Shamsuri Saleh: ATM's Veteran Anchor Is Still Setting the Standard
The only outfield player over 30 in the 2026 squad, and still one of the division's most consistent. Shamsuri Saleh backs his experience with goals when ATM need them most.
There are players who carry a dressing room through experience alone, and there are players who back that experience with goals when their team needs them most. Mohd Shamsuri Saleh does both. The ATM pivot is the only outfield player in the 2026 Malaysia Premier Futsal League squad noted by the national coaching staff as being over 30, and yet he remains one of the most consistent performers in the division.
His 2026 season has been built on moments of quality rather than volume. In circuit two's clash with USM, Shamsuri delivered a match-defining hat-trick, goals in the 10th, 30th and 38th minutes of a 5-3 win that earned him the MVP award and reminded the division of exactly what a senior player of his calibre brings to a team under Izmir Firdaus Bin Zainal Ariff's management. Earlier in circuit one he had opened his account in ATM's 6-1 defeat to Pahang Rangers, a result that told more about Eloy Alonso's formidable side than it did about Shamsuri's contribution.
His national team standing reinforces the picture. Called into the preliminary camp of 18 players ahead of the 2026 ASEAN Futsal Championship in Thailand, Shamsuri was identified alongside nine players between 19 and 23 as the sole member of the squad aged over 30, a distinction that speaks to both his longevity and his ongoing relevance to the national programme. He was ultimately cut from the final 14 before departure, but his inclusion in the original group confirmed his standing.
ATM's 2026 campaign reflects a side finding their feet in a competitive division, two wins, one draw and four losses through seven matches, but Shamsuri has given Izmir Firdaus's side a reliable focal point in attack throughout. With six more circuits remaining, he will be central to any improvement in their fortunes.
