Johor FA pounce for Fandi Ahmad

Ex-Singapore goalscoring sensation Fandi Ahmad has penned a three-year contract with Malaysian Premier League (MPL) outfit Johor FA to serve as their technical adviser.

According to a report in The New Paper, Tengku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, the Crown Prince of Johor and the president of Johor FA is widely believed to have convinced local legend Fandi to take up the technical post.

Speaking in a telephone interview with The New Paper, former FC Groningen forward Fandi admitted he had accepted the offer, remarking: "I have been with Johor FA since last week, but officially my first day of work is Feb 2."

"Although I will be the technical adviser, I will also help out in training sessions and I will be with the team rather frequently."

49-year-old Fandi intimated that he has been handed the task of masterminding the club's promotion to the Malaysian Super League (MSL) at the end of next season.

"As you know, the season has already started, and we had three 1-1 draws in five games," he explained.

"We will try our best but I feel there is not enough quality in the team to finish in the top two and gain promotion this season. So our immediate priority is to rebuild, and I hope to secure for Johor FA two foreigners before the Feb 13 deadline."

It is mooted that the former SAFFC tactician has already sought out a Brazilian and a Colombian to ply their trade with the Scorpions.

Fandi's appointment within the coaching set-up of Johor already seems to have paid dividends as after just a solitary training session, the Scorpions earned a 2-1 victory over promotion-favourites Sime Darby last Friday.

According to sources, Tengku Ismail, who is also the Royal Patron of Johor FA, has not been impressed by his side's inconsistent start to their new campaign after they drew against unfancied sides such as Harimau Muda B and Betaria.

After consulting with his father Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar to take over the club as president, Tengku Ismail was believed to have contacted Fandi regarding the offer as technical adviser.

Johor's coup of acquiring Fandi's services is a mammoth blow to Singapore especially after the former 1994 Malaysian Cup winner signaled his intentions to lead the Singapore Under-21 outfit to the AFC Under-22 qualifiers in Brunei this June with the aim of guiding the Young Lions to next year's South-east Asian Games in Myanmar.

Fandi is believed to have already had talks with Zainudin Nordin, president of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), Prof Ho Peng Kee, FAS adviser and national football coach Raddy Avramovic.

"I've made my intentions known earlier on to the FAS, but Johor FA came in with a concrete offer and I feel I just can't wait any more," Fandi commented.

It is believed that the FAS was interested in consulting Fandi in order to draw up their list of coaches for the year but the former Kuala Lumpur dynamo was already contracted to the Sembawang Soccer Academy.

"Earlier, FAS was keen to have Fandi in its coaching structure. Unfortunately, he had other commitments then," an FAS spokesman said.

"Since then, the coaching structure for the year has been finalised. However, we are definitely keen to work with a national icon like Fandi who also has strong coaching credentials. Youth development is definitely high up our priority list and we will continue to explore ways how we can work together."

Fandi has also reiterated his commitment to contributing back to the local footballing fraternity as he trains ITE players for the H-Two-O Dream Team.

The side recently put up an impressive 2-2 result against the Courts Young Lions before going down on penalties.

"My first year with Johor FA will be something like a part-time basis," Fandi added, "I will go up for around 15 sessions each month and I will still be very much involved with the ITE boys."

Fandi has built up an extensive coaching portfolio ever since his retirement from football in the late 1990s.

He led the Warriors to the S-League championship in 2000 and 2002 in his maiden head coach role.

Fandi also enjoyed international success with the Singapore national team as he served as Avramovic's assistant during the Lions' successful Tiger Cup campaign in 2005.

More recently, he was appointed as manager of Indonesian side Pelita Jaya, guiding the team to promotion from the Second Division and adopting a vigorous youth policy, before leaving in March 2010.

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sources: espnstar.com