SINGAPORE — On Mar 25, the Singapore Recreation Club hosted the launch of the book titled ‘Uncle Choo: The Untold Story of Singapore Football’s Legendary Coach. Among those present were players who had played under the former Singapore coach Choo Seng Quee and other former national football players such as Quah Kim Song, Ho Kwang Hock, Tay Peng Kee, R. Suriamurthi, Robert Sim, Malek Awab, Yazid Yasin and Razali Saad who came together to celebrate the occasion as they participated in an exhibition match with Edwin Tong, the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth.
“Today, we celebrated the launch of Uncle Choo’s memoir – “Uncle Choo: Singapore’s Greatest Football Coach”, with a football match. This publication was eloquently written by Reynold Pereira, a fellow lawyer and a brilliant footballer himself, with whom I had the privilege of playing on the Law Society Team many years ago,” said Minister Tong.
“I met and heard many football stories from the legends. They shared little snippets of what Uncle Choo meant to them. His tireless work ethic, insatiable appetite for perfection, technical skills, larger than life personality has helped to uplift the standards of football during that period. Suria told me how he once had to juggle a ball for the full hour that Uncle Choo was discussing tactics with the team,” added the Minister.
The book is authored by lawyer Reynold Pereira, and he had persuaded Prof Tommy Koh to write the foreword for his book which is available on sale both on print and e-book via World Scientific Singapore. Pereira who is based in Barcelona, Spain had previously contacted several of the ex-international players with the idea to write this book as he intended to preserve the legacy of one of Singapore’s legendary coaches.
“Congratulations to Rey Pereira for the successful launch of his book on Uncle Choo, the greatest football coach of Singapore. I am an admirer of Uncle Choo and happy to have written the foreword of the book. I asked Rey to write another book on Singapore. He asked for suggestions. I have two: a book on the 30 sporting legends of Singapore and a book on the 30 music legends of Singapore. Thank you Kim Song for your indispensable help in the making of this book,” explained Prof Koh on his social media.
The late Uncle Choo who died in 1983, was well-known for orchestrating the 1977 Malaysia Cup win and Quah scored the winning goal in their 3-2 win against Penang. The win at that time was meaningful for Singapore as the team lifted the trophy after a 12-year drought. The book also chronicles Uncle Choo’s dedication and passion for football as he devoted his life to the game and his love for it was evident in his coaching style.
“Having played and managed football teams over the past 50 years, I fully understand the importance of having a good coach for a team. A coach can inspire a team to reach great heights and play above themselves. That is why I am especially pleased to be asked to write this short tribute to Choo Seng Quee. He was a pioneer of coaching and a visionary. Some of his ideas more than 50 years ago are being replicated by the teams and coaches of today,” said Quah as posted on the World Scientific Singapore Facebook page.
“His dedication to the game ironically also proved to be his downfall. While he was focussing his efforts on bringing home the Malaysia Cup in 1977, he ignored an infection resulting from a cut from a fall during a Malaysia Cup game. The infection turned gangrenous resulting in his right leg being amputated just below the knee,” added Quah who was at the launch with Workers’ Party member of parliament Sylvia Lim.
Singapore only lifted the trophy twice after their victory in 1977, in 1980 and 1994. In 1980 they won 2-0 against Pahang and in 1994 they trounced Pahang 4-0. But the fans’ celebrations in 1994 also marked a tragic end to the team’s participation in the Malaysia Cup as the Football Association of Singapore had to withdraw the team from participating further in the Malaysia’s football league due to a dispute with their Malaysian counterpart.
A Singapore team was to make a brief return to Malaysia’s football competition from 2012 to 2015 under the club name LionsXII. Former Singapore international V.Sundramoothy was appointed as the head coach, and Fandi Ahmad took over for the 2014 season. LionsXII won the Malaysia Super League title in 2013, and the Malaysia FA Cup in 2015. In 2015, they won 3-1 over Kelantan, making them the first foreign team to win the competition and also marked a 21-year end to a Singapore side winning a domestic Cup competition on Malaysia soil.