Then skipper Fandi, now 62, said: “Until today, I can still feel it. The whole team were shocked to see all the red flags and jerseys. We thought the stadium would be filled with Malaysian or Pahang fans, but instead it was like the whole of our Kallang National Stadium was in Shah Alam, can you imagine that?
So many buses coming!
We were going to the stadium. We saw,
I thought Malaysian bus, Malaysian bus.
Oh, Singapore flag.
So we were shocked.
And we said, “Eh, today will be full.”
But we didn’t realise that
we outnumbered the Pahang supporters.
Capacity wise,
it was like the whole of Kallang stadium
was in Shah Alam.
Can you imagine?
It inspired us even stronger to win for them.
“It inspired us even more to win for them. I told the team we have to fight and win, and we were like lions when we got on the pitch. We killed Pahang because we pressed them, we harassed them, we tackled and we fought very hard. We played the perfect game.”
Playing their 41st game in a gruelling eight-month season, they whipped Pahang 4-0 to lift the 1994 Malaysia Cup in style for their first double after claiming the Malaysia league title in August.
Abbas was the irrepressible hat-trick hero of the fateful night, opening the scoring with a scissors kick in the 26th minute. He then connected with a square pass from Fandi eight minutes after the restart, before latching on to a V. Selvaraj long pass to score in the 65th minute. He even managed to assist Fandi a minute later for a fantastic fourth.
Yeah, we were under pressure.
I knew I had to score.
And I knew I had to come good.
Once the first goal went in,
we can see from our body language
that our confidence went up.
I told David and Malek,
this is our time.
Tonight will be our night.
You know why?
It falls on the 17th of December.
My number, my lucky number.
I’m sure,
I have faith, we will win.
We have to win, by hook or by crook.
We got to fight.
You see how Kadir tackled, how Saswadimata tackled.
The tackles, you know, really, we were like real lions.
“That was one of the greatest and most amazing nights of my career, and I will never forget the roar and the noise when I looked around the stadium,” said Abbas, 57, who is coach and head of football at New South Wales League One side Rydalmere Lions.
“The crowd got us over the line. We had lost twice in the final in the previous four years and we didn’t want to disappoint the crowd again.”
Despite the scoreline and the attention on the scorers, it was a true team effort.
Goalkeeper David Lee, coaxed out of retirement for the 1994 season, made a number of key saves and was protected by a stout defence led by Lim Tong Hai and the late Borhan Abu Samah, who was filling in as sweeper for the suspended former South Korea international Jang Jung. Full-backs Saswadimata Dasuki and Kadir Yahaya augmented the attack and defence with their running on the flanks.
As usual, Malek Awab covered every blade of grass, while Nazri Nasir and Lee Man Hon bossed the midfield alongside their more experienced seniors. Another youngster V. Selvaraj, a late addition to the squad, grabbed the opportunity to start and notched an assist.
In a golden age for Singapore football which had tens of thousands of fans turn up at the National Stadium every week as the Lions battled Malaysian states in the league and cup, this was a perfect end to a dramatic season that was more than a decade in the making.
In 1980, Singapore beat Selangor 2-1 to win the Malaysia Cup, and few would have foreseen a long drought after. It took them 14 years to win the fabled trophy again, with much drama and heartbreak preceding that.
The Lions lost 4-0 to Selangor in the 1981 Malaysia Cup final, and were reportedly expelled from Malaysian football competition from 1982 to 1984 for crowd trouble. In 1985, they returned to win the league, lost 3-1 to Kedah in the 1990 Malaysia Cup final, and reached a nadir with their relegation to Division 2 in 1992.
For a team like us, Singapore playing in Division 2,
I think it was a bit embarrassing.
And Selangor also went down together with us.
So two giants playing in Division 2.
It was a wake-up call for both teams.
And I think 1993 was the turning point when they decided
that we should get the good players back
and get good foreigners.
Hopefully we could go back to Division 1.
Winger Steven Tan, then known affectionately as super-sub for his ability to come off the bench and impact games, said: “For a team like Singapore to be playing in Division 2 was embarrassing.
“Selangor also went down with us, so two giants playing in Division 2 was a wake-up call for both teams, and 1993 was the turning point when the FAS decided to get the good players back with good foreigners to hopefully go back to Division 1.”
The Dream Team were formed in 1993 as the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) assembled a squad comprising the likes of Fandi and Abbas and V. Sundramoorthy in a bid to restore the glory days.
1993, the time I was called upon
to try to make a comeback to Singapore football.
And I was very happy to help. I was playing for Pahang.
I had a call from Patrick (manager)
they managed to approach Pahang
to get me released.
