Malaysia Super League Foreign Players Team of the Decade (2010-2019)

Malaysian teams almost exclusively sign foreign players to play in central outfield positions, which means the pickings for right and left backs and goalkeeper are rather slim. Fortunately for this list, Singapore's youth team turned out in the Super League from 2012 to 2015 as LionsXII, which means these positions will be filled by players from the team. 

The Lions went through a number of players, but Izwan made the first-pick custodian role his for much of the team's short existence, and helped them lift the 2013 Super League title and the 2015 FA Cup.

The left back featured often for the LionsXII side that won the 2013 Super League and the 2015 FA Cup. He joined JDT II in 2018, but has never returned to action in Malaysia's top tier so far.

Prior to his arrival in Malaysia back in 2014, the Brazilian defender had perhaps only been known for his bumbling 2012 debut for Bundesliga side FC Nürnberg, one that could only be described as humiliating. But fast forward four years, five Super League titles, a Malaysia Cup, an FA Cup and an AFC Cup later, Antonio was only known in Malaysia as a JDT legend when he retired.

The centre back was only with Kelantan for two and a half years, while his stints in Malaysia's top league was only during the first half of the decade, but with the Red Warriors he won all the major titles as well as the Charity Shield. He led the Peninsular Malaysia East Coast side's defence during their revival, before parting ways with them mid-way through the 2014 season. In the following season the former Nigeria international returned for a season with ATM FA, but the armed forces club could not reach Kelantan's heights.

The defender featured a number of times as a right back for LionsXII, and helped them win the 2013 Super League and the 2015 FA Cup. He could have returned to Malaysia's top-tier in 2018, but Negeri Sembilan inexplicably terminated his contract just weeks after signing him, before the season started.

Yes, the midfielder featured for LionsXII and won the league with them in 2013, but his achievements with JDT from 2014 to 2019 alone are enough to seal his spot on our list, eclipsing the feats of any other foreign midfielders in the Super League of the past decade. And the Southern Tigers skipper is only 29, which means that he has a few more good years left to dominate the league, perhaps as the best foreign player of the league's history, which is no small feat for a Southeast Asian footballer.

The Brazilian midfielder was a hugely popular figure during his three-and-a-half seasons at Kedah, three of them in the top tier. He won the 2016 Malaysia Cup, before helping the Red Eagles lift the FA Cup next season. When he parted ways with Kedah at the conclusion of the 2018 season at the age of 35, many thought that was the end of his time in Malaysia, but in 2019 he would return with Selangor as a last-minute replacement, and starred for the Red Giants, for whom he would continue playing in the new decade.

Another 2013 Super League and 2015 FA Cup winner with the LionsXII, Faris Ramli would return to the Super League in 2018 with PKNS FC, but unlike Hariss and Safuwan, could not emulate his earlier success, despite early-season promise. He will get another go however, having signed with Terengganu FC for the first season of the coming decade.

The diminutive Indonesian winger who can play on either flank was no Bambang Pamungkas during his four seasons at Selangor and one year at Kedah, but the hardworking and ever-smiling player remained a popular figure among Malaysian fans. He came away from his five seasons with a Malaysia Cup, which he won with the Red Giants in 2015.

The Argentinian forward loved playing (and winning) with JDT so much in his first stint from 2014 to 2016, that he came out of retirement for another season in 2018. And after finally retiring for good, having won three league titles and the AFC Cup, he would stay on as team manager, where he is currently leading their next generation of winners.

The aging Lebanese striker spent 2019 in the Premier League with JDT's reserve team (winning their first ever Challenge Cup), but when he was in top form earlier in the decade, he was nothing short of a star. His first stint with Kelantan back in 2012 ended in them capturing the league title and the Malaysia Cup, and the club would never be able to quit him, resulting in an astonishing three more stints with them for him. Ghaddar's 2017 season with the Red Warriors saw a resurgent player, earning him a mid-season move to JDT, his second Malaysia Cup and Super League, and a Golden Boot award. Yet he was not retained by the Tigers when the season ended, and returned to Kelantan for his latest, and more forgettable stint with the declining side. Surprisingly, he would sign with JDT's reserve team at the start of the 2019 season.