V. Sundramoorthy

V. Sundramoorthy
Personal information
Full name Varadaraju Sundramoorthy
Date of birth (1965-10-06) 6 October 1965 (age 59)
Place of birth Singapore
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Midfielder/Striker
Team information
Current team
 Laos (technical director)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1987 Singapore 50 (45)
1987–1988 FC Basel 5 (3)
1988–1989 BSC Old Boys
1989–1990 Kedah
1991–1992 Pahang
1992–1993 Singapore
1994 Kelantan
1995–1997 Woodlands Wellington
1998–2003 Jurong
International career
1983–1995 Singapore 48 (20)
Managerial career
1999–2003 Jurong (player-coach)
2004–2007 NFA U18[1]
2007–2010 Young Lions
2012–2013 LionsXII
2013 Singapore (caretaker coach)
2014 Negeri Sembilan
2014–2016 Tampines Rovers
2016–2018 Singapore
2018–2021 Laos U23
2018–2021 Chanthabouly (technical director)
2021– Laos (technical director)
Medal record
Representing  Singapore
Men's football
Southeast Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 1983 Singapore Team
Silver medal – second place 1985 Bangkok Team
Silver medal – second place 1989 Kuala Lumpur Team
Bronze medal – third place 1991 Manila Team
Bronze medal – third place 1993 Singapore Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
In this Indian name, the name Varadaraju is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Sundramoorthy.

Varadaraju Sundramoorthy (Tamil: வரதராஜு சுந்தரமூர்த்தி; born 6 October 1965) is a former Singaporean international footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, is widely touted as one of the country's most skillful and talented footballers ever. Sundramoorthy is the currently the technical director of the Laos national team.

He coached the LionsXII, a Singapore-based team playing in the Malaysia Super League, and held a dual appointment as the head coach of the Under-23 team[2] from 2011 to 2013 when he announced his plans to sign with the Malaysian Premier League team, Negeri Sembilan.[3] After coaching Negeri Sembilan for half a season in 2014, he returned to Singapore to take the helm at Tampines Rovers for almost 2 years, then a 2-year stint as head coach of Singapore.

Playing career

Sundramoorthy broke into the Singapore-Malaysia Cup team in 1983 at just 18 years of age and in the following season, he became top scorer in the tournament.

Playing in Europe

Sundramoorthy as coach of LionsXII

In 1988, Sundramoorthy became the second player from Singapore to play in Europe when he signed for Swiss club FC Basel. He played there during the second half of their 1987–88 season (the season that Basel suffered relegation) under head coach Urs Siegenthaler. After playing in eight test games, he played his first match in the Swiss Super League in an away game on 20 March 1988 against Bulle. He scored his first goal for the club in the same game as Basel won 0–2.[4] He played solely five league games, in which scored three goals.[5] He was released to Old Boys at the end of the season.[6]

He then joined Kedah FA for the Malaysia Cup tournament as he returned in 1989. During his playing days in Alor Setar playing his trade for Kedah FA, Sundramoorthy helped Kedah to defeat Singapore 3–1 in the final of the 1990 Malaysia Cup, scoring Kedah's opening goal.

During Singapore's run-up to the 1993 Malaysia Cup Final appearance, Sundramoorthy was one of the most influential players in the team. He was a player well known for his dribbling skills and his finishing.

One of Sundramoorthy's most famous goals was a bicycle kick scored against Brunei in a 1993 FAM Division II League tie at the National Stadium. He also scored a spectacular backheel during his days with Jurong FC. In a match against Pahang that same year, Sundramoorthy audaciously faked a backheel that fooled the Pahang defenders before crossing for Fandi Ahmad to score the winner late in the game.

In his later days, Sundramoorthy played domestically, first turning out for Woodlands Wellington in the league's inaugural year in 1996 before moving on to become the first-ever player-coach in S.League history for Jurong FC.

Sundramoorthy was nicknamed 'The Dazzler', which was also the name of his autobiography, at the height of his prowess and 'King Cobra' when he was at Jurong.

International career

Sundramoorthy made several appearances for the Singapore national football team, including at the 1990 Asian Games[7] when he scored a hat-trick against Pakistan.

Sundramoorthy also represented Singapore in several SEA Games and helped the Lions reach the final in 1989 when his last-minute through ball led to Fandi Ahmad's winner against Indonesia. He was one of the most feared Southeast Asian strikers the 1980s and early 1990s.

Coaching career

LionsXII

Since 2012 Sundramoorthy has been the head coach of the LionsXII, who played in the Malaysian Super League. In his first season in charge he led the LionsXII to 2nd place in the Malaysia Super League and the semi-finals of the Malaysia Cup.

Singapore national team

On 21 January 2013, it was announced that Sundramoorthy would be appointed caretaker coach of the Singapore national football team while the Football Association of Singapore searched for a replacement for former coach Radojko Avramović.[8] His first game in charge was against Jordan on 6 February 2013 at Singapore's Jalan Besar Stadium.

