AZMI Muslim is thrilled with his audacious long-range effort and was proud of his performance despite Malaysia's 2-1 loss to Arsenal at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Tuesday.
The leftback gave Malaysia the lead on the stroke of halftime with a 25-metre howitzer that flew past a static Vito Mannone.
Arsenal, however, scored twice in the last five minutes through Thomas Eisfeld and Chuks Aneke to claim victory.
Azmi, who led Armed Forces to the Premier League title this season, was only included in the First XI following an injury to regular Asraruddin Putra Omar.
His fine performance on Tuesday puts him in a good position to earn a spot in K. Rajagobal's team for the AFF Cup in November.
"It's something I like to try. I saw the goalkeeper off his line and fortunately for me the ball went in. I was so happy," said Azmi yesterday.
When asked if it was the best goal of his career, Azmi replied: "I don't know. It was a nice goal, a great goal but I think I've scored some other good goals as well.
"It is not always that a Malaysian gets to score against Arsenal. I will cherish this goal for a long time but I do not want to stop here ... I want to score more goals for Malaysia," he said.
In describing his goal, Azmi explained that he picked up the ball from 25 metres out and without giving it a second thought made his attempt.
"I closed my eyes and used all my strength to kick the ball and before I knew it everyone were congratulating me. I needed a few minutes to digest it as I realised I've just scored against one of Europe's best clubs," he added.
Azmi, 26, was a forklift driver in Penang but his passion for football earned him a contract with the now-defunct club MyTeam six years ago. He then spent three seasons with Kedah before signing with Forces this season.
His rapid rise in football, however, came with a prize as he suffered a career threatening injury a few years ago.
Azmi, a member of the successful 2009 Laos Sea Games squad, was then dropped from the national team before earning his place once again this year.
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