Never Too Old: The 72-year-old who has given most of his life to Singapore football

SINGAPORE: Ask 72-year-old Ramasamy Krishnan what keeps him going five decades after his footballing career began and the answer is simple.

“I love the job.”

This is a man who has given much of his life to the game.

You see it on his face when he interacts with others at work, you see it in the twinkle in his eye when he regales tales of years past, you see it in the medals and trophies proudly displayed in his Shunfu flat.

The logistics manager at Singapore Premier League club Albirex Niigata (S), Mr Krishnan, or Roy as he is widely known, is considered a legend in local footballing circles.

A former Singapore international, Mr Krishnan was one of the best left-wingers to play for Singapore. But injuries ended one chapter and opened another.

FROM RAMASAMY TO ROY

While he enjoyed kickabouts in primary and secondary school, Mr Krishnan’s footballing journey started in earnest at the football fields of Farrer Park.

“One of the pakcik (uncles) working at Jurong Telecom where my parents worked told them: ‘Ask your son to go to Farrer Park’,” recalled Mr Krishnan.

At Farrer Park, one of his childhood friends introduced Mr Krishnan to Choo Seng Quee.

Choo is regarded as one of the greatest coaches to lead the Lions, but it was at Farrer Park where he nurtured and developed some of Singapore’s finest young talents. 

Before he was selected for the national team, Mr Krishnan played for amateur sides such as Burnley United, where he was coached by Choo for a few months.

“I would just take my bag and take a bus to Farrer Park. (My parents were) okay (with it),” said Mr Krishnan, whose first appearance for Singapore was at a U-20 youth tournament in Manila, Philippines.

He had long hoped to play for the senior team and it was a dream come true when he made his debut in Merdeka Tournament against Burma in 1971.

As a left-winger, Mr Krishnan was known for his sizzling pace. 

"When I needed a pass from my midfielders, I would go wide. If nobody marked me, I would go inside to receive the ball from my midfield. That was my style of play," he said.

"My biggest strength was speed."

It was during a training tour to England with the Lions that Mr Krishnan went from Ramasamy to Roy.

A local journalist covering the team said there was no space to list Mr Krishnan's full name in the starting line-up. Would he mind if he was listed as Roy?

Mr Krishnan agreed. "(I said) 'Okay lah, up to you."

One of his proudest moments was at a National Stadium match against China. Mr Krishnan netted Singapore’s equaliser in the first meeting between both sides. The game ended 1-1.

“There was a crowd of about 60,000 or 70,000 … I had a chance, I beat one, two defenders,” he recalled. "They were a very good team.”

Those were the heady days of football in Singapore. Thousands and thousands packed the stadium to roar their team on. 

“I was very proud to play for my country,” said Mr Krishnan.

But if you were having a bad day, the fans had no qualms letting you know. “If you played a lousy game, they would scold your name. Balik kampung (go home) and all that.” 

When the late Pele came to Singapore in 1974, the Brazilian great managed to catch Mr Krishnan in a friendly match against Bayswater United from Perth.

"I like Singapore's style of play," Pele was quoted by the Straits Times as saying.

"The players are skilful and intelligent. Their pattern of play is similar to South American teams."

He had some words for Mr Krishnan as well when they shook hands, recalled the 72-year-old.

“As a left-winger, you should be in Brazil. Like Rivelino,” said Mr Krishnan, who netted a hat-trick in that game. “I just said thanks … I wasn’t scared, I was very proud. (He was) the best player in the world.”

OFFICE BOY BY DAY, FOOTBALLER AT NIGHT

While he was playing for Singapore, Mr Krishnan’s full-time job was as an office boy at Singapore Pools.

There, he delivered cheques and collected letters. In the evenings, he trained with the national team.

But as the years went on, injuries took a toll.

The beginning of the end came during an international match where he twisted his left knee, tore the cartilage and had to undergo surgery.

“Why did I stop? I was very slow already, and I could not continue anymore because of injuries,” said Mr Krishnan.

After retiring, he dabbled in a bit of coaching, and would be the assistant to Jimmy Pearson at Jurong FC. Mr Krishnan would also double up as the team's kit man.

The day before training sessions, he made sure bottles of water were ready, that coolers of ice were ordered and that balls were pumped.

On matchdays, Mr Krishnan prepared jerseys in the morning, put the match ball in the referee’s room, and placed four cartons of water in the away dressing rooms.

When Pearson left, Mr Krishnan became Jurong's head coach for a few months before local football legend V Sundramoorthy took over.

"You must be good to the players. Sometimes they will buy kopi (coffee) for you, curry puffs for you," he said.

Mr Krishnan spent about a decade at Jurong FC and eventually quit his job to become a full-time kit man when the team joined the S.League.

It was at Jurong that Mr Krishnan met his now assistant, Muhammad Taufik Abdullah. Mr Taufik started as a ballboy and stretcher-bearer, before being introduced to the kit man job by Mr Krishnan.

"He's like my second father," said Mr Taufik, who was doing furniture delivery before Mr Krishnan roped him in as an assistant. "He likes to help people. Sometimes when I have problems, I don't hide it and just tell it to him."

In 2003, Jurong pulled out from the league, and Mr Krishnan found himself jobless.

But an offer from a new Japanese club changed that.

“I was just relaxing and mixing with bad company … but once I got a job, I stopped (doing that),” he said.

THE TEAM "IDOL"

A satellite team of Japanese first-division side Albirex Niigata, the White Swans joined the SPL – then called the S.League – in 2004 at the invitation of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), in a bid to boost flagging attendance numbers.

The club, which last year announced a shift in policy from being a club with mainly Japanese professionals to one with predominantly Singaporean players, went on to win the league six times.

One of their first hires was Mr Krishnan. While players and staff have come and gone, he is the one constant.

“I have gained more experience from the Japanese. The culture of work is … different from local clubs,” he said.

And while things were run differently at Albirex, Mr Krishnan’s responsibilities were similar. 

"My duties were the washing of match jerseys, training bibs and taking care of the footballs for away games. There were no difficulties for me ... I knew the job very well," he said.

He speaks highly of the way the club is run. At Albirex, there is a culture of respect and punctuality is a priority, he said.

“They clean the place every day and sweep the changing room … The Japanese are a class (act).” 

While he used to be a lot more hands-on, Mr Krishnan’s duties have evolved over the years.

Due to his limited mobility – he now needs a walking stick to get around – his role has become more supervisory in the last two years.

Mr Taufik does the more manual tasks, while Mr Krishnan places orders for essentials such as ice packs and water. His protege is doing the job "wonderfully", he added.

Mr Krishnan remains a popular figure at the club.

"We are close, they like me very much," said Mr Krishnan. "It's like that every year. (They say): 'Roy-san, Roy-san, how are you?'"

"Uncle Roy is a very kind person, very good and caring person," said Mr Taufik.

Albirex head coach Kazuaki Yoshinaga has had two separate stints at the club and worked with Mr Krishnan on both occasions.

"He is a good man and a Singapore legend," said Yoshinaga. 

While Mr Krishnan may not be able to work in the same way he did before, just having him around is important, he added.

"He knows the history of the club, the history of Singapore football," Yoshinaga said. "He's the team idol, Uncle Roy."