KUALA LUMPUR: After having trained and plied his trade in the French League for almost two decades, a now mature Titus James Palani can hold his head up high as he is a very determined Malaysian player who has managed to remain playing in Europe, more specifically France, the home of the two-time World Cup champions Les Blues, since he was a young teenager.
Titus, now 32, currently plays for French Ligue 3 side CS Meaux, and he admits that it has been anything but easy for him to be so far away from his beloved family and country for such a long time.
He started to make a name for himself when at the age of only 13, he pulled of the extraordinary feat of juggling a ball 5,680 times at a local competition back in 1999. In France, he has played for French clubs Nanteuil SC, FC Villenoy and Normandy in the lower tier of French club football.
Titus is gracious and willing to share his vast experiences, admitting that he faced all sorts of obstacles and challenges throughout his time playing in France, especially in terms of communication, weather and food.
He said that the thought of returning to Malaysia did cross his mind more than once, but out of his love of the game and determination to try his best to realise his ambition and dreams of playing in Europe, he stuck to his guns and tried to acclimatise himself to his surroundings as soon as possible.
"It is actually difficult to live for a very long time in another country. There are so many obstacles and challenges that crop up, especially when it comes to communication because here in France the people are proud of the French language and rarely speak English.
"So, I had to toughen up and learn French. I was alone at the time but I was very lucky because I lived with a very good foster family who helped overcome the language barrier as I picked up the French language from them.
"However I did miss my family back home in Malaysia very much. But I toughened up mentally and faced all the obstacles and challenges that came my way head on as best I could. So if one is strong mentally, then there should be no problems in succeeding and being able to play abroad just about anywhere,” he said when contacted earlier today (Thursday).
Speaking further on fellow Malaysian players who now ply their trade up north across the border in neighboring Thailand, namely Shahrel Fikri Md Fauzi who stars for Nakhon Ratchasima, Titus advised the young forward to be as strong as he can mentally, emotionally and physically, if he wants to succeed.
"Shahrel could be facing the same situation as me, in terms of having issues communicating and with the food. In Thailand, they speak Thai and perhaps he also feels lonely because of problems communicating. Therefore he needs to toughen up and be brave while trying to learn how to speak Thai,” he said.
Through a NSTP Sport report published yesterday (Wednesday), Shahrel uploaded an entry on his Twitter account, sharing how lonely he feels living in Thailand.
His post on Twitter has garnered all sorts of responses among Malaysian football fans, with some commenting that they are worried that he could be homesick and return earlier before his contract expires, and this has happened before to other Malaysian players who went abroad, such as Nazmi Faiz Mansor, Wan Zack Haikal and Nazirul Naim Che Hashim.