The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) will continue its new tradition of hiring national coaches with no international experience.
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In business sense, it is like hiring an intern take up responsibilities of a CEO.
On 24 April, the Straits Times reported that a former J-league player Takayuki Nishigaya will look to assume the role left vacant by Tatsuma Yoshida who left in December following the 2020 Suzuki Cup.
Nishigaya’s CV does not look impressive at all and there will surely be questions raised about his suitability to lead the Singapore Lions.
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The impending appointment, if true, also questions what exactly is the direction the national football body is taking with the men’s national team.
Surely it must realise that the back to back appointments of national coaches – both Japanese – without international experience sends all the wrong signals to the football family – that it does not believe in getting the best coaches to guide our Singapore Lions.
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Nishigaya does not even come to Singapore having led a J-League team at the top tier.
He was an assistant coach at Tsukuba University, Tokyo Verdy, Chukka University, Albirex Niigata and Mito Hollyhock.
He was appointed Mito’s head coach in the middle of 2015, and helped then stay away from relegation.
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He then led J3 side SC Sagamihara in 2018, and then joined Matsumoto Yamaga in 2018, a J2 side as their U18 coach and was the team’s senior assistant coach in 2020 until 2021.
Earlier, it was understood that the FAS was keen on taking on Albirex Niigata (Singapore) coach Kazuaki Yoshinaga to assume the role but it appears that negotiations hit a wall.
MAIN PHOTO: MATSUMOTO YAMAGA
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