Like his predecessor and compatriot Daruma Yoshida, Nishigaya became a standout player for the Lions in 2022 despite having no coaching experience at international level.
But while Yoshida led Singapore to the 2021 AFF Suzuki Cup semi-finals and reached the top four of a regional tournament for the first time in nine years, Nishigaya struggled to gain support from fans and critics.
Local soccer blogger Ko Poh Hui said there was nothing positive to take away from Nishigaya’s time as head coach.
“His tenure is probably one of the most unfortunate in recent local football history,” he said. “I can’t think of anyone who was tested as rigorously from day one…because they didn’t have the credentials to be trusted.”
It’s not just his fault
Mr. Nishigaya, a former J.League player who played in a total of 100 games, started his coaching career as a youth coach for Tokyo Verdy in 2004. He became head youth coach and retired in 2009.
After that, he served as an assistant coach at Albirex Niigata (2012) and Mito Holy Hook (2013-2015), and was promoted to head coach at Mito Holy Hook. Nishigaya also served as the head coach of SC Sagamihara before moving to Matsumoto Yamaga, serving as the U-18 head coach, and becoming an assistant for the first team in 2020.
His stint got off to an ignominious start after just three games, with Singapore losing 1-0 to Tajikistan in June 2022, ending the team’s hopes of qualifying for the 2023 Asian Cup.
The Lions also failed to make it out of the group stage in the 2022 AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup.
However, Sasikumar says Singapore’s woes cannot be solely blamed on Nishigaya. As an example, he said the hiring process that hired the 50-year-old man was not “rigorous” enough.
When Nishigaya’s appointment was announced in April 2022, then FAS president Lim Kia Tong said the head coach selection committee would base its decisions on a “set of principles” before analyzing candidates. said. The goal was to find someone like Yoshida who could inject belief into the players.
FAS General Secretary Yazeen Buhari said nearly 50 candidates applied for the post, but the number was reduced to 20 during the first stage of evaluation.
Lim then said that Nishigaya’s strength lies in his ability to identify players’ strengths and utilize them to suit his tactics and style of play.
However, CNA understands that the language barrier was a major obstacle, with Nishigaya unable to speak fluent English and relying heavily on assistant coach Koichiro Iizuka as an interpreter.
Although Nishigaya was never lost in the locker room, he often struggled to get his point across and build meaningful relationships with his players.
“It’s not fair to blame everything on him,” Sasikumar said.
“As a professional, you can’t blame him for taking that job, right? Someone comes along and gives you the job of coaching the national team. There are 200 jobs like that around the world. I think that’s all there is to it.” He was a national team coach, and I think he wanted to advance his career in that sense. ”
Sasikumar added that Nishigaya also doesn’t always have the best players at his disposal.
Forward Iksan Fandi, who only returned to international duty last November after spending the better part of 10 months sidelined with a knee injury, is one of the defenders who received medical clearance to play with a concussion injury in 2022. So was Safwan Baharuddin.
“But that’s where he makes his money as a coach,” he said. “Given his background, I don’t think he has much tactical sense for international football.”
Khairul said Nishigaya had “tried very hard” but was the wrong hire “on every level” because he did not speak English well and had no international experience.
“He tried hard, played the game, put in the effort. In general, his team selection wasn’t too bad. But what does that mean on the pitch, sometimes substitutions, sometimes game planning?” I think it would have an impact on the players, but he didn’t really understand or have a clear grasp of football and football in that area and the players,” he explained.