Captain Shahril and coach Avramovic also win top individual honours
By Wang Meng Meng, The Straits Times, 4 Apr 2013
SINGAPORE football swept the top honours at the inaugural ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Awards yesterday, scoring five major honours including the National Team of the Year (Men), Player of the Year (Men) and Coach of the Year (Men) crowns.
At a posh ceremony in Pahang's Hyatt Regency Kuantan Resort, Lions captain Shahril Ishak, who led Singapore to a record fourth ASEAN title last December, lifted both the top honours for an individual and team.
Former national coach Raddy Avramovic, who was at the helm of the record-breaking Lions team, also took home the top coaching award.
For Shahril, the awards were a fitting recognition of a stellar year in which he also crossed the century mark for appearances for the national team and led the LionsXII to an impressive debut season in the Malaysian Super League, finishing second in both the league and the Malaysia Cup.
Said the 29-year-old LionsXII midfielder, who was named the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup's Most Valuable Player and was also a nominee for the 2012 The Straits Times Athlete of The Year award: "It was a great year for Singapore, and especially so when we won the AFF Suzuki Cup for a record fourth time last December (following earlier triumphs in 1998, 2004 and 2007).
"We will continue to work hard, build on our success and strive to further develop and improve Singapore football."
Singapore's referees were also lauded last night.
Singapore's referees were also lauded last night.
Mr Abdul Malik and Mr Tang Yew Mun were named Referee of the Year (Men) and Assistant Referee of the Year (Men) respectively.
There was further reason to cheer in the Singapore camp when three Lions (Shahril, defender Baihakki Khaizan and midfielder Fahrudin Mustafic) were named in AFF's First XI - made up of the best ASEAN players of 2012.
Mr Avramovic, 63, who attended the awards ceremony in Kuantan after spending more than two months on vacation in his native Serbia, paid tribute to his former employers at the Football Association of Singapore.
Said the Serb, who held the reins from 2003 to 2012: "It was a great nine-year tenure with the Lions, and the rest of the team at the FAS - without whom this award would not have been possible."
Among the top other winners were Vietnam, who dominated women's football as they were named Team of the Year (Women), while the side's goalkeeper, Dang Thi Kieu Trinh, was named Player of the Year (Women). Japanese tactician Kumada Yoshinori, who leads the Myanmar women's team, was named Coach of the Year (Women).
Among the top other winners were Vietnam, who dominated women's football as they were named Team of the Year (Women), while the side's goalkeeper, Dang Thi Kieu Trinh, was named Player of the Year (Women). Japanese tactician Kumada Yoshinori, who leads the Myanmar women's team, was named Coach of the Year (Women).
AFF awards: What Singapore won
- National Team of the Year (Men): Singapore
- Player of the Year (Men): Shahril Ishak
- Coach of the Year (Men's Team): Raddy Avramovic
- Referee of the Year (Men): Abdul Malik
- Assistant Referee of the Year (Men): Tang Yew Mun
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