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Sivaji mulls overseas move
Tam Cheong Yan
info@sleague.com
PN Sivaji may be on the verge of commencing on a new chapter in his coaching career, after revealing that he is in contact with ‘two or three’ football clubs based overseas.
If negotiations work out, it would allow the veteran coach to fulfill his long-held ambition of working outside Singapore on an extended basis.
Sivaji has already chalked up plenty of air miles with the Asian Football Confederation and FIFA, where he is a Technical Study Group member and coaching instructor.
But in an interview with local publication Tabla! earlier this year, the man disclosed that in his long time in the business, “my only regret is that I have not been able to coach overseas.”
That may soon be a thing of the past, however – and as he told sleague.com, a conscious decision to get out of his passive tendencies had a big part to play in his prospective change in fortunes.
“Football is my job, and I’ve been coaching for about 30 years,” noted the 58-year-old.
“Coaching overseas has been my dream since I first became national coach. But it’s only now I realize why I have not been able to move into that realm, because in the past I’ve always left it for offers to come my way.
“This time I have asked contacts to help look out for possibilities, and suddenly I find two or three clubs willing to speak with me. I think that is the approach to take, getting agents or close contacts with clubs to be in touch for possibilities.”
Sivaji did not reveal which clubs he had been in talks with so far, although he had been linked with a move to the Maldives as recently as 2008.
That was the first year of his two-season stint with Home United, whom he steered to a third-place finish in the S.League, five points behind archrivals SAFFC.
The squad was further strengthened in 2009 with the arrivals of former and current Singapore internationals like Itimi Dickson, Ismail Yunos and Isa Halim. But the prowess on paper failed to translate into points on the board as they ended up in fourth place.
The contrast in how the two seasons had played out did not escape Sivaji’s attention, as he looked back upon his time with the Protectors.
“We had a very good start in 2008, which was beyond even my expectations at the time,” he recalled.
“We started on a very good note, scoring many goals against Albirex (Niigata FC (Singapore), 5-1) and Geylang (United, 6-1). In fact we were one of the highest-scoring teams in the first part of the season, but as the season progressed, we struggled.
“The recently-finished season was the opposite; we struggled with the opening part where we lost very valuable points against teams where we were expected to pick up maximum points. For a team that was blessed with so much talent, that was, I would say, not good.
“I would think we underachieved and that probably cost me my job, and I’ve got no qualms about saying that, because this is how a coach’s job works. You’re given targets to meet, and if you don’t meet them, out you go; that’s part and parcel of the game.”
The two barren years at Home leaves Sivaji still waiting to lay his hands on a major trophy – a record he candidly acknowledged as unwanted.
His sole moment of glory so far came in 1994, when he led Tiong Bahru CSC to a 4-2 victory over Geylang International in the FA Cup final.
That came just one year after he had led Singapore to the Malaysia Cup 1993 final, where the Lions had lost to Kedah 0-2 – the closest he had ever come to claiming top honours.
Since then, he has also taken on roles with Balestier Central and the Young Lions, where he had a big hand in grooming youngsters like Shahril Ishak, Razaleigh Khalik and Aliff Shafaein – many of whom have gone on to become mainstays in the league.
Stating that he derived much joy from moulding budding footballers into better people, he nonetheless stressed that, in truth, he was as keen to clinch titles as the next coach.
“Every coach worth his salt wants to win something,” he said plainly.
“Most of the time, I have been bold enough to work with teams that are not exactly touted as big-timers. In fact the national team of 1993, the ‘Dream Team’, was the biggest group of stars I have worked with.
“I’ve had the opportunity to impart both football values as well as life values to players, and that has been one of my biggest sources of satisfaction. When I see players come up to me and, by the way they behave, show that they are appreciative, it makes my day.
“But the fact that I have not won anything big rankles. And you can be sure that I will be looking out to try and win the next trophy that is available when I start coaching again.”
Should Sivaji fail to land a coaching job in the coming weeks, though, he can take comfort from the knowledge that there are many alternative ways to keep himself busy.
Already he has received notice of an AFC Technical Study Group visit to Bangladesh in February, having recently made a similar trip to India, while opportunities for media work as a commentator also abound for a man reputed for his cogent and insightful notes.
One option he has written himself off from, however, is that of FAS Technical Director – a position he had held for four years before taking up the Home assignment.
That post has recently become vacant following the exit of Slobodan Pavkovic, who had succeeded Sivaji in April 2008. Pavkovic had used his experience from working in Serbia, Sweden and the Middle East to enhance Singapore’s football development structure.
While optimistic on the existence of a suitable candidate who can build on the work done by Pavkovic, Sivaji did not consider himself to be that elusive Mr. Right.
“I think I’ve moved on from that job, so no,” he said to the suggestion.
“I’ve taken it to the furthest I could within my capabilities. That position right now needs a person who can take the FA to another level, perhaps a foreigner familiar with the European circuit.
“The success of the SEA Games squad (in Laos) indicates that the time, money and other resources spent on youth development have produced results. To have a group of boys under 20 years old go to an Under-23 tournament and win the bronze is worthy of note.
“The man coming in may have to look at coach education, in terms of giving more local coaches the opportunity and experience,” he added.
“His input into how to improve the local league would be very useful as well. Singapore has its unique limitations, but at the same time, there are many positive sides to its football development, and if we get the right person, we can go the full distance.” |
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