Cannavaro And Kewell On Lions Shortlist

Being a strong communicator is among the FAS' criteria for the next national coach

- Deepanraj Ganesan

A World Cup winner, a former English Premier League assistant coach, and a former Liverpool player and Champions League winner are among the candidates on an extended shortlist for the Singapore national football coach's role, The Straits Times has learnt.

Over 60 candidates have expressed interest in taking the hot seat since Japanese tactician Tsutomu Ogura resigned due to personal reasons on June 24.

In its hunt for a new head coach, the Football Association of Singapore's (FAS) new leadership team's commitment to the search has brought a host of top names from abroad.

Several sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity told ST that numerous interviews have already been conducted by the FAS' top brass, and an initial list of candidates has now been whittled down to around 15 names.

They include Fabio Cannavaro, captain of Italy's World Cup-winning team in 2006. The 51-year-old's coaching curriculum vitae includes winning the Chinese Super League in 2019 with Guangzhou Evergrande.

Regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time, Cannavaro is one of just three defenders to have won the Ballon d'Or, alongside Franz Beckenbauer and Matthias Sammer.

His coaching career has yet to hit the heights of his playing tenure, with his last two stints being short-lived spells as coach of Udinese in Italy's Serie A and most recently at Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb.

He does have experience in Asia with spells as a club coach in Saudi Arabia and China.