On 15 May 2013, German coach Bernd Stange was announced as the new manager of the Singapore national football team[9] while Sundramoorthy was appointed as the head coach of the Singapore national under-23 football team for the 2013 SEA Games. Aide Iskandar was named as his assistant.[10]

Negeri Sembilan

On 7 October 2013, Sundramoorthy announced that he would not be renewing his contract with the Football Association of Singapore to coach the Malaysian Super League side LionsXII. He took over as head coach at second tier Malaysian Premier League side Negeri Sembilan on a two-year contract from 1 November 2013.[3] After finishing sixth in the 2014 Malaysia Premier League and failing to qualify for the Malaysia Cup, Sundramoorthy was relieved of his duties by Negeri Sembilan.[11]

Tampines Rovers

In December 2014, Sundramoorthy was confirmed as the new head coach of the Tampines Rovers. This was the first time after 5 years that he held the head coach post in the S.League.[12][13]

Second stint with the Singapore national team

Sundramoorthy was unveiled as the head coach of the Singapore national football team in May 2016, on a one-year contract.[14] He extended his contract as the Lions head coach for two more years in March 2017.[15] However, one year later, he stepped down from his role by mutual consent on 9 April 2018.[16]

Laos national team

On 15 October 2018, Sundramoorthy became the head coach of the Laos national team where he was also tasked to helms the Laos under-23 team.[17] He was joined by compatriot V. Selvaraj who managed Laos' youth teams and also assisting him in the senior team.[18]

In October 2021, Sundramoorthy became the technical director of the team while Selvaraj took over his head coach position.[18]

Chanthabouly

On the same day where Sundramoorthy agreed to become the head coach of Laos, Sundramoorthy also agreed to become Lao Premier League club Chanthabouly as their technical director.


International goals

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 28 May 1983 Kallang, Singapore  Malaysia 2–1 2–1 1983 SEA Games
2. 9 December 1985 Bangkok, Thailand  Indonesia 1–0 1–0 1985 SEA Games
3. 24 August 1989 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  Thailand 1–1 1–1 1989 SEA Games
4. 26 August 1989  Myanmar 2–0 4–0
5. 27 September 1990 Beijing, China  Pakistan 3–0 6–1 1990 Asian Games
6. 4–1
7. 5–1
8. 11 April 1993 Doha, Qatar  North Korea 1–0 1–2 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
9. 13 April 1993  Vietnam 3–1 3–2
10. 18 April 1993 Kallang, Singapore  Indonesia 2–0 2–0
11. 2 May 1993  Indonesia 2–1 2–1
12. 9 June 1993  Philippines 6–0 7–0 1993 SEA Games
13. 11 June 1993  Indonesia 1–1 1–1
14. 15 June 1993  Vietnam 2–0 2–0
15. 19 June 1993  Indonesia 3–1 3–1

Honours

Player

Kedah

Manager

LionsXII

References

  1. ^ Raymond, Jose (17 December 2003). "Back among familiar faces". Today. p. 55. Archived from the original on 11 December 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Bernd Stange unveiled as new Singapore coach". Goal.com Singapore. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Sundram resigns as LionsXII coach after 2 years in charge and winning MSL title". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  4. ^ "FC Bulle - FC Basel 0:2 (0:0)". Archived from the original on 4 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  5. ^ Zindel, Josef (2015). Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2015/2016. FC Basel Marketing AG. ISBN 978-3-7245-2050-4.
  6. ^ "Varadaraju Sundram Moorthy". Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  7. ^ Courtney, Barrie (2 February 2005). "International matches 1990 – Asia". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2009.
  8. ^ "FAS APPOINTS CARETAKER NATIONAL TEAM COACH". Archived from the original on 18 April 2013.
  9. ^ "Football: FAS to unveil Bernd Stange as new national coach, replacing Raddy Avramovic". The Straits Times.
  10. ^ "Sundram to lead SEA Games squad". Goal.com Singapore. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  11. ^ Leong, Kelvin (5 November 2014). "Sundramoorthy leaves Negeri Sembilan after one season". ESPN FC. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  12. ^ "Football: Sundram will lead Tampines". Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  13. ^ "Sundramoorthy: 'Feels good to be home'". AsiaOne. 28 December 2014. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  14. ^ "Football: Sundramoorthy is national football coach on 1-year deal, sets semi-final target for AFF Cup". The Straits Times. 27 May 2016. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  15. ^ "Football: FAS extends contracts of national coach Sundram and technical director Sablon". The Straits Times. 13 March 2017. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  16. ^ "Football: Sundram steps down as Lions head coach". Channel NewsAsia. 9 April 2018. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  17. ^ Ooi Kin Fai (10 October 2018). "Sundramoorthy leads Laos fight in AFF Championship". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  18. ^ a b Aziz, Sazali Abdul (5 December 2021). "Suzuki Cup: Laos coach V. Selvaraj aiming to mark 'happy' homecoming with Vietnam upset". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.