# Brendan Gan

Brendan Gan Seng Ling (simplified Chinese: 颜兴龙; traditional Chinese: 顏興龍; pinyin: Yán Xìng Lóng; born 3 June 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Malaysia Super League club Kuala Lumpur City. Born in Australia, he plays for the Malaysia national team.

## Club career

Gan began playing football for his local club, Marton Hammers before signing for the Sutherland Sharks in 2000 when he was twelve years old, progressing through their youth grades to make his senior debut for the club in 2008. He made 15 league appearances scoring 6 goals, and 3 appearances in the Finals Series. It was this debut season that shot Gan to prominence within the local media which brought with it a growing reputation to match. His performances eventually led to his being crowned the New South Wales Premier League player of the year, winning the Gold Medal award for the competition.

### Sydney FC

Gan was than signed by Sydney FC for their inaugural National Youth League squad ahead of competition from rival A-League clubs. On 28 November 2008, he made his debut for Sydney FC against Queensland Roar with a 5-minute cameo where he turned heads. On 7 December, he scored the winning goal in the 78th minute for Sydney FC against Newcastle Jets to give them their first win in 7 games.
Gan was given his full senior debut on 13 December against the Central Coast Mariners. He scored his second senior goal against Melbourne Victory with a long range strike from outside the penalty area. Brendan scored his third senior goal against Wellington Phoenix with a powerful header from a corner. This goal gave Sydney FC a 2–0 win over Wellington and placed them on the top of the table, leapfrogging Gold Coast United. On 2 December 2010, in only his second start for the season, he scored the opening goal in a 3–1 win, once again against Wellington Phoenix. He was released from Sydney, along with several other players at the end of Sydney's 2011 AFC Champions League campaign.

### Bonnyrigg White Eagles

Gan signed for Bonnyrigg White Eagles in the NSW Premier League, and made his debut in the Round 15 game against Sydney United.

### Sabah FA

On 17 November 2011, Gan moved to Malaysian club, Sabah as one of the two foreign players allowed in the 2012 Malaysia Super League. Brendan, alongside his fellow countrymen, Michael Baird signed a one-year contract with Sabah.

### Rockdale City Suns

In January 2013, he returned home to signed with NSW Premier League side Rockdale City Suns.

### Kelantan FA

In November 2013, Gan returned to Malaysia and signed a three-year contract with Malaysia Super League club Kelantan ahead of the 2014 season. He was supposed to be registered as a local player for Kelantan but did not get the approval from FAM because according to FAM, any player to be registered as a local player is required to have Malaysian identity card or passport. On 6 April, he officially obtained an identity card as a Malaysian and was registered by Kelantan as a local player during the April 2014 transfer window.
Gan made his debut during the match between Kelantan against Terengganu which ended 1–1. In the first match of the 2015 Malaysia Super League, Gan suffered a serious torn ACL in his right knee that would keep him out for most of the 2015 season. In September 2016, Brendan suffered another ACL injury, this time in his left knee which keep him out for 10 months, ruling him out for the 2016 AFF Championship where he was released by the club at the end of 2016.

### Perak FA

After making his recovery from a long term ACL injury, On 15 December 2017, Gan signed with Perak. On 24 February 2018, Gan played his first football match in over a year during a league match against Pahang FA. He would than played in the club 2019 AFC Champions League preliminary round 2 match against Hong Kong club, Kitchee where he played the entire 120th minute helping the club to progress to the final play-off round against Korean Ulsan Hyundai. On 8 February 2019, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw against Kedah FA.

### Selangor

On 1 December 2019, Gan officially joined Malaysia Super League club Selangor. In July 2021, Gan was diagnosed with testicular cancer and missed the rest of season. In June 2022, he made his return in a 7–0 over Sarawak United, scoring a brace. He was appointed as Selangor's captain since 2021. At the end of the 2023 Malaysia Super League season, Selangor confirmed Gan's departure with them after spending four seasons together.

