Football: Singapore tries local coach to boost fortunes

Singapore, May 27, 2016 (AFP) -Singapore on Friday named former international player V. Sundramoorthy as its new head coach in place of German Bernd Stange, who left the football-mad island at number 148 in the world rankings.
Football Association of Singapore (FAS) Vice-President Lim Kia Tong said in a news conference that "we have for some time been considering a local coach and giving a local coach the opportunity to lead the team."
The last Singaporean to manage the Lions on a full contract was Vincent Subramaniam, whose stint ended 16 years ago.
The new head coach was only given a one-year deal but Lim insisted that the length of the contract "has very little bearing on the trust that we have" for Sundramoorthy, who assisted Stange during a part of Singapore's World Cup qualifying campaign.
He is seen as one of the best footballers Singapore has ever produced.
Sundramoorthy, 50, was one of the few Singaporeans to play in Europe, having featured for Swiss club FC Basel in 1988.
He was previously in charge of Singapore league side Tampines Rovers.
"I'm extremely happy and deeply honoured to have been given the chance to lead the national team," he told journalists.
Sundramoorthy led Singapore's Lions XII team to the Malaysian Super league title in 2013 before they were booted from the league two years later.
Previous Lions coach Stange stepped down in March after a much maligned stint.
East Germany-born Stange came under fire for allegedly favouring younger players and forcing the Southeast Asian minnows to adopt a fast-paced passing game to limited effect.
A former informer for the Stasi secret police in East Germany, Stange came to Singapore by way of Belarus and Iraq, where he had managed the national team under Saddam Hussein's regime.
str/rc/tm