SINGAPORE — He lit up Jalan Besar Stadium five years ago as he captained Ajax’s Under-15 team to Lion City Cup glory.

Abdelhak Nouri left an indelible impression with his creativity and skill, scoring once each in the semi-final and final — the latter was a glorious finish that still lingers in Adam Swandi’s mind to date.

Then the skipper of the Singapore U-16 side, Adam recalled to TODAY: “My first impression of him was that he was very small physically, so I knew this boy must be special as he was the captain of the team. 

"His technique with the ball was the most appealing of all. What I remembered most about him was that he scored against my team in the finals, where he dribbled past a few players and then chipped my goalkeeper. It was such a beautiful goal and I still remember it.”

The waifish Nouri, who was named the Most Valuable Player, looked set for a bright future. But that is highly unlikely to materialise now, after the attacking midfielder was confirmed to have suffered serious and permanent brain damage on Thursday (July 13).

Nicknamed Appie, the 20-year-old had collapsed last Saturday during a pre-season friendly against German side Werder Bremen in Austria and his condition worsened.

“It’s really sad to hear this news as a footballer and it is worse as I’ve had the opportunity to play against him before,” Adam said.  

“All my prayers go to him and his family and hope he will have a speedy recovery."

Former Football Association of Singapore (FAS) head of communications Kelvin Leong recalled Nouri as the standout player at the tournament.

“He was nifty fast and easily a class above the rest,” he told TODAY. “I could already tell he was destined to play for the senior team at Ajax.

“I saw the video of him going down and it is never a good sight to see an athlete in those circumstances. You can only hope and pray for his family to be strong.”

Journalist Nigel Chin added: “He was by far the best player and looked way too good for the competition. It’s really a pity to hear what happened to him ... He was just beginning his career and it has now come to such a premature end.”

Football fan Izwan Abu Shama said: “He was the lynchpin of the team and his skills were testament to the quality of the legendary Ajax youth system.”

Indeed, Nouri looked set to play a bigger role at senior level in the upcoming season, having risen through the ranks at Ajax after joining the club at the age of seven.

Capped at youth level for the Netherlands from U-15 through to U-19 level, Nouri made his first-team debut in a Dutch Cup tie last September.

Fans had chanted for him to be brought on and Nouri did not disappoint, scoring a lovely free-kick 16 minutes after coming off the bench to cap a 5-0 win against Willem II.

He went on to chalk up 14 more appearances. However, he was not named to the squad for the Europa League final against Manchester United in May.

The football world was left stunned when news emerged of his collapse, which saw him receiving emergency treatment by paramedics on the pitch before being airlifted to hospital.

An Ajax statement later said Nouri had suffered cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) during the game.

While an update from the club on Monday said his heart was functioning normally, the Dutch giants announced the latest devastating news yesterday.

“The diagnosis which has emerged is that a large part of his brain is no longer functioning, and that the chance of recovery of these critical brain functions is very low,” the club wrote on their website.  

“This is most likely the result of his brain having been deprived of oxygen for too long ... He has now been medically cleared for transportation. The expectation is that Nouri will be brought to a hospital in Amsterdam soon.”

Former Singapore international R Sasikumar, founder and managing director of Red Card Global, which organised the Lion City Cup tournament, was sad to learn of Nouri’s situation.

“It’s heartbreaking to heart about his condition,” he told TODAY. 

“We obviously have a close affinity to him as he played in our tournament and one of my staff members became really close with him post-event and kept in touch.

“I pray for his full recovery and hope that his family finds the strength to stay strong.”

Ajax chief executive Edwin van der Sar told the club website: “This is the worst possible news. It’s terrible. We feel enormously for his parents, siblings and other relatives. Their suffering is impossible to describe. This has hit Ajax very hard as well, even though we were told to consider this scenario. 

“The past days have been uncertain, and so many people, in different ways, have sympathised with his situation. This is greatly appreciated ... Abdelhak is such a great talent, but unfortunately, we’ll never see how far he would have reached if this hadn’t happened to him.”

Many current and former players have also taken to social media to post well wishes for Nouri.