Snap Insight: Lions’ historic feat shows why Gavin Lee deserves to be Singapore's next football head coach

SINGAPORE: On the 100th day of Forrest Li’s tenure as the new Football Association of Singapore President (FAS), he made a bold declaration: "Eventually what I hope is people really care, and football … becomes part of a regular family dinner table topic."

“I hope one day, when we announce the next national team coach, that will be the conversation at every dinner table in every house that evening in Singapore," he added. Well, that time has come. 

Because the name that is on every football fan’s lips right now is Gavin Lee, who will be forever remembered as the man who made history for Singapore football. 

On Tuesday (Nov 18), the Singapore men’s national football team beat Hong Kong 2-1, qualifying for the first time for the finals of the Asian Cup on merit.

But Lee is currently the Lions’ interim head coach. So hear me out, Mr Li: He has shown he deserves the job permanently.

FOOTBALL FANS ARE BURSTING WITH PRIDE

Given that the Asian Cup finals in Saudi Arabia are some 14 months away, you may be tempted to listen to your advisers to appoint a named coach, one perhaps with a track record at a high level, like some among those that the FAS has seemingly interviewed for the past few months.

They may give you technical reasons, like how Lee has never coached at any major international tournament, and during his time as head coach of Tampines, only has one Singapore Cup trophy to his name.

Or they may tell you that while this was indeed a historic moment, Lee also benefited from the Asian Cup Finals having expanded to 24 teams since 2019, from 16 before, thus creating more qualifying opportunities for the Lions.

They may also argue that the group Singapore was in was perhaps the weakest of all qualifying groups, with the highest-ranked India team freefalling in form since their World Cup qualifying campaign in 2024.

Yes, all those are indeed factors that contributed to Lee’s success, and for all the other reasons, they would be technically correct. 

But as any top-notch coach will tell you, football isn’t just a technical game. There is no other game in the world that evokes as much emotion as football on a global scale. Indeed, managing the players’ emotions is half the job, just as getting fans excited is also a big part of the FAS’ job.

On paper, Lee might not be the right man to lead the Lions at the finals, but engineering comeback wins away from home in hostile stadiums in India last month and Hong Kong aren’t achievements to be easily brushed aside.

For the first time in a long time, Singapore football fans are bursting with positivity and pride. Those conversations that you so desired are beginning to happen right now, and that’s down to Lee.

LOOK AT KLUIVERT IN INDONESIA, POSTECOGLOU WITH TOTTENHAM

A good administrator needs to recognise this, and a great administrator will leverage this. Don’t take my word for it - look at recent football developments elsewhere.

In Indonesia, football association president Erick Thohir unceremoniously fired fan favourite South Korean Shin Tae-yong, who coached Indonesia to their first appearance in the third round group stage of qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and replaced him with a star in Patrick Kluivert.

The move was unpopular, but technically made sense. Kluivert was a big name in the world of football, and a large percentage of the Indonesian national team were naturalised Dutch.

Nine months later, Kluivert was fired after Indonesia’s elimination, and earlier this week, supporters group Ultras Garuda staged a demonstration at the football association’s headquarters in Jakarta, calling for the resignation of Thohir. Fans probably saw the failure to qualify as a consequence of firing Shin.

Over in England, Tottenham Hotspur coach Ange Postecoglou was fired in June, despite leading the club to their first trophy in 17 years and first European trophy in 41 years. Then chairman Daniel Levy said that while Postecoglou made history, his decision could not be based on emotions.

A new, pragmatic coach in Thomas Frank came in and while Spurs’ league position has temporarily improved, the football has been dreary, and fans are beginning to turn on the new coach already, just months into the job.

Was it technically right to fire Postecoglou? Yes, because he did also lead Spurs to their worst league position in the club’s Premier League history. But emotionally, he made grown men cry with joy by ending their trophy drought.

CONTINUITY HAS KEPT UP LIONS’ FIGHTING SPIRIT

Giving Gavin Lee the job as the permanent head coach is in many ways the right one. Beyond emotions, there are pragmatic technical reasons as well.

Lest we forget, this Asian Cup journey didn’t start with him, but with the previous head coach Tsutomu Ogura who stepped down in June for personal reasons. 

Ogura was a thoroughly professional coach who saw the potential in Lee and invited him to be the assistant national team coach. In the 15 months or so they worked together, Lee would have learned a lot from Ogura.

It is evident in Lee’s tenure so far - the team plays with the same intensity and fighting spirit as under Ogura, and the team’s unity has been there for all to see. Tactically, they remain organised, probably because Lee was the one who did most of the team briefings when working under the Japanese head coach.

That continuity was a big part of the reason why the national team never dropped in performance ever since Ogura left.

It is also important to look ahead to contextualise what Lee has achieved. In a few weeks, the U-22 team will head to Thailand for the SEA Games. The FAS had successfully appealed to join the contingent, after the U-22 team had been initially excluded for lacking international results.

All signs suggest their performance will not be as positive as what the country witnessed on Tuesday night. If the young Lions suffer an early exit as many have predicted, Lee’s feat will soothe some of that pain.

The bottom line is this, Mr Li: You want football to be the topic at every dinner table, don’t let go of the man who got those conversations started.

Edwin Yeo, a former football commentator, leads the Singapore office of SPRG, a regional integrated communications agency.