The Malaysia Super League giants have secured the services of Swiss midfielder Oliver Buff
Selangor FC have confirmed the arrival of midfielder Oliver Buff, who was part of the Switzerland Under-17 squad that won the U-17 World Cup in 2009.
On Tuesday, the 28-year old’s signing was officially announced by the club through their social media.
According to a German report, Buff was signed by the Red Giants on a free transfer for two years, after his contract with Swiss second-tier side Grasshopper Club Zürich expired in 2020.
In an interview with the club, Buff revealed that he wants to be a part of Selangor’s bid to return to glory.
“I got a phone call from an agent about a project in Malaysia with Selangor, and I also had a chance to talk with the Selangor head coach Karsten Neitzel, and Technical Director, Michael Feichtenbeiner about their plans. From the first minute I was really confident that I wanted to be part of the Red and Yellow family.
Karsten Neitzel. Photo from Getty
“Selangor’s plan to return to glory has convinced me that this will be the best place for me to develop my football career in this beautiful country,” said the midfielder.
Neitzel meanwhile revealed that this is not the first time that he has approached the player.
“I have never worked with Oliver. Back then, when he was a young player at FC Zürich, Oliver attracted my interest to bring him over to my former club in Germany. Although it was unsuccessful, from that day I followed his progress until now.
“Oliver is a player who is very calm on the ball, has a good overview, and is of good quality in both offence and defence. He can be a good example to our young players. I hope that he can show all of these qualities to us soon,” said the German.
The Swiss was trained as a youth player at top-tier Swiss side Zürich, for whom he played until 2017. He then joined Spanish second-tier side Real Zaragoza for two years, before a stint at a Cypriot club in 2019, and then the Grasshoppers in 2020. All his club competition trophies; 2013/14 and 2015/16 Swiss Cup and the 2016/17 Challenge League championship were won with Zürich.
At the international stage, he had played regularly with the Swiss junior national teams in competitive teams, including the 2012 Olympics. He also won the World Cup U-17 back in 2009, alongside now Thailand senior international Charyl Chappuis.
The Red Giants now have one more foreign player slot remaining to be filled ahead of the 2021 season, having retained Ifedayo Olusegun and Safuwan Baharudin, while retaining Buff and German defender Tim Heubach.