I only came back in 1993 because of Malek and Fandi.
Because they were ready to come back
and I was ready to sign actually
with Kedah and Terengganu.
So I had offers on the table, but
Fandi and Malek changed my mind
and we wanted to win a trophy for Singapore.
We wanted to win the Malaysia Cup together
as friends and as brothers.
We have a lot of so-called, star players.
We had Alistair, Abbas,
We had Malek, Kadir.
Quite a good, strong team or ‘dream team’.
Sundram and Razali all these
and I thought, why are we in the 2nd Division?
Surprisingly in 1994, the likes of Razali Saad and Sundram were dropped, with the latter joining Kelantan that year and coaching the LionsXII to the Malaysian Super League title in 2013.
There were more controversies to come, as Ken Worden resigned as Lions coach just a week before the league was about to start in April, and FAS technical director Douglas Moore stepped in as a late replacement.
Tan, a 53-year-old head coach at ActiveSG Football Academy (Bendemeer), said: “Ken Worden was a taskmaster who worked our a**** off. He killed us in pre-season training, but that set the foundation for us in a long season. Douglas Moore was more like a father figure who knew how to motivate and manage the players, even with all the stars around.”
They are like 2 different characters.
Ken Worden was a taskmaster and worked our off.
You know, he killed us in pre-season training.
I think that was good training for us.
It set the foundation for us.
And...
And of course he left.
When Douglas Moore took over,
Douglas Moore was more like a father to us.
He knows how to motivate you,
how to manage the players
even with all the star players around.
I think he knows the players well,
and the best position for them to play.
The rhythm wasn’t there any more after the fourth game,
We were struggling and then I think also,
there’s some changes that Douglas made
to try out the younger players.
I think Rafi was in the army.
two or three players were out, because of national service.
They could come after, you know, a certain period.
But after we got everybody back,
I thought we became stronger.
And the hunger came back and we really pushed ourselves.
And especially, we wanted to win
every game at the National Stadium.
We know that we were very, very strong at home.
The M-League then was more than a kampung league as the other clubs also had international players like Sabah’s Scott Ollerenshaw (Australia), Pahang’s Attapol Buspakom (Thailand) and Azamat Abduraimov (Uzbekistan), Kedah’s Peter Nieketien (Nigeria U-20), Selangor’s Dimitre Kalkanov (Bulgaria U-20) and Penang’s Lutz Pfannenstiel (Germany U-17).
Even Brunei managed to sign on loan a young English goalkeeper Ian Gray from then-English Premier League side Oldham.
Still, it was the Lions who made their best start to an M-League season to top the table with four straight wins, but injuries and inexperience saw them tumbling to sixth midway through the season as home attendance once dipped to 18,000.
It was a difficult period at the start,
before the start of the year
because of the uncertainty with the managers.
But we started so well, and I think that was key.
That was key that we get that confidence early on.
There were many factors.
The CPIB (Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau) probe.
We had a lot of injuries.
I spent a little bit of time out.
I got injured, Fandi got injured.
You know, important players got injured at the wrong time
when we’re flying high.
They also had to deal with hostile away fans, and had a match abandoned and later awarded to them after incensed Kelantan supporters hurled stones and bottles at the match officials for disallowing a goal.
It was very hostile in the sense
that when you go to the Malaysian states,
I would always take the corner.
When I go to the corner kick area,
they were throwing stones and water bottles.
In order for me to kick the ball fast, for the corner kick,
I would have to make sure all the boys
will be standing in the same positions
as what we trained.
So once they were there, I quickly took the kick.
So it was very dangerous when you took a corner kick
or when you picked up the balls.
When playing in a smaller stadium
like in Perlis or Melaka,
the fans behind, were only a few metres away,
maybe about less than 10 metres.
So when I’m standing in the goalmouth,
it’s like a target for them.
So they will throw stones, sometimes
coins, you know, bottles and all that.
So when we are attacking,
I always go up to the edge of the 18-yard box.
So I move around to avoid all the missiles.
Then, there was the spectre of match-fixing, as a Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau probe in August 1994 hauled up several Singapore players.
Lions forward Michal Vana was arrested and charged in court for accepting $375,000 to influence the results of five matches – he was sacked and later jumped bail to flee to Czech Republic.
We all as players, especially,
on the defensive line, you know,
we are always very cautious of making mistakes.
So when you make mistakes,
you know, the crowd might say that
oh no, you are on the take or whatever,
you know, bribery and all that.
So we are always very, very,
very focused and make sure that we do well.
As a youngster we’ve only played for one or two years
in the Malaysia Cup.
So we really know nothing about this corruption.
But we heard about it.
