Samuel Somerville

For the former president of Middlebury College, see Samuel Somerville Stratton.

Samuel Somerville
Personal information
Full name Samuel Jacob Somerville
Date of birth (1994-08-06) 6 August 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth Farnborough, England
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Selangor
Number 23
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Farnborough
2012–2013 → Godalming Town (loan)
2013–2015 Slough Town
2014 → Badshot Lea (loan)
2015 Tooting & Mitcham
2016–2019 Johor Darul Ta'zim II 36 (0)
2020–2021 Penang 27 (0)
2022– Selangor 34 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 August 2024

Samuel Jacob Somerville (born 6 August 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Malaysia Super League side Selangor. Born and raised in England but with a Malaysian grandmother from Kulim, he took Malaysian nationality in 2015, and was called up for the Malaysia national team in 2021.

Club career

England

Somerville started his career playing in the youth team of English sixth tier side Farnborough,[1] where he first met fellow Malaysian player Junior Eldstål,[1][2] In 2012, he went on a season-long loan to Godalming Town in the Division One Central of the Southern League, after which he made 70-plus appearances for Slough Town and had a season with Tooting & Mitcham United.[3]

Malaysia

Encouraged by Eldstål,[1][2] in 2015 Somerville took Malaysian nationality (he has a Malaysian grandmother from Kulim), and moved to Malaysia, making his first appearances in Malaysian League in the 2015 season, after Johor Darul Ta'zim brought him in along with other hybrid players such as Curran Ferns, Stuart Wark, Nick Swirad, Kevin Gunter and Daniel Ting. Somerville played four seasons in the Malaysia Premier League for Johor Darul Ta'zim II, who also won the 2019 Challenge Cup, beating UKM FC in the final.

Before the 2020 season, Somerville signed for Malaysian club Penang.[4] Somerville recorded four clean sheets in helping Penang win the 2020 Premier League and only conceded eight times in 11 matches.[2][4] In Penang's 2021 season he made 16 Super League and two cup appearances.[5]

On 17 December 2021, Somerville switched sides to join Selangor for the 2022 season,[6] making 15 league and four cup appearances,[5] and then 13 league and four cup appearances in the 2023 season.[5]

In addition to his playing career, Somerville also started a company, SJS Goalkeeping, marketing goalkeeping gloves in Malaysia.[2]

International career

On 10 May 2021, Somerville received a first call-up from Malaysia as third choice keeper for the World Cup qualifying matches against Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and Thailand.[2][7]

Honours

Godalming Town

Johor Darul Ta'zim II

Penang

References

  1. ^ a b c Lee, Seng-foo (24 March 2015). "Sam Somerville: It'd be great if I could represent Malaysia alongside Junior Eldstal". fourfourtwo.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e Ficetola, Franco (8 July 2021). "'I was into Joga Bonito and did not want to become a keeper' – The remarkable rise of Malaysia custodian Samuel Somerville". Goal. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  3. ^ Whitney, Steve (9 April 2022). "They`ve Played for Your Club…..Farnborough". Pitching In. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b Zainal, Zulhilmi (21 October 2020). "Somerville looking forward to first ever Super League outing". Goal. goal.com. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Samuel Jacob Somerville". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  6. ^ "OFFICIAL : Samuel Is RED!". selangorfc.com. Selangor FC. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Siaran Media: Senarai 25 Pemain Ke Kem Latihan Pusat Skuad Harimau Malaya Bermula 16 Mei 2021" (in Malay). Football Association of Malaysia. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.