Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Risky to take job of Lions coach without understanding Singapore’s culture: Analysts

SINGAPORE — Differences in language, working culture, and a lack of understanding of the football climate here could be stumbling blocks for potential foreign candidates eyeing the job of the Singapore national head coach, football observers told TODAY.

Former Singapore national coach Bernd Stange, a German, tried unsuccessfully to get his players to play the type of football he preaches.

Former Singapore national coach Bernd Stange, a German, tried unsuccessfully to get his players to play the type of football he preaches.

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp

SINGAPORE — Differences in language, working culture, and a lack of understanding of the football climate here could be stumbling blocks for potential foreign candidates eyeing the job of the Singapore national head coach, football observers told TODAY.

Their comments came after Ricardo Lunari, former assistant national coach for Chile, threw his hat into the ring for the post, despite having no experience working in Asia.

The Argentinian is one of several foreign applicants for the job to coach the Lions, a role held by V Sundramoorthy until April. Singapore football icon Fandi Ahmad has taken over until after November’s Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup.

In a previous interview, Mr Lim Kia Tong, president of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), said that the association is likely to appoint a foreigner as national coach because there are “very few good local coaches in the form of Sundram and Fandi”.

He believes that nationality is not the main issue here. “Ultimately, it’s not about local or foreign. It boils down to who is the one who can bring changes to (the football) landscape, bring up the level of Singapore football,” he said.

Mr Lim confirmed that FAS received applications from former England players Terry Butcher and Tony Adams. Other names who are reportedly keen are former Manchester United assistant manager Rene Meulensteen (from the Netherlands), ex-Bradford City defender Ashley Westwood (from England), and former Thailand coach Kiatisuk Senamuang (from Thailand).

Apart from Meulensteen, Westwood and Kiatisuk, the rest have no prior experience coaching in Asia.

Former Home United coach Steve Darby, 63, said that it is crucial for a foreign candidate to have a “good understanding of Singapore’s football culture and national culture” before taking the job.

“Trying to understand why your best young players are taken away by National Service can be quite frustrating (for a new foreign coach),” he said, having worked in Asia for more than two decades.

“You must also understand that, while Singapore may be an overwhelmingly Chinese-populated country, the league has just a couple dozen Chinese players. It’s very difficult for a foreigner to grasp these cultural issues. It takes time.”

Former Singapore international R Sasikumar agrees. “South Americans tend to take longer to adapt. Especially language,” said the managing director of sports marketing agency Red Card Global. “But that’s not to say they can’t coach.

“Best is for them to know the law of the land (before hand). Otherwise, they will take another six months trying to figure it out.”

Football blogger Ko Po Hui, 42, believes that hiring a coach with no experience in Asian football can be a risk.

Referring to German coach Bernd Stange’s mediocre three-year stint as national coach, Mr Ko said: “One of the problems with Stange was his lack of experience in this region before taking over in 2013, and he tried unsuccessfully to get the players to play the type of football he preaches.

"It will be good to hire someone who is based in this region and familiar with the regional footballing ecosystem, be it a non-Singaporean Asian coach, or someone like former Home United coach Robert Alberts, who is already in this region for more than a decade.”

Mr Darby agreed, saying: “If it were up to me, I would go for a local coach like Aidil Sharin (Home United) or Darren Stewart (former Balestier Khalsa) and give them time.

“If I were going for a foreign coach, I would go for Kiatisuk, who is an excellent coach who understands these unique cultural issues.”

Some observers, however, believe that a candidate should not be selected based on their Asian football experience.

Ex-Lions striker Aleksandar Duric said: “It would be good if we can find somebody who understands our football and who knows our players, but that’s not the main factor.

“What’s important is he has the time to watch and pick the best players. And I’d suggest he must have a few local coaches as assistants to help him.”

Mr James Walton, sports business group leader of financial consultancy Deloitte Southeast Asia, said that there are more important attributes in choosing a coach than just his experience in Asia.

“There are all kinds of attributes we need for a coach for Singapore: English language skills to be able to communicate to the players; ability to work with a relatively small pool of players as a small nation; tactical organisation against technically superior and physically stronger teams; and motivation skills to make the players punch above their weight.

“Plus, he’ll need to have experience in international coaching, as coaching in the international game is different from the club dynamics. You get to spend less time with the players and have to try to get the group playing together coherently in short periods.”

He added that to get “all of these” in someone with Asian football experience is tough. “So let’s focus on getting someone who can, first and foremost, pull together the pool of players we have and get them tactically organised to get results.”

Mr Walton pointed to the success of European coaches in Africa and said that it is possible for a coach from a totally different background to be successful.

“Herve Renard, a French coach, enjoyed a successful coaching career with Angola, Ivory Coast and now Morocco (who are going to the World Cup in Russia this year),” he said.

“He famously coached a massive underdog Zambia team to their only ever African Cup of Nations success in 2012. But many people don’t know that one of his very first coaching jobs was in Vietnam with Song Da Nam Dinh.”

Mr Walton also noted that Thailand recently appointed Milovan Rajevac of Serbia, who has coached Qatar, Algeria, and led Ghana to the 2010 World Cup quarter-finals.

He asked: “Can we find our own Renard or Rajevac for the short-term? But, more importantly, can we put the right young, talented local coaches around them to develop the next generation of coaches, so that our next appointment can be a Singaporean success story?”

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.