Fandi Ahmad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fandi Ahmad (born 29 May 1962) is a soccer coach and former professional soccer player from Singapore. During his playing career, he enjoyed success playing in both Europe and Asia, and was captain of the Singapore national football team. He is considered by many to be Singapore's best-ever football player. His most regular playing position was that of striker, though he also sometimes played in midfield.
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[edit] Playing career
In 1978, at the age 16, Fandi became the youngest-ever player ever to play for the Singapore national team. In 1980 he was a member of the Singapore representative side which won the Malaysia Cup. He scored the winning goal in the final, where Singapore beat arch rivals Selangor 2-1.
In 1982, Fandi was offered a place at Ajax Amsterdam after a trial, but he rejected it due to his difficulties adapting to the language and lifestyle. Instead he chose to return to Asia and joined Niac Mitra in Indonesia.
In 1983, Fandi did move to the Netherlands, where he played for FC Groningen from 1983 to 1985 in the Dutch football league (Eredivisie). Pior to his arrival, Groningen had qualified for European football for the first time, and Fandi helped them in a dramatic European debut by scoring twice in a shock win over Spanish giants Atlético Madrid. He also scored once against Inter Milan in the UEFA Cup, helping Groningen to a 2-0 victory. Fandi made a big impact on the Groningen fans, and in 2003 he was named in the club's best eleven of the century.
Although Fandi was offered a place again at Ajax Amsterdam, he chose to return to Asia in 1986. (He has since said that he regretted not further plying his trade in Europe. Nottingham Forest made an informal enquiry about his availability in the late-1990s, but decided he was too old.)
Fandi's played for Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia from 1986 to 1990, helping them win the Malaysia Cup three times in 1987, 1988 and 1989. He also won the Malaysian Golden Boot Award in 1988. He then joined OFI Crete in Greece in 1990. But this stint in Europe lasted only a few months, and he returned to Malaysia to join Pahang in 1991, and helped them win the Malaysian League and Malaysia Cup double in 1992.
In 1993, Fandi returned to Singapore to play for the Singapore side in the Malaysian League. That year he tasted Malaysia Cup final defeat for the first time when Singapore were beaten 2-0 by Kedah. But the following year, with Fandi as captain, Singapore won the Malaysian League and Malaysia Cup double, and Fandi scored in the Malaysia Cup final as Singapore routed his former side Pahang 4-0.
1994 was Singapore's last year of involvement in the Malaysian competitions, as the Football Association of Singapore decided to withdraw and focus on developing its own domestic tournaments.
In 1996, Singapore's new S.League was launched and Fandi captained Geylang United to winning the inaugural S.League championship title. Following that he moved to the Singapore Armed Forces Football Club (SAFFC) and captained them to winning the S.League title in 1997 and 1998. He then became SAFFC's coach and guided them to winning the S.League again in 2000.
Fandi won over 100 caps playing for the Singapore national team. He helped Singapore win the Silver Medal at the Southeast Asian Games in 1983, 1985 and 1989 and also the 2004 Tiger Cup with Singapore as the assistant coach.
[edit] Clubs
| Team | Nation | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore (Malaysia Cup team) |  |
1978-1982 |
| Niac Mitra |  |
1982-1983 |
| FC Groningen |  |
1983-1985 |
| Kuala Lumpur FA |  |
1986-1990 |
| OFI Crete |  |
1990 |
| Pahang FA | |
1991-1992 |
| Singapore (Malaysian League team) | |
1993-1995 |
| Geylang United FC | |
1996 |
| Singapore Armed Forces FC | |
1997-1998 |
[edit] Coaching career
Fandi's first coaching job was at SAFFC, who he guided to winning the S.League title in 2000. He was appointed a Council Member of the Football Association of Singapore in 2001, becoming the youngest person and the first former international player to achieve this. He continued to coach professionally in Singapore and served as Assistant Coach of the Singapore team which won the regional Tiger Cup competition in 2005. He also coached the national under-23 team and the Young Lions in the S.League, before joining the Indonesian club Pelita Jaya as a coach under a 3-year contract in 2006.
[edit] Personal and family life
Fandi is married to South African model Wendy Jacobs (also known as Sarah Abdullah), and has five children.
Fandi's oldest child, Irfan, albeit only 10 years old, has been tipped to make it big in the football scene in Singapore.
