So hopey you will only seng11/25/2023 However, it was when he went overseas that he experienced success as a coach. In 1949, he was named Singapore’s head coach and tasked with guiding the team in the Malaya Cup campaign. His first formal coaching job was at the Singapore Chinese Athletic Association (also known as Chung Wah). 7 Forays into CoachingĬhoo retired from playing in 1948 and turned his hand to coaching. Choo never made it to the Olympics though as the games were eventually cancelled because of World War II. Choo said that “he appreciated the honour and that he would give of his very best if finally selected”. “He displays fine head work while his accurate ball distribution is as good as the best we have seen in Singapore,” wrote the Malaya Tribune. In 1939, the All-China Olympic Committee invited Choo to attend the preliminary selection in Hong Kong for the football team that would represent China at the 1940 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland. Choo Seng Quee is standing fourth from the left. The Singapore Chinese Football Association team at Anson Road Stadium, 1939. 5 He was part of the backbone of the squad that managed to reach the Cup final in 1936, 19, and he was part of the team that defeated Selangor in 1937. 4 He later earned a spot in the Singapore team for the Malaya Cup (renamed Malaysia Cup in 1967) in 1936. 3Īfter obtaining his Senior Cambridge qualifications, Choo joined the SCFA in 1933 where he rose through the ranks to eventually make his first-team debut at the First Division two years later. Born in Singapore on 1 December 1914, Choo played for Raffles Institution, before progressing to the Singapore Chinese Football Association (SCFA). Early Beginnings with Raffles InstitutionĪs with many coaches, Choo was a footballer first. Four decades on, it is safe to say that no other football coach has occupied the imagination of Singaporeans in quite the same way. So it is not surprising then that when he died just six years later, at the age of 68, an outpouring of grief swept over the nation. With the win, Choo, in his trademark batik shirt, earned his place in the annals of Singapore football. He did all this in the face of detractors who said he was too old to do the job and who had organised petitions to remove him. Choo (or Uncle Choo as he was fondly termed) had assembled the team, trained and motivated them, and planned and strategised their matches. But one other person played just as important a role, even though his name did not appear on the starting 11. 1Īs the Straits Times noted: “The manner in which Singapore came back to win the cup just when everyone had given up hope for them made the hair stand on the back of necks.” 2Ĭredit for that historic win should be laid at the feet of a Singapore team who played their hearts out. During the first half of extra time, Quah dived in to head home the vital third and winning goal to send the Malaysia Cup back south. The second half, though, was a different story as Singapore managed to claw back an equaliser and the game went into extra time. The Lions had squandered an early lead and were now a goal down. However, by the time the half-time whistle was blown, those hopes had dimmed considerably. Rajagopal, Dollah Kassim and Quah Kim Song. The hopes of a young nation rested on the shoulders of stalwarts like Samad Allapitchay, S. Singapore was playing Penang in the finals of the Malaysia Cup and attempting to lift the cup for the first time in 12 years. Having developed a reputation for his coaching ability in Southeast Asia, Choo cemented his legacy among the Singaporeans in the 40,000-strong crowd at Merdeka Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on the evening of. There are many coaches who can guide and mastermind their teams to win matches, but only a select few have what it takes to bring them over the finish line and claim victory.Ĭhoo Seng Quee was a rare breed in the latter category among Singaporean coaches, for he instinctively knew how to lead his players to victories and lay the foundation for future successes. (From National Library, Singapore, call no. Image reproduced from Godfrey Robert, The Malaysia Cup (Singapore: 2A Project Consultants, 1991), 97. Choo Seng Quee (right) and Football Association of Singapore chairman Ganesan Nadesan celebrating after Singapore’s victory over Penang in the 1977 Malaysia Cup.
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