### Kuala Lumpur City

On 1 April 2024, Gan signed for rivals club Kuala Lumpur City. He scored his first goal on 21 June in a 3–0 away league win against Negeri Sembilan. On 26 September 2024, during the 2024–25 ASEAN Club Championship group stage match against Indonesian club Borneo Samarinda, Gan scored the only goal in the match to secure all 3 points.

## International career
### Youth

Gan made his first appearances with Malaysia as an overage player with the Malaysia U23 team against Yemen U23 in a preparation for the 2014 Asian Games.

### Senior

Gan later debuted for Malaysia national team on 24 March 2016 in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Saudi Arabia. He scored his first international goal in a 2–1 victory over Thailand during the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match.

## Personal life

Gan was born in Australia to an Australian mother and Malaysian Chinese father from Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.

## Career statistics
### Club statistics

    As of match played 17 December 2024.
| Club performance | Club performance | Club performance | League | League | Cup | Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Australia | Australia | Australia | League | League | Cup | Cup | Other | Other | Asia | Asia | Total | Total |
| 2008 | Sutherland Sharks | NSW Premier League | 15 | 6 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 18 | 6 |
| Total | Total | Total | 15 | 6 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 18 | 6 |
| 2008–09 | Sydney FC | A-League | 9 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 9 | 2 |
| 2009–10 | Sydney FC | A-League | 19 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 22 | 1 |
| 2010–11 | Sydney FC | A-League | 10 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 |
| 2011–12 | Sydney FC | A-League | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | 38 | 5 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 41 | 5 |
| 2011 | Bonnyrigg White Eagles | NSW Premier League | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 10 | 2 |
| Malaysia | Malaysia | Malaysia | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Malaysia Cup | Malaysia Cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| 2012 | Sabah | Malaysia Super League | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 21 | 2 |
| Australia | Australia | Australia | League | League | Cup | Cup | Other | Other | Asia | Asia | Total | Total |
| 2013 | Rockdale City Suns | National Premier Leagues | 22 | 3 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 26 | 3 |
| Malaysia | Malaysia | Malaysia | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Malaysia Cup | Malaysia Cup | Asia | Asia | Total | Total |
| 2014 | Kelantan | Malaysia Super League | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | – | – | 23 | 0 |
| 2015 | Kelantan | Malaysia Super League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| 2016 | Kelantan | Malaysia Super League | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 23 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 | – | – | 47 | 0 |
| 2018 | Perak | Malaysia Super League | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | – | – | 23 | 2 |
| 2019 | Perak | Malaysia Super League | 16 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 7 |
| Total | Total | Total | 28 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 53 | 9 |
| 2020 | Selangor | Malaysia Super League | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 11 | 4 |
| 2021 | Selangor | Malaysia Super League | 11 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | – | – | 11 | 0 |
| 2022 | Selangor | Malaysia Super League | 16 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | – | 26 | 5 |
| 2023 | Selangor | Malaysia Super League | 23 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 29 | 4 |
| Total | Total | Total | 60 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 0 | – | – | 77 | 13 |
| 2024–25 | Kuala Lumpur City | Malaysia Super League | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 13 | 2 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 234 | 37 | 27 | 2 | 43 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 306 | 42 |

### International

    As of match played 26 March 2024
Malaysia national team :
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2016 | 7 | 0 |
| 2019 | 8 | 1 |
| 2021 | 5 | 0 |
| 2022 | 4 | 0 |
| 2023 | 6 | 0 |
| 2024 | 7 | 0 |
| Total | 37 | 1 |

#### International goals

    As of match played 14 November 2019. Malaysia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Brendan goal.
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition :
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 14 November 2019 | Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Bukit Jalil, Malaysia | 14 | Thailand | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |

## Honours
### Club

Perak
* Malaysia Cup: 2018
* Malaysia FA Cup runner-up :2019
* Malaysia Charity Shield Runner-up: 2019
Selangor
* Malaysia Cup runner-up: 2022

### International

Malaysia
* King's Cup runner-up: 2022
Individual
* Malaysia Cup Most Valuable Player : 2018