Hariss remains upbeat despite aborted Spain stint

SINGAPORE – His dream of playing in Spain may have been cruelly cut short after just two weeks through no fault of his own, but national vice-captain Hariss Harun showed no anger or frustration when speaking about his aborted stint with Spanish third-tier side CE L’Hospitalet.

Instead, the 26-year-old looked reassured, and was even able to crack a few jokes as he addressed the assembled media on Friday (March 10) at the Bishan Stadium, where he put pen to paper on a loan contract that will see him play for Home United for the next three months at least.

After all, while the combative midfielder admitted that he was “disappointed” his move to Hospitalet failed to work out, he was relieved to have finally found a club to play for after spending close to four months without any competitive football action.

“Naturally, I am disappointed because it didn’t work out there, but I am back now, and I want to focus (on Home United),” said Hariss, whose parent club is Malaysian Super League (MSL) side Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), said.

“But at least the worrying part is out of the way for now… so I can focus a lot more on football. 

“I can’t let this disappointment get the better of me. I am a professional player, and I need to help the club (Home United) and the national team.

“I made a decision to come back to Singapore and the S.League because I needed games, having not played for a long time. I’m happy that JDT and I have managed to work things out with Home United, and I’m glad to be on board with the club.”

Hariss also insisted that he was unclear over the exact reasons for why his move to Hospitalet failed.

According to a statement by JDT’s sports director Alistair Edwards, the move collapsed due to tax issues faced by the Spanish Segunda B side. However, Edwards added that L’Hospitalet will attempt to re-sign Hariss when the European transfer window reopens in June.

“Hariss has been in Spain the past month with CE L’Hospitalet, but during the registration process, the Spanish club became aware that they weren’t able to sign any further players until an existing tax liability is settled,” said Edwards.

“This tax liability will be settled in time for Harris to officially rejoin CE L’Hospitalet at the commencement of pre-season training in June.”

Hariss, who was not registered as one of JDT’s four foreign imports for this year’s MSL, nonetheless believes the two weeks he spent in Spain were beneficial for him.

“It was a good experience, and I was training at a higher level definitely,” said Hariss, who has four MSL titles and one AFC Cup to his name. 

“In Spain, they have a certain structure of football, but what took me aback was how even in the third division, the players there were very passionate and professional.

“I thought I was adapting quite well towards the end of my stay, before I got to know…that my move wouldn’t materialise.

“It was a situation beyond JDT’s control…I believe they did their best to put me in Spain, and it’s just unfortunate that things have turned out this way.”

Hariss added that he remained optimistic of securing a move to L’Hospitalet once the European transfer window opens again in June.

“I will try to move forward as a player to make myself ready should an opportunity arise again in June,” said Hariss. “Ideally, JDT will be trying to get me back into Spain again, so we will see how things go when the time comes.”

At Home United, Hariss will find himself surrounded by several familiar faces from the national team such as goalkeeper Hassan Sunny, defender Juma’at Jantan, winger Faris Ramli and midfielder Izzdin Shafiq.

It is a strong squad that Hariss will be joining, with the Protectors – who have won four of their last five games in all competitions – set to challenge for honours on four fronts.

And Hariss says his focus now is simply on doing all he can to help Home achieve their targets this season.

“What I am going to value and treasure here is that I’ll be playing with some really good players, and I’ll try to help Home United in the league as much as possible,” said Hariss. 

“Whether I stay with them after June or not, I hope to do my part in helping them win the league title this season.”

Hariss will likely only make his debut for Home United next month, with the club's next S.League match against Albirex Niigata (S) scheduled for April 1.