Vengadasalam Selvaraj (born 16 December 1970)[1] is a Singaporean former footballer who last played as a forward for the Singapore National Team in the 1990’s whose now a current football coach.

Vengadasalam Selvaraj
Personal information
Full name Selvaraj s/o Vengadasalam
Date of birth (1970-12-16) 16 December 1970 (age 53)
Place of birth Singapore
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1999 SAFFC
2000 Tampines Rovers
2001 Jurong FC
2002 SAFFC
International career
1995–2003 Singapore
Managerial career
2006–2012 SAFFC (youth)
2013 Warriors
2017 Garena Young Lions
2021 Laos (assistant)
2021–2022 Laos U23
2021–2022 Laos
2022–2023 Laos U17
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

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Club career

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Selvaraj played for in the S.League, and also played for Singapore. He also played for in 1994, the last season the Singapore team participated in the Malaysian League and Malaysia Cup, winning the Malaysia Cup final that year.[2]

In 1994, Selvaraj played for Singapore Lions as a striker in the Malaysia Cup. On 30 December, he scored his first goal for Singapore against Perak.[3]

In 1996, Selvaraj joined SAFFC as a forward. From 1999, he was dropped behind and played as a defensive midfielder, defending and initiating attacks.[1]

In 2002, Selvaraj left Jurong FC and rejoined SAF Warriors.[4]

In 2004, Selvaraj considered retirement from football but extended for another year after speaking with Warriors' manager, Kok Wai Leong, and coach, Kim Poulsen.[1]

Coaching career

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Selvaraj started his coaching career at SAFFC after he retired from playing in 2005, progressing through the coaching ranks until he becomes the head coach of the club, now renamed Warriors FC, at the start of the 2013 S.League season.[5] He only lasted half a season as head coach, resigning in early June that year due to poor performances of the club in the league and elimination from all cup tournaments.[6][7]

From 2015 to 2016, Selvaraj coached the NFA U15, who are taking part in AFF Championship, Lion City Cup and AFC Qualifiers.[citation needed]

Selvaraj returned to S.League in 2017, taking the helm of Garena Young Lions.[8] However he resigned in May due to family reasons and was replaced by Richard Tardy.[9]

In October 2018, Selvaraj became the coach of Laos' age-group national teams and also assisted V. Sundramoorthy in managing the Laos national football team.[10] In October 2021, Selvaraj took over the senior team's head coach position from Sundramoorthy while Sundramoorthy became the Technical Director of the team.[10]

Honours

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Singapore Lions

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SAFFC

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Ding, Eric (24 May 2005). "MISTER VERSATILE". Today. p. 52. Retrieved 19 October 2022 – via NewspaperSG.
  2. ^ Dan Guen Chin (14 December 1994). "Selvaraj a new shooting star". Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  3. ^ Rajaram, Ganesh (3 December 1994). "'I'm glad the coach had faith in me'". The New Paper. p. 64. Retrieved 19 October 2022 – via NewspaperSG.
  4. ^ Luis, Ernest (10 November 2001). "Who's going where in 2002 ...". The New Paper. p. 63.
  5. ^ Kenneth Tan & Khalis Rifhan (24 January 2013). "V. Selvaraj: We will show good football when season starts". Goal.com via Yahoo! Sports Singapore. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  6. ^ Gary Koh (9 June 2013). "V. Selvaraj Resigns After A Loss Too Many". Footballopod.com. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  7. ^ Gabriel Tan (9 June 2013). "Selvaraj steps down as Warriors boss". Fox Sports Asia. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  8. ^ "Football: Selvaraj to replace Hesse as Young Lions coach". The Straits Times. 10 November 2016.
  9. ^ "Tardy in for Selvaraj as Young Lions boss". ESPN.com. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  10. ^ 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. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  11. ^ Khoo, Peter (18 December 1994). "The perfect end to Singapore's 14-year drought". The Straits Times. p. 40.
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