Fandi Ahmad - Club Career

Club Career

Fandi joined Singapore FA in 1979 and became a regular midfield player, scoring four goals in his first Malaysia Cup season. The retirement of Arshad Khamis and Dollah Kassim prompted Jita Singh, the new Singapore FA coach, to play Fandi as a striker. During the 1980 Malaysia Cup season, Fandi scored eight goals, including the winning goal in the final against Selangor FA. He enlisted for National Service in September 1980 and was given light duties, such as collecting the camp garbage, so he could continue playing for Singapore FA. In 1981, Fandi won the FAS Footballer of the Year award for helping Singapore FA reach the Malaysia Cup final. The following year, Singapore FA did not play in the Malaysia Cup for political reasons, and Fandi underwent a shoulder operation; he could not play football for six weeks and was discharged early from National Service.

Selangor FA invited Fandi to play for them against Argentine club Boca Juniors in a friendly game, in which Fandi scored the only goal for Selangor FA; the score was 2–1. Fandi received offers from several Malaysia Cup teams, Indonesian side Niac Mitra, Swiss club Young Boys and Dutch side Ajax. After a three-week trial, Ajax offered Fandi a three-year contract, but Fandi instead signed a one-year contract with Niac Mitra, where he spent one season, helped them successfully defend their Galatama League title and was the third-highest scorer with 13 goals. In a friendly match between Niac Mitra and Arsenal, Fandi scored a goal in a 2–0 victory; however, he left Niac Mitra due to a sudden Galatama League ban on foreign players.

In 1983, Fandi moved to the Netherlands and signed a two-year contract with FC Groningen. A thigh injury acquired in a friendly match kept him off the field for ten weeks, but in his first Eredivisie game he scored twice in a 2–0 victory over Go Ahead Eagles. Three days later, he played in the first leg of a UEFA Cup second-round match against Italian side Internazionale, and scored the second goal in a 2–0 win, though in the second leg Groningen were defeated 1–5. The Groningen fans voted Fandi the most popular player and the most skilful player that season; he scored 10 goals in 29 games to help the Dutch club rise from ninth to fifth place in the Eredivisie. As an April Fools' Day joke, The Straits Times published a front-page story claiming that Manchester United had signed Fandi. However, his second season was marred by a recurrence of the thigh injury and a dispute with the coach. He played only two full games that season and Groningen did not offer him a new contract. During his time in the Netherlands, Fandi scored 11 league goals in 36 league games for Groningen.

The next club that Fandi played for was Malaysia Cup side Kuala Lumpur FA, which in 1987 won its first Malaysia Cup title. It was Malaysia Cup champions again the following season; Fandi won the Golden Boot, having scored 21 goals. After a third season at Kuala Lumpur FA, in which it won a third consecutive Malaysia Cup, Fandi signed a two-year contract with Greek club OFI Crete in 1990. However, problems with his International Transfer Certificate prevented him from playing for Crete, so he left Greece after two months. Fandi then joined Pahang FA, where he reverted to playing mainly in midfield due to his advancing age. Fandi missed several months of games because of heel and thigh injuries, and scored three goals to help Pahang FA win the Malaysia Cup and Malaysian League Double in 1992. That year, he also became the first Singaporean sportsperson to have career earnings exceeding a million Singapore dollars (not adjusted for inflation).

Fandi rejoined Singapore FA after it was relegated to the second tier of the Malaysian League. Singapore FA was promoted and reached the Malaysia Cup final in 1993, and finished the 1994 season as Malaysia Cup and Malaysian League champions. Captain Fandi played in 39 of Singapore FA's 41 games in the double-winning season, was the top scorer with 26 goals and was voted Player of the Season; he was also awarded a state medal, the Pingat Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Medal). The following season, Singapore FA withdrew from the Malaysia Cup and a fully professional Singaporean league, the S.League, was formed. In its inaugural season in 1996, Fandi captained Geylang United and was the joint top scorer with 11 goals, including the equaliser that confirmed Geylang as league champions. The Asian Football Confederation declared him the Player of the Month of June 1996. Geylang was given special dispensation to pay Fandi thrice the S.League salary cap. His playing career concluded with three seasons at SAFFC, during which they won two S.League titles and two Singapore Cups. Because of injuries, Fandi was limited to mainly short substitute appearances, but he continued to score crucial goals, notably two against Cambodian side Royal Dolphins in the Asian Club Championship, until his retirement in 1999.