  • Meritorius Service Medal (PJK) (2012)[22]

Personal life

Hendra's cousins are teammates Azwan Ali Rahman and Abdul Azizi Ali Rahman.[23] His younger brother Hendra Putera is also a footballer who currently plays for Indera SC as a goalkeeper.

References

  1. ↑ "Singapore Premier League Week 11: Roundup". Football Association of Singapore. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  2. ↑ "Never-say-die Majra bury Wijaya". The Brunei Times. 25 November 2007. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  3. ↑ "MS ABDB gun down Majra to move top". The Brunei Times. 9 April 2011. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "DPMM FC get fresh legs". The Brunei Times. 5 April 2012. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "Hendra fires DPMM FC into final". The Brunei Times. 11 September 2013. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "DPMM OPEN SIX-POINT LEAD IN SINGAPORE PREMIER LEAGUE". ASEAN Football Federation. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  7. ↑ "HENDRA AZAM TAMES CHEETAHS WITH LATE WINNER". BruSports News. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  8. ↑ "DPMM SPL champions as Hougang stumble". The Straits Times. 16 September 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  9. ↑ "Anticipation builds over FA Cup battle". Borneo Bulletin. 3 December 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  10. ↑ "Crown Prince joins group photo session with DPMM FC". Borneo Bulletin. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  11. ↑ "Sri Lanka too strong for QAF FC". Borneo Bulletin. 5 April 2009. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  12. ↑ "Brunei national team set to miss nine key players". Borneo Bulletin. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  13. ↑ "Brunei ready for 'high intensity match' against Maldives, says head coach". Borneo Bulletin. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  14. ↑ "'We will give a good fight' – Hendra". ASEAN Football Federation. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  15. ↑ "Brunei DS edge Timor Leste for place in AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022". ASEAN Football Federation. 8 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  16. ↑ "Brunei lose 5-1 to Cambodia". Borneo Bulletin. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  17. ↑ "Players excited to play before fans, says Brunei head coach". Borneo Bulletin. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  18. ↑ "Result: Hong Kong, China 10 - 0 Brunei". HKFA. 11 September 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  19. ↑ @fa.bruneidarussalam (9 October 2023). "Here's the 25 players that will be representing Brunei Darussalam in the World Cup Qualifiers". Retrieved 20 October 2023 – via Instagram.
  20. ↑ "Kapten Brunei Tak Takut Lawan Timnas Indonesia di GBK". CNN Indonesia. 11 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  21. ↑ "NO HOME COMFORT FOR WASPS". BruSports News. 18 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  22. ↑ "Sultan sees HBT stars as nucleus of national team". Borneo Bulletin. 6 April 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  23. ↑ "HBT Alumni shares experience in winning the 2012 edition". New Brunei Daily. 3 April 2018. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
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