But as a young boy, for me, I just try my very best.
Even all those like Zakaria Awang all these
who are coming in, we try our very best.
We don’t really care about the rumours
that are happening in the team.
And when this issue came about,
It disrupted the team spirit a little bit,
but we were okay.
We just carried on and did our job.
But all the distractions galvanised the Lions.
David, now 66 and a retiree, was one of just two players alongside Fandi to win both the 1980 and 1994 Malaysia Cup.
He said: “When we make mistakes, the crowd may say we are on the take, so we were always very focused and made sure that we did well.
In a remarkable second-round rally, Singapore won 12 out of 15 matches to pip Kedah to the title by two points, setting the stage for an 11-match unbeaten run in the Malaysia Cup in which they came from behind three times to salvage vital draws.
Singapore’s ranking over time
Man Hon, now a head coach at ActiveSG Football Academy (Kranji), said of their mentality: “Even when we find ourselves 2-0 down, we didn’t panic. With the quality that we had, the boys believed in one another.”
Every time Steven Tan goes in, people expect him to score.
When I go out now, people still recognise me
and call me ‘super-sub’.
So that tag will not go off.
I just wanted to play.
Whatever minutes I was given to play,
I just wanted to contribute to the team.
I’m happy they still remember me.
We would be excited.
We will get the goal, we will get the goal.
That camaraderie extended off the pitch as the members of the 1994 team remain firm friends today.
We’re always glad that Fandi and Malek are always around
to boost up the morale of the team.
They would create a lot of humorous jokes and all that
to keep the players relaxed.
We have a lot of jokers, even Rezal Hassan.
He likes to imitate David.
You can ask him. The way he walks, it’s very funny.
And there is another joker in the team, which is Samawira.
And when he, Malek and Fandi get together,
I tell you, we will laugh and laugh.
You know, that creates a lot of calm in the team.
Jang Jung is another one.
He looks serious, but he’s not.
He is very funny as well.
This shows they do not have big egos.
They always mix around with us,
and we can feel at home.
Abbas shared how it was probably written in the stars, as his late mother’s name is Fandie and he had named his second son Malek. He added: “I came back to Singapore in 1993 only because of Fandi and Malek. I had good offers on the table elsewhere, but we are brothers and we wanted to win a trophy for Singapore.
Our win is the fans’ win,
is the country’s win.
At the airport, in the stadium,
the celebration was for everybody.
It was one of the most amazing nights of my career.
That’s for sure. It scares me to think about it.
It makes my hair stand up on my skin, you know.
Malek is like a second brother to me.
I ended up naming my second son, Malek,
after Malek Awab.
They are very, very dear to me.
We treat each other like family.
We’ll always be family for life.
“With me and Fandi, it’s never about individual honours. The team is bigger than any individual and I knew our goals would get us to the top and win us trophies. We scored almost 60 goals between us – out of my 26 goals he probably assisted 10 and I assisted about 20 of his 28 goals. But it’s not just about me and Fandi, it’s about the whole team’s contribution.”
Fandi and Abbas scored the most goals for the Lions that season
And then, it was all over. Singapore were again kicked out of Malaysia football in 1995, returned in 2012 as the LionsXII, before they parted ways a third time after the 2015 season.
But the memories of the spectacular season live on, as the Class of ’94 cherish the rousing reception they had – at the Shah Alam team hotel, Changi Airport, and the victory parade at the National Stadium. There were even songs written about and sung by the players.
It was the height of football fever and, as one album that year was aptly titled, Soccermania.
Fandi, who later coached the LionsXII to the Malaysia FA Cup title in 2015, said: “Even when we were training at Jalan Besar during pre-season, it was full house.
We are not famous.
I think the famous ones are Abbas and Fandi.
So every time we trained at Jalan Besar,
we had to wait for them to go out first,
the fans to mob them,
and then we could go out by the other side.
We have our training here, the old Jalan Besar stadium
and you can see a few hundred fans,
you know, at this grandstand watching us train.
We couldn’t even go home sometimes.
Last time, I used to take the MRT.
So what I’ll do is that I’d run all the way here,
there’s a gate there, I throw my bag over,
I’d climb on top and I ran home.
Everyday, The New Paper was always writing about us,
a good 14 to 16 pages of it.
So this was how the fans knew us.
We had to be very respectful.
Sign autographs, take pictures.
You know, we always oblige.
So that’s very important for the fans.
We’ll take about sometimes 30 minutes, 45 minutes
before we could go.
So it was very good vibes at that time.
“The fans motivated us to give 100 per cent for every game, and everybody wanted to win and work hard for the team. Players arrived early at training to set up and we were always in a hurry to play rondo and train because we enjoyed what we were doing so much. And we were rewarded with the double, despite the obstacles we faced.
