FOOTBALL FANS ARE BURSTING WITH PRIDE
Given that the Asian Cup finals in Saudi Arabia are some 14 months away, you may be tempted to listen to your advisers to appoint a named coach, one perhaps with a track record at a high level, like some among those that the FAS has seemingly interviewed for the past few months.
They may give you technical reasons, like how Lee has never coached at any major international tournament, and during his time as head coach of Tampines, only has one Singapore Cup trophy to his name.
Or they may tell you that while this was indeed a historic moment, Lee also benefited from the Asian Cup Finals having expanded to 24 teams since 2019, from 16 before, thus creating more qualifying opportunities for the Lions.
They may also argue that the group Singapore was in was perhaps the weakest of all qualifying groups, with the highest-ranked India team freefalling in form since their World Cup qualifying campaign in 2024.
Yes, all those are indeed factors that contributed to Lee’s success, and for all the other reasons, they would be technically correct.
But as any top-notch coach will tell you, football isn’t just a technical game. There is no other game in the world that evokes as much emotion as football on a global scale. Indeed, managing the players’ emotions is half the job, just as getting fans excited is also a big part of the FAS’ job.
On paper, Lee might not be the right man to lead the Lions at the finals, but engineering comeback wins away from home in hostile stadiums in India last month and Hong Kong aren’t achievements to be easily brushed aside.
For the first time in a long time, Singapore football fans are bursting with positivity and pride. Those conversations that you so desired are beginning to happen right now, and that’s down to Lee.