SINGAPORE: He has the massive task of guiding the next generation of players who will play for the Singapore national team in the next decade but for local football legend Fandi Ahmad, it is a challenge he relishes.
Just four months into his job as Singapore’s Head Coach for Youth, the ex-national captain has assembled a motley crew of young players – some of whom are not part of any S.League youth teams – to form the national Under-20 squad.
Already, Fandi and his coaching team have identified unpolished gems. “We’ve found some very good players who are currently not playing for any clubs,” said Fandi, whose assistant coaches are Nazri Nasir and S Subramani. “We also want to continue the talent development of those players who used to be in the NFA Under-14 and Under-18 in the past. There are cases where such players were not selected for the Young Lions or even by S.League clubs.
“We don’t want their development to just stop there. There are some who could possibly mature at a later part of their careers.”
Fandi’s immediate task will be to prepare his nearly two-month old squad to play against Mauritius’ Under-21 team next weekend (Mar 11) at the New George V Stadium. According to the 54-year-old, the friendly game will be a good test to see how far they have come. “I’m very excited for these players whose dream is to play for Singapore. Their dreams could be a reality but more importantly, they’d have to work hard for it,” said the former Lions striker.
“Every three months to six months, we’ll try to get new players on board to join the pool of players we currently have.”
Having played in seven friendlies with local teams so far, the national Under-20 squad has already seen its fair share of defeats. “Some (of our friendlies) have been good, but some were not so good. We were thrashed by the Garena Young Lions and lost to Republic Polytechnic,” said Fandi. “(But) lately we’ve been doing well. We played against teams in Division Two, the NFL as well as the youth team from Warriors FC.”
“We recently won 1-0 in one of our matches, which was not too bad. Some games were really tight, plus you can see improvements in the team after just one-and-a-half months of training together and we’re very happy about that.”
Football Association of Singapore (FAS) technical director Michel Sablon said the match against Mauritius will be a good test. “You can judge (players) better when they are playing under pressure in a friendly match. It’s also possible that you’d find players who cannot do well in these kind of games.”
GROOMING THE BEST OF THE LOT
In addition to scouting, one of Fandi’s main challenges as coach is to gel his diverse pool of players. “We have mostly non-club players with us. Some are ex-players from the National Football Academy, while others are from S.League clubs like Hougang United, Tampines Rovers and Home United.”
19-year-olds Joseph Goh (2nd from left) and Armin Maier (3rd from left) are among the players in the national Under-20 team. (Photo: Noor Farhan)
“Once the Prime League starts, we’ll be able to continue scouting for more players. At the moment the Prime League clubs are still getting ready for their new season. Hopefully when we come back from Mauritius we can have a wider pool to choose from,” said Fandi.
Among those aiming to cement their place in the squad is 19-year-old Armin Maier, who recently returned from German semi-pro club FC 07 Albstadt.
The budding midfielder dreams of someday donning the Lions’ jersey, and is looking forward to the friendly in Mauritius. “Training under Fandi has been very good as you’ll learn a lot of things from him. The level of play here is good as well and I’m honoured and happy to have this opportunity,” said Maier, whose favourite player is Bayern Munich’s Thiago Alcantara.
His team-mate Joseph Goh is another player who is hoping to impress, after almost three years out of the game due to a bad leg fracture. “It’s a good opportunity now for me to come back to football,” said the 19-year-old defender. “I’ve been without a team for three years, and coming to this squad, I’ve managed to learn a lot.”
“Training under Fandi has been really good and professional, as he’s a no-nonsense guy on the field. (Under Fandi) I give my 100 percent on the field, even during training with my team-mates as I know that they’re helping me and I’m helping them at the same time.”