“It was a great time for Singapore football and I hope we will see similar scenes again some day.”
David Lee
The oldest Lion in the squad in 1994 at age 36, the goalkeeper was coaxed out of retirement for the season. He is known for his shot-stopping ability and commanding presence in goal, and made four big saves in the Malaysia Cup final.
David Lee
M-League 26 starts, 9 clean sheets, average ST rating 6.54, 3 man-of-the-match Malaysia Cup 11 starts, 4 clean sheets, average ST rating 6.36, 1 man-of-the-match Now Lee retired six years ago from his job as a business development manager and spends his time now playing golf at least twice a week at the National Service Resort & Country Club in Changi.
Kadir Yahaya
Swift and tough, the full-back was reliable in defence and an attacking threat down the right flank and it was no surprise that he was one of the fastest and fittest players in the team.
Kadir Yahaya
M-League 25 starts, 1 goal, 6.64, 1 man-of-the-match Malaysia Cup 10 starts, 6.7, 1 man-of-the-match Now Kadir has developed a reputation for being one of Singapore’s brightest coaching minds. He was appointed head of youth at Thai side BG Pathum in 2022 and is currently a caretaker coach for the first team.Borhan Abu Samah
Known as the “Russian Tank”, the no-nonsense defender was Singapore’s saviour in the second-leg semi-final when he saved a sure goal on the line, with goalkeeper David Lee already beaten.
Borhan Abu Samah
M-League 26 starts, 1 goal, 6.15, 1 man-of-the-match Malaysia Cup 9 starts, 6.44 Now Borhan died of liver cancer in 1999 at the young age of 34.
Lim Tong Hai
The centre-back was a reliable presence in the heart of defence in 1994 and kept Pahang’s frontman Shahdan Zahari and utility man Zainal Abidin in his pocket during the Malaysia Cup final.
Lim Tong Hai
M-League 23 starts, 1 sub, 6.26 Malaysia Cup 11 starts, 2 goals, 6.81, 2 man-of-the-match Now Lim is currently a team lead at national sport agency Sport Singapore and a member of the Football Association of Singapore Council that was elected in 2021, and will serve a four-year term until 2025.
Saswadimata Dasuki
Saswadimata was a versatile player who turned in assured performances in defence and midfield in 1994 for the Lions and was used as a full-back in the Cup final.
Saswadimata Dasuki
M-League 28 starts, 1 sub, 1 goal, 6 Malaysia Cup 8 starts, 5.63 Now After retiring from professional football, he transitioned into coaching. He was appointed Home United’s coach in 2019 but parted ways with the club after barely a quarter of the Singapore Premier League season. He is currently a limousine driver and also the coach of Yishun Junior College’s boys team and the men’s team at Nanyang Technological University.
V. Selvaraj
A neat dribbler and finisher drafted in by Douglas Moore late into the season, Selvaraj, a 23-year-old army regular then, was the first Singaporean to score at the new Shah Alam Stadium in the 2-2 semi-final second-leg that sent the Lions to the Malaysia Cup final.
V. Selvaraj
M-League Not in squad Malaysia Cup 5 starts, 2 subs, 2 goals, 6.5, 1 man-of-the-match Now He took charge of Warriors FC in the SPL and later on the Laos national team. He is currently a physical education teacher and coach of the Singapore Armed Forces Sports Association, a team of full-time national servicemen who play in the SPL Under-21 League.
Malek Awab
A key member of the 1994 team, Malek combined hard work and tenacity with vision and is regarded as one of Singapore’s best midfielders. Malek had already won the Malaysia Cup with Kuala Lumpur FA in 1988 before his triumph with Singapore.
Malek Awab
M-League 29 starts, 3 goals, 6.24 Malaysia Cup 10 starts, 6.3, 1 man-of-the-match Now Malek is a sales and marketing executive with Pacific Sports Pte Ltd, which distributes sports equipment brands like Molten, Patrick and Ashaway. He has worked there since the 1980s. Malek is also still a regular at friendly matches involving ex-internationals.
Nazri Nasir
Another midfielder who stood out due to his work rate, Nazri was described as one of the more talented players in his position in the league.
Nazri Nasir
M-League 20 starts, 1 sub, 4 goals, 6.25, 1 man-of-the-match Malaysia Cup 11 starts, 6 Now He is currently the coach of Singapore Premier League side Young Lions. Nazri was also caretaker coach of the Singapore national team for two matches in 2019 when he guided the Lions to a 1-0 victory over causeway rivals Malaysia and a 1-1 draw over Oman. Nazri also led the Singapore U-22s at the 2021 SEA Games held in Hanoi.
