Two years ago he suffered the heartbreak of being left out of the Johor Darul Ta'zim squad to face Kedah in the 2017 Malaysia Cup final. Then he was still new to the team and his performances were inconsistent. Fast forward 24 months later and Safawi has transformed himself to be an integral part of the all-conquering JDT team as he finally earned his cup final appearance.
A free kick delivered to precision in the first half helped doubled JDT's lead in the match and further dampen the confidence of Kedah. His performance on the night earned him the official man-of-the-match award from the organisers and Safawi firmly believes that he is back to the shape and form that he wants to be at.