He’s one of the new stars of the Malaysia Super League with the most multicultural of backgrounds — Canadian and Japanese with Singapore and Australian influences — that makes him almost impossible to pigeonhole.
Issey Nakajima-Farran.
Issey Nakajima-Farran’s full name is so long that fans at his new base of Kuala Terengganu aren’t likely to be chanting it in the terraces.
But that hasn’t stopped the 31-year-old Canadian international winger from scoring nine goals in just 11 matches since moving to Malaysia four months ago.
Terengganu have won seven of their last eight games to jump ahead of Lions XII in the chase for a top three finish.
On Aug 5, Issey scored a brace as the Turtles defeated the Singapore outfit 4-2 in Kuala Terengganu.
“Things are clicking now and we’re enjoying those moments in the game when you look at each other after a certain play and smile as you both just enjoyed it,” Issey told ESPN FC. “The chemistry between the players is good and the Malaysian food and rich culture we’ve enjoyed together has helped too.”
Issey has embraced many cultures and cuisines through a football journey that began in Tokyo when his English-Canadian father and Japanese mother moved from Calgary when he was just three years old.
He progressed through the tough J-League youth system with Tokyo Verdy, interrupted by a two-year spell in the junior teams of Crystal Palace in England.
But it was a move to Singapore in 2004 with J-League feeder club Albirex Niigata that changed his life.
After being named S.League Player of the Year in 2005, he was capped at U21 level by Singapore, facing up to none other than Japan.
After scoring two goals and winning the man-of-the-match award in his debut, there was talk of Issey becoming a full Singapore international.
But he was soon headed to Europe to join Kim Poulsen — one of his former coaches in Singapore — at Danish club Vejle Boldklub.
Issey spent six years in Denmark, played in the Uefa Cup and scored more than 30 goals. He earned his first Canadian call-up in 2006 — he has represented the Canucks in four Concacaf Gold Cups — closing the door on a possible international career with Singapore or Japan.
“I was considering Singapore nationality but that would have made my European dreams more difficult. That’s when Canada knocked on my door and options in Europe weren’t jeopardised,” he said.
“In Japan, I was seen as a foreigner. In England, I was always considered Japanese. But the Canadian national team suited me because it has so much diversity yet we share the same footballing language.”
Along with many highs, Issey has had his share of lows in his seven country football odyssey.
He’s still chasing unpaid wages from two clubs in Cyprus, he was cut from Brisbane Roar’s AFC Champions League squad despite helping the A-League set a national, unbeaten record and he was left in limbo after being waived by Major League Soccer club Montreal Impact before the start of the 2015 season.
That started a chain of events — after a training spell in Spain — that saw him picked up by Terengganu in the April transfer window.
A torn oblique muscle in early May halted his initial progress, but his devastating recent form in tandem with Malaysia internationals Norshahrul Idlan Talaha and Ashari Samsudin means that fast-finishing Terengganu could be a major threat in the upcoming Malaysia Cup campaign.
“I’m truly excited to be here and physically I feel fit and motivated to keep fighting. I have a new found love for Nasi Dagang [curry seafood rice] and Teh Tarik [milk tea] but I have to control that one,’’ he said.
With his long black locks and head band, Issey has quickly become a local celebrity on Malaysia’s East Coast who could pass as a leading man from one of the Malay soap operas.
But it is painting and not acting — he’s an accomplished artist whose sold more than two dozen pieces for as much as US$4000 — which is his creative passion.
“My art has been the remedy to the lows of football,” he said. “My paintings take me away from all the pressure and make me relaxed and refreshed for the next match.”
Jason Dasey is senior editor of football website ESPN FC (formerly ESPN Soccernet) which now has a Southeast Asia edition.
