“WRONG TIME, WRONG PLACE, WRONG CIRCUMSTANCES”
Earlier this week, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) announced the sacking of Nishigaya, describing recent performances and results as “below expectations”. His last two games in charge were defeats to Thailand and South Korea, leaving the Lions bottom of their World Cup qualifying group.
FAS said then that an “early transition to a fresh successor would re-energise the team and allow a longer runway for the national team to prepare for important matches in the next few months and the year-end AFF tournament”.
The timing of the dismissal, less than two years into Nishigaya’s appointment, was reached after “careful consideration”, FAS said.
Like his predecessor and compatriot, Nishigaya took over the Lion’s hot seat in 2022 despite a lack of experience coaching at the international level.
But while Yoshida led Singapore to the AFF Suzuki Cup semi-finals in 2021 – the first time in nine years that the team had reached the last four of the regional tournament – Nishigaya struggled to win over fans and critics.
So, was the hiring of Nishigaya a mistake?
“Hindsight is 20/20 … I’m sure every single manager that has been appointed by any club … they have high hopes and they want the coach to do well,” Mr Tan told the media at Thursday’s press conference.
“Have we learned what is needed going forward? I think the answer is yes.”
While Nishigaya was a “devoted person” and “committed to the task”, he simply wasn’t the right fit, said Mr Tan.
“In football, there are many, many managers that are very good managers. But in the wrong time, wrong place, wrong circumstances, they find it extremely difficult to deliver on what is expected,” said the FAS president.
“So I’ll put Nishigaya in that category and leave it as such.”
LANGUAGE ABILITIES
Addressing what many saw as a shortcoming for Nishigaya, the new man in charge told CNA after the press conference that he was confident in his language abilities, given his experience communicating with foreign players and coaches alike.
He declined to use a translator at his official unveiling, opting to field all questions in English.
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