By Wang Meng Meng
Sports Correspondent
meng@sph.com.sg

 

AT THE Football Association of Singapore, there is a buzz following the discovering of the new Fandi Ahmad.

Some officials believe Singapore's favourite footballing son's heir is finally found and his name is Khairul Nizam, a 17-year-old now training with the Young Lions.

Heir apparent?
ST Photo: Albert Sim

Some might scoff at this revelation and I don't blame them.

After all and all too often, any youngster that scores a couple of goals in the Lion City Cup, the tournament that Fandi used to announce his arrival, will be dubbed "the new Fandi".

Or any promising striker that has a few good outings in the Prime League or S-League will be elevated into the "new Fandi" status.

The Straits Times has an electronic archive that allows journalists to read old newspaper articles printed by the Singapore Press Holdings.

Type "new Fandi Ahmad" and a string of names can be found.

Some you might have heard, like Indra Sahdan Daud, Ahmad Latiff Khamarudin, Khairul Amri and Noh Alam Shah.

Many more you probably have not, like Norfahazly Kamsan, Said Salim and Fadzuhasny Juraimi. 

The only shocker is that the list of names becomes longer when you type "latest Fandi Ahmad" in the query box.

None has lived up to that hype.

Indra had Fandi's qualities on the deck while Alam Shah had similar aerial powers but neither enjoyed the consistent success Singapore's favourite footballer had.

Norfahazly, Said and Fadzuhasny have faded away, for various reasons.

Yet, FAS officials sincerely believe Nizam is The One, saying that he is the "closest thing there is to Fandi". They hope that with careful grooming and if the teenager keeps his feet planted firmly on the ground, he can make it big in football.

A sparring match between the Young Lions and Raddy Avramovic's senior team on Sunday showed why.

Coming on as a second-half substitute, he had five shots and two headers in 45 minutes, inspiring his team to a battling performance as they went down 2-3 to the Lions.

He "hung" in the air, a Fandi signature move, leaping to beat towering defender Baihakki Khaizan in aerial duels.

He had an arsenal of flicks, what former Malaysia Cup coach Choo Seng Quee called "weapons", to turn on the ball and dribble past markers in one fluid motion.

Even though six out of his seven attempts sailed wide or over the bar, he is not afraid to fail and kept chipping away.

But when the one that was on target, it bulged the net.

Nizam dispossessed left-back Juma'at Jantan on the flank before bearing down on Lionel Lewis and beating Singapore's first-choice goalkeeper with an emphatic finish.

This was against a backline that had the best defensive record when it conceded just twice in the recent AFF Suzuki Cup.

He is not the finished article, that's for sure.

Nizam still struggles with his fitness, which explains why he could only terrorise opponents for one-half. He is still frail and lacks the muscles to batter centre-backs into submission.

However, in that fleeting appearance, he did provide a precious glimpse of his immense potential and a mirror image of Fandi.

But to be Fandi is to carry the hopes of a nation hungry for success in football, above all other sports.

To be Fandi is to be a role model to kids, to inspire children to pick up the game and to drill home the message of hard training and clean living.

To be Fandi is to carry on playing even though his body tells him to stop, as the man previously obliged Kallang even though he had eight operations on both shoulders and ankles - and even a deep gash on his buttocks no thanks to a freak accident after he unwittingly sat on a seat lever in a bus.

Fandi was always early for training working on his fitness and stayed back late to polish his finishing.

A skinny lad in his teens, he built up mass with a crash diet of carbohydrates and meat during his stint with Dutch side FC Groningen.

They have similar qualities on the pitch, similar physiques at the age of 17 and both singled out as special talents, but Nizam still has a long way to go to emulate Fandi.

He needs lots of physical training and nutrition to beef up his willowy frame and even more imperative is loads of work on his stamina.

The boy lasted just 35 minutes of his 45-minute appearance. In the last 10 minutes, he was reduced to the role of a walking pedestrian.

Still, his talent is undeniable.

When I met the man himself in his Jakarta home last month, yours truly could not resist asking the king about his heir apparent.

With a shrug of his shoulder, Fandi's short reply was: "Let's wait and see.''

Fandi is right. For sure, he must have been asked this countless times, the question on his successor.

So many had come and gone, without even making any impact. The tag "the new Fandi" is both a blessing and a curse, with every young player bestowed that label failing to deliver.

Khairul Nizam is a bright new hope, arguably the brightest ever since a young Fandi burst onto the scene as a very special 16-year-old more than 30 years ago.

We can only hope he makes it. Singapore is crying out for a genuine football hero.