October 28, 12:18 AM 
514 Chai Chee Lane 03-16, Singapore 469029 Fandi Ahmad said that he has submitted his resume on Thursday night and applied for the job of head coach of LionsXII.
According to Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong, a football task force has just been established to 1) strengthen the Singapore coaching team; and 2) to prepare a squad that can win the gold in 2015 SEA Games.
What better way to kick start this process with the right head coach hire?
Here are 17 reasons hiring Fandi Ahmad for the top LionsXII job is a no-brainer:
1. Fandi Ahmad is the narrative Singapore football needs.
Source: Married with 5 children. Represented the national team 101 times and scored 52 goals. Team captain from 1993-1997. Won three Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) silver medals. A 1994 winner of the Pingat Bakti Masyarakat (state medal) and the first Singaporean millionaire sportsperson.
2. He is a footballer, a personality, a household name, and most importantly, a living legend.
Source: The Straits Times, Oct 1, 2013
He is an inspiration to our brightest prospect in years, who is incidentally the Lions XII vice-captain.
3. The moment we hire Fandi, it will galvanise the fans.
" height="394" width="700" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0">
Look at what Fandi did to the fans of the Johor Darul Takzim football team - they sang a tribute to Fandi.
4. Now, look at how he was celebrated by the Dutch fans of FC Groningen.
" height="394" width="700" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0">
They even produced a documentary on him.
5. He will put bums in stadium seats like it was 1994 again.
6. He should actually be head national coach, not Bernd Stange.
7. People will say, "Let's go to the stadium to watch Fandi -- and his LionsXII team."
8. Yes, a strong contender to the LionsXII coaching job is the S-League's most successful coach, 44-year-old Richard Bok.
But did Richard Bok do this:
Or this:
" height="394" width="700" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0">
Goal against Inter Milan
9. If V. Sundramoorthy can do it, why not Fandi Ahmad who is also from the 1994 Dream Team?
10. Fandi is a striker who played in the Dutch league -- he knows what is exciting football.
11. If Fandi is coach, Singaporeans will support the team if it wins -- as well as when it loses.
12. Fandi is the missing link in Singapore soccer the last 20 years.
13. Fandi has sent in his resume and applied for the position of LionsXII head coach -- what more can we ask of him when Singapore should be rolling a red carpet to his doorstep?
14. Fandi is a born and bred Singaporean -- characteristics that are of utmost importance in these testy times.
15. Because football legend Kadir Yahaya, TODAY's sports editor, and most of the fans said so.
16. Fandi met all the 5 requirements stated in FAS' recruitment advertisement.
17. It shows the FAS can put its internal politics aside.
Source: The Sunday Times, Oct. 27, 2013
The FAS President already said that he did not bear grudges even though Fandi criticised the FAS as "incompetent".
Top photo from here.
If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram to get the latest updates.