Lions coach Tsutomu Ogura encourages younger players to take on more leadership roles

SINGAPORE – Shah Shahiran celebrated a birthday to remember last week as Singapore played host to Myanmar in an international friendly on Nov 14.

The central midfielder, who turned 25 that day, was handed the captain’s armband in a surprise move by coach Tsutomu Ogura.

Leading the Lions out at the National Stadium, he worked tirelessly in the comeback 3-2 win. The birthday to remember has also deepened his determination to step up as a leader.

Speaking to The Straits Times at The Parkroyal on Beach Road ahead of the Lions’ Nov 18 friendly against Chinese Taipei at the National Stadium, Shah said Ogura pulled him aside a few hours before the Myanmar match and told him that he will be the captain instead of regular skipper Hariss Harun, 33.

The BG Tampines Rovers player said he was happy and nervous at the same time, adding: “You always dream of becoming a national player but to be honest, I had never dreamt of being a captain.

“But it was a real honour and a special moment for my family and I. I knew they were going to be in the stands and it ended up being a huge night for me. It was a perfect birthday present.”

While it was a moment to savour for Shah, the decision did raise eyebrows as Hariss (133 caps) was also in the starting XI. There were also other seniors such as Safuwan Baharudin (114 caps) and defenders Nazrul Nazari (65 caps) and Shakir Hamzah (66 caps).

Asked about the skipper switch, Ogura told ST that he wants to prepare the next generation of leaders.

He said: “Hariss is still the team captain, but I decided to also have a captain for the match.

“We are using this opportunity to let younger players have a bigger leadership role and hopefully, they will step up and grow to assume that responsibility.”

Ogura did not confirm who will don the armband against Chinese Taipei, the Lions’ final warmup game before their Asean Football Federation (AFF) Championship opener against Cambodia on Dec 11.

Since taking on the captaincy on a permanent basis from Shahril Ishak in 2018, Hariss had only once not been skipper despite being in the first XI previously. That came in September 2022, when Hassan Sunny was named captain against India to commemorate his 100th cap.

Asked how he felt not wearing the armband against Myanmar, Hariss said: “To be honest, it did feel a bit weird, because I’m so used to being at the front leading the team out.

“But I’m still the same person. I will still play and organise the team and talk to my teammates as if I’m the captain, but without wearing the armband.”