Singapore football head coaches in the last 10 years: How have they fared?
The search is on for a new head coach of the Singapore men's national football team after the FAS sacked Takayuki Nishigaya.
Singapore's head coach Takayuki Nishigaya gestures during the 2026 World Cup qualification Group C football match between South Korea and Singapore in Seoul on Nov 16, 2023. (Photo: AFP/Jung Yeon-je)
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SINGAPORE: When Radojko Avramovic – widely regarded as Singapore's most successful football head coach – departed from his role in 2012, the hope was that Singapore would build on the Serbian's success.
Nicknamed "Raddy", Avramovic steered Singapore to three of its four ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cups.
But in the years since his departure, Singapore's record on the international stage has not been as rosy. Since its last AFF Championship triumph in 2012, the team has only progressed past the group stage once.
With the sacking of Japanese coach Takayuki Nishigaya on Monday (Jan 29), the top job is once again vacant.
Sources told CNA that Tsutomu Ogura, a former assistant coach of the Japanese national team, is next in line to take the role.
CNA takes a look at the managers that have come and gone in the last decade, and how they performed in the hot seat.
BERND STANGE
In the time between Avramovic's departure and the appointment of his replacement, national football legend V Sundramoorthy was appointed on an interim basis, taking the reins for an Asian Cup qualifier loss to Jordan.
German coach Bernd Stange took the top job in May 2013 on a two-year contract.
He was described by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) as having an "illustrious coaching career", including leading Belarus to victories against France and the Netherlands.
During his time, Belarus rose to 36th in the FIFA rankings in 2011.
Then-FAS president Zainudin Nordin said Stange was "one of the most respected coaches in Europe today".
Stange presided over Singapore's 2014 AFF Championship campaign, where Singapore failed to retain its title by crashing out in the group stage.
A win over Myanmar was not enough to see the Lions through after losses to Malaysia and eventual winner Thailand.
His contract was extended in September 2015.
Stange ended his time in Singapore in April 2016 after wrapping up Singapore's 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. Singapore finished third in the group in the AFC second round, behind Japan and Syria.
According to the World Football Elo Ratings, Stange won 14 games, drew four and lost 16 matches, including friendlies, as Singapore's head coach.
V SUNDRAMOORTHY
After Stange's departure, V Sundramoorthy returned to the national team in May 2016 as caretaker coach on a one-year contract. This was extended in 2017 by another year.
In a statement, then-FAS vice-president Lim Kia Tong said that the association had "received applications from many qualified and experienced applicants around the world", but ultimately decided to give a local coach the opportunity to coach the national team.
When he took the job, Sundram became the first Singaporean national coach in 16 years – Vincent Subramaniam took charge from 1998 to 2000.
The Lions suffered a torrid AFF Cup campaign in 2016, finishing last in their group after defeats to Thailand and Indonesia, as well as a goalless draw with host Philippines.
The following year, Singapore failed to win a single game.
Sundram stepped down from his role in April 2018, with a record of three wins, five draws and 15 defeats in 23 matches.
FANDI AHMAD
After Sundram's exit, the FAS announced that another Singapore football legend, Fandi Ahmad, would lead the team for the 2018 AFF Championship.
The Lions again failed to progress past the group stage, with two wins and two losses.
During his tenure, Fandi also managed Singapore to friendly wins against Fiji, Mongolia and Cambodia, as well as a draw with Mauritius.
Fandi then took on a new role as the head of elite youth at FAS. He quit that role in June 2022 and is now head coach of Malaysia Super League side Sri Pahang.
After Fandi, former Singapore captain Nazri Nasir took charge of the side for a friendly tournament – the first of his two caretaker appointments.
TATSUMA YOSHIDA
Japanese coach Tatsuma Yoshida was hired on a two-year contract and he started in his role in June 2019.
He said that he was honoured to be appointed, adding that the position "bears heavy responsibilities which I will undertake with commitment and pride".
Yoshida, a former midfielder who made two appearances for now-defunct side Jurong FC, was tasked with reviving the fortunes of the Singapore national team, then ranked 160th in the world.
When he held his first training session, he said the players seemed like they "didn't have confidence", and that there was a sense of "fear" and "worry".
With Yoshida at the helm, Singapore progressed to the semi-finals of the 2020 AFF Championship, which was held in Singapore in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Singapore were ultimately undone by Indonesia in extra time.
In February 2021, Yoshida extended his contract as head coach until December 2022. But he quit at the end of 2021, returning to Japan to be with his family.
According to FAS' website, Yoshida presided over six wins, three draws and 11 losses across 20 matches.
Nazri Nasir again took over as caretaker coach, and led the side to wins against Malaysia and the Philippines in a friendly tournament.
TAKAYUKI NISHIGAYA
Another Japanese coach, Takayuki Nishigaya, was appointed in April 2022. He officially assumed his new role in May 2022.
Calling it a "great honour", he said he fully understood the "heavy expectations" that came with the position.
Like his compatriot Yoshida, Nishigaya was hired with no prior experience coaching at the international level.
Singapore failed to progress beyond the group stage of the 2022 AFF Championship, finishing behind Vietnam and Malaysia.
The disappointing outing was compounded by a heavy 4-1 defeat to old rivals Malaysia.
The most recent defeats against Thailand and South Korea left Singapore languishing at the bottom of their World Cup qualifying group.
Nishigaya was sacked on Jan 29, a decision that the FAS said was made after "careful consideration".
FAS said the recent performance and results of the national team were "below expectations", and that an "early transition to a fresh successor would re-energise the team and allow a longer runway for the national team to prepare for important matches in the next few months and the year-end AFF tournament".
According to FAS data, Nishigaya ended his tenure with eight wins, five draws and eight losses in 21 matches.
