Former Lion Noh Alam Shah wants to deliver glory for Singapore football
SINGAPORE – Former Singapore international Noh Alam Shah led the attack for the Lions from 2001 to 2010, scoring 35 goals in 80 games and helping them lift the Asean Football Federation Championship trophy in 2004 and 2007.
Now 43, the former Tampines Rovers striker, who is known affectionately as “Ah Long”, wants to lead the national team to more glory as a coach.
The journey to improve his coaching knowledge has taken him and former Lions midfield linchpin Isa Halim to Japan on a coaching attachment with Tokyo Verdy, where they have been immersed in the day-to-day running of a top-tier J-League club.
The pair, who both hold Asian Football Confederation A certificates, started their stint on May 24 and will remain in Japan until the end of the year.
They are the inaugural batch of coaches under the Coaches Overseas Attachment programme, a new initiative as part of the Unleash The Roar! (UTR) national football project.
Tokyo Verdy are currently 11th in the 20-team J1 League. Their former assistant coach Tsutomu Ogura is now the Lions’ head coach after taking the job in February.
Singapore have had a number of foreign coaches through the years, with local legend Fandi Ahmad the last local head coach serving in an interim capacity from May 2018 to March 2019. The last permanent local head coach was V. Sundramoorthy, whose stint was from May 2016 to April 2018.
Speaking to The Straits Times from Tokyo, Alam Shah said: “My goal is to prove to Singapore that actually we don’t need foreign coaches to do the job.
“When I was a player, I felt that I’m a striker and that I can score goals for Singapore so why do we need foreigners. It is the same thing. My passion never died down. A local coach will be the one to carry Singapore forward. I hope to do this with a group of good coaches, including Isa and anyone who has the same passion for Singapore.”
Isa, 38, who was previously head coach for the Woodlands branch of the ActiveSG Football Academy and coach of Singapore Sports School’s football team, agreed.
He said: “I had the honour and opportunity to represent my country, and I know what it feels like to win as a player for Singapore. I want to be able to represent Singapore as a coach and win something in a coaching capacity. I think we have the capabilities, but not the trust yet.”
The duo was selected by a technical committee for the inaugural batch under the UTR’s programme, which will see promising Singapore coaches given the opportunities to upskill through attachments with overseas football clubs.
While the pair admitted that they miss their families and friends back home, their coaching stint has been rewarding and “eye opening”.
They are assisting Tokyo Verdy head coach Hiroshi Jofuku’s backroom staff and help with the planning and execution of training sessions for the first team, as well as the youth teams.
Isa Halim (centre) in training as Tokyo Verdy player Soma Meshino (left) looks on. PHOTO: COURTESY OF UNLEASH THE ROAR!
While observers here often point to the need to raise the intensity of matches and for players to up the ante in training, Alam Shah said he has learnt that the intensity of coaching is important too “because the players’ attitude is dictated by the coaches’ output”.
He added: “The coaches must be active and doing something at all times and not be comfortable and relaxing.”
“When the players look at it, they react to it. This is something that is lacking in Singapore. In the SPL, the head coach does everything. No one monitors him. Here everyone is observed right up to the kit man. Everyone is on their toes. In the professional setting, everyone pushes each other.”
Isa, who was part of the Lions squad who clinched the 2007 and 2012 AFF Championships, said: “I always believe that a team is always a reflection of the coach. If the coaches show the intensity…this will rub off on the players. The small details really matter.”
“The sessions here are shorter but they are sharp. Players report as early as 8.30am for their own stretches, training starts at 11 and it usually lasts about an hour, then they head for lunch and then go for massage and gym. The last player leaves the club at about 4pm.”
Noh Alam Shah speaking to a Tokyo Verdy player in training. PHOTO: COURTESY OF UNLEASH THE ROAR!
However, Alam Shah pointed out that Singapore clubs may not have the same resources as their Japanese counterparts, noting that it is something to look into.
He hopes to shares the lessons with local coaches and the football fraternity here to help raise standards. He added: “The environment matters a lot. Isa and I will come back as better coaches because the environment here (in Japan) dictates us to be better.”