Varadaraju Sundramoorthy (Tamil: வரதராஜு சுந்தரமூர்த்தி; born 6 October 1965) is a former Singaporeaninternationalfootballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, is widely touted as one of the country's most skilful and talented footballers ever. He is the current technical director of the Laos national football team.
He coached the LionsXII, a Singapore-based team playing in the Malaysia Super League, and held a dual appointment as the head coach of the Under-23 team[2] from 2011 to 2013 when he announced his plans to sign with the Malaysian Premier League team, Negeri Sembilan.[3] After coaching Negeri Sembilan for half a season in 2014, he returned to Singapore to take the helm at Tampines Rovers for almost 2 years, then a 2-year stint as head coach of Singapore.
Football career
Sundramoorthy broke into the Singapore-Malaysia Cup team in 1983 at just 18 years of age and in the following season, he became top scorer in the tournament.
In 1988, Sundramoorthy became the second player from Singapore to play in Europe when he signed for Swiss club FC Basel. He played there during the second half of their 1987–88 season (the season that Basel suffered relegation) under head coach Urs Siegenthaler. After playing in eight test games, he played his first match in the Swiss Super League in an away game on 20 March 1988 against Bulle. He scored his first goal for the club in the same game as Basel won 0–2.[4] He played solely five league games, in which scored three goals.[5] He was released to Old Boys at the end of the season.[6]
He then joined Kedah FA for the Malaysia Cup tournament as he returned in 1989. During his playing days in Alor Setar playing his trade for Kedah FA, Sundramoorthy helped Kedah to defeat Singapore 3–1 in the final of the 1990 Malaysia Cup, scoring Kedah's opening goal.
During Singapore's run-up to the 1993 Malaysia Cup Final appearance, Sundramoorthy was one of the most influential players in the team. He was a player well known for his dribbling skills and his finishing.
One of Sundramoorthy's most famous goals was a bicycle kick scored against Brunei in a 1993 FAM Division II League tie at the National Stadium. He also scored a spectacular backheel during his days with Jurong FC. In a match against Pahang that same year, Sundramoorthy audaciously faked a backheel that fooled the Pahang defenders before crossing for Fandi Ahmad to score the winner late in the game.
In his later days, Sundramoorthy played domestically, first turning out for Woodlands Wellington FC in the league's inaugural year in 1996 before moving on to become the first-ever player-coach in S.League history for Jurong Football Club.
Sundramoorthy was nicknamed 'The Dazzler', which was also the name of his autobiography, at the height of his prowess and 'King Cobra' when he was at Jurong.
Sundramoorthy also represented Singapore in several SEA Games and helped the Lions reach the final in 1989 when his last-minute through ball led to Fandi Ahmad's winner against Indonesia. He was one of the most feared Southeast Asian strikers the 1980s and early 1990s.
Coaching career
Since 2012 Sundramoorthy has been the head coach of the LionsXII, who played in the Malaysian Super League. In his first season in charge he led the LionsXII to 2nd place in the Malaysia Super League and the semi-finals of the Malaysia Cup.
On 7 October 2013, Sundramoorthy announced that he would not be renewing his contract with the Football Association of Singapore to coach the Lions XII Malaysian Super League Outfit. He took over as head coach at Malaysian Premier League side Negeri Sembilan on a two-year contract from 1 November 2013.[3] After finishing sixth in the 2014 Malaysia Premier League and failing to qualify for the Malaysia Cup, Sundramoorthy was relieved of his duties by Negeri Sembilan.[11]
In December 2014, Sundramoorthy was confirmed as the new head coach of the Tampines Rovers. This was the first time after 5 years that he held the head coach post in the S.League.[12][13]
Sundramoorthy was unveiled as the head coach of the Singapore national football team in May 2016, on a one-year contract.[14] He extended his contract as the Lions head coach for two more years in March 2017.[15] However, one year later, he stepped down from his role by mutual consent on 9 April 2018.[16]
In October 2018, Sundramoorthy became the head coach of the Laos national football team.[17] He was joined by V. Selvaraj who managed Laos' youth teams and also assisting him in the senior team.[18] In October 2021, Sundramoorthy became the Technical Director of the team while Selvaraj took over his head coach position.[18]
