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| This souvenir program |
Alas, how time flies – 1987 was the year this handbook was published by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), and to serve as a guide to Singapore's Malaysia Cup campaign that year.
It was given to me by an aunt of mine more than 30 years ago when I was a primary school kid.
I remember the idea behind the original blog post before repurposed to this present form was because I was asked by a friend if I got pictures featuring Singapore national team from the yesteryears.
A sense of nostalgic sentiment flows as I flipped through the pages and was pretty shocked to see Fandi Ahmad playing against us (only to realize that he was earning a living as a professional footballer turning out for Federal Territory (FT) later Kuala Lumpur FA).
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| The Lions of 1987 |
The centerfold of the souvenir magazine is the team photo taken at the old National Stadium.
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| Mr Wong Kan Seng's message |
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| Mr Teo Chong Tee was the then FAS chairman |
Teo Chong Tee was the then FAS chairman who took over the office in 1982 when he succeeded "Mr Kallang Roar" N Ganesan before stepping down in 1988.
Tee was also a former MP for Changi constituency from 1976 to 1996.
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| D Tokijan coached with several S.League clubs |
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| David Lee was the undisputed number one |
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| Manap Hamat was known for his calmness |
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| Abdul Malek's promising career derailed |
Abdul Malek had a promising career when he was at one point the first-choice 'keeper for the Singapore National Team after David Lee's first retirement in 1992
Sadly, it was another case of unmentionable occurrence that ended that rise prematurely.
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| S Anthonysamy's last club was Woodlands Wellington |
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| Salim Moin in his playing days |
Coach Salim passed away in November 2020 at the age of 59, he was the assistant coach of Hougang United prior to his demise.
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| Hasnim Haron (left) and V Sundram moorthy in their rookie days. |
The pacey winger did eventually venture aboard when he signed for Johor amid controversial circumstances in 1993 before joining Balestier Central in 1997 – a move that was touted as the worst kept secret in local football back then.
After leaving Balestier, Hasnim went on to play for other S.League sides like Home United (2000) and Clementi Khalsa (2001-2002)
V Sundram Moorthy left for Switzerland after the 1987 season to sign for FC Basel, he soon established himself as a cult figure in Kedah after his European adventure was over when he signed for the northern Malaysian side in 1989.
Nicknamed “The Dazzler”, Sundram was part of the star-studded 1993 Singapore “Dream Team” squad playing in an unfamiliar territory of Malaysia League's Division Two alongside their greatest rivals – Selangor.
Sundram left Singapore to play for Kelantan in 1994 before winding down his career in S.League by turning out for Woodlands Wellington and Jurong FC where he embarked on his coaching path in 1999 as a player-coach.
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| Abdullah Noor used to play in Australia |
Perhaps, another little-known fact is that the former senior sales manager actually played professional football in Australia's Victoria Premier League, where he signed for Sunshine George Cross in 1995.
He played for Balestier Central FC in the S.League from 1996 to 1998 and was named head coach of Balestier Khalsa FC.
Abdullah's son Aqhari won the Singapore Premier League title with Lion City Sailors in 2021.
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| Borhan Abu Samah passed away at age 34 |
Borhan was a tough defender known for his hard tackling, and one of the vivid memories I had on the night he passed away was I was at Toa Payoh Stadium after an S.League match where a TV crew gathered some of his former teammates to talk about the man who was nicknamed the “Russian Tank”.
PS: This article was first published on 6th January 2008 and is being refurbished with additional details in line with the content repurposing of this blog on 2nd February 2022.