Lee Man Hon
Described as the ‘man with the magical left foot’, Lee was thrust into the limelight at the age of 20. Despite his inexperience, he started and finished the Malaysia Cup final where he “played like a veteran, his arrogance and his control moved many hearts”.
Lee Man Hon
M-League 24 starts, 2 subs, 5 goals, 6 Malaysia Cup 7 starts, 2 subs, 1 goal, 5.71 Now Lee played for several clubs in the S-League such as Tiong Bahru, Marine Castle and Tampines Rovers before he retired from competitive football. He is currently the coach at the ActiveSG Football Academy (Kranji).
Abbas Saad
The Australian will always be fondly remembered as the hero of 1994 after scoring a hat-trick and notching an assist in the Malaysia Cup final. He finished the season with 26 goals, two behind talisman Fandi Ahmad.
Abbas Saad
M-League 27 starts, 20 goals, 6.41, 5 man-of-the-match Malaysia Cup 10 starts, 6 goals, 6.7, 1 man-of-the-match Now Currently the coach and head of football at Rydalmere Lions, who play in the NSW League One, the second-tier competition in New South Wales. Abbas has established himself as a reputed coach in Australia after he led Sydney Olympic to the Australian National Premier League New South Wales Premier League and cup double in 2018 and was named Coach of the Year.
Fandi Ahmad
The captain and arguably the best player in the team, the striker finished as Singapore’s top scorer in both the League and Cup, with a total of 28 goals. He won the Malaysia Cup five times before 1994, thrice with Kuala Lumpur, once with Pahang, and once with Singapore in 1980.
Fandi Ahmad
M-League 29 starts, 21 goals, 6.79, 4 man-of-the-match Malaysia Cup 10 starts, 7 goals, 7, 1 man-of-the-match Now Fandi has made his mark as a coach having won the S-League with Singapore Armed Forces FC in 2000 and 2002 and the Malaysia FA Cup in 2015 with LionsXII. He is currently the coach at Malaysia Super League outfit Pahang FC.
Steven Tan
Singapore’s super-sub was speedy, skilful and scored vital goals off the bench, such as the injury-time winner against Pahang in the group stage of the Malaysia Cup.
Steven Tan
M-League 8 starts, 16 subs, 3 goals, 6.13 Malaysia Cup 4 starts, 6 subs, 3 goals, 6 Now Tan is currently the coach of ActiveSG Football Academy (Bendemeer), the Temasek Polytechnic’s boys team and Singapore Football League 1 side Singapore Cricket Club.
Aide Iskandar
Aide, 18 then, played in only one of 30 matches during the league season. He was on the bench for the Malaysia Cup final as Jang Jung and Rafi Ali were suspended for the final, and came on in the 88th minute.
Aide Iskandar
M-League 1 start, 6 Malaysia Cup 1 sub Now He took up coaching roles at Sengkang Punggol (now Hougang United) and Young Lions – whom he led at the home SEA Games in 2015, Aide is currently a freelance events consultant.
Rafi Ali
Described as Singapore’s utility player due to his ability to play in a variety of positions in defence and in attack, Rafi was equally adept at tackling and playing an eye-of-the-needle pass. He was suspended for the Malaysia Cup final.
Rafi Ali
M-League 10 starts, 3 subs, 6.1 Malaysia Cup 5 starts, 2 subs, 1 goal, 6.4 Now Till 2023, Rafi ran the popular Ali Nachia Briyani Stall, a family business. He can be seen on the pitches developing the next generation of footballers as the coach of ActiveSG Football Academy (Naval Base) and Tanjong Pagar United’s Under-17 team, or on stage with his drums for The Vibes, a band he founded.
Jang Jung
With his experience and stability, the South Korean centre-back was the defensive rock during the season despite groin and hamstring problems. He was suspended for the Malaysia Cup final after picking up his second yellow card in the semi-final.
Jang Jung
M-League 25 starts, 6.44, 5 man-of-the-match Malaysia Cup 8 starts, 6.38, 1 man-of-the-match Now Jang joined Geylang United in 1997 as a player, before becoming their coach in 2001, the same year he won the S-League and was named Coach of the Year. He went on to have coaching stints at Balestier Khalsa, Sri Lanka and Perak. Later on, he coached a high school team near Daejeon and is currently based in Seoul.
Coach Douglas Moore
The Kiwi was a last-minute replacement for Ken Worden who quit a week before the M-League kick-off. Moore was FAS technical director at the time and was described by his players as a very good motivator who brought the best out of his squad.