Aide Iskandar
Nationality: Singaporean
D.O.B: 28 Mar 1975
Club: Home United (1996-2005) Tampines Rovers (2006) Geylang United (2007-2008) Sengkang Punggol (2009)
Position: Defender
Honours
S-league: 1999, 2003
Singapore Cup 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006
FAM-FAS Cup Champions Cup: 2005
Tiger Cup: 98, 04/05
ASEAN Football Championship: 07
S.Subramani
Nationality: Singaporean
D.O.B: 5 Aug 1972
Club: Tanjong Pagar United (1997-1998) Home United (1999-2005)
Position: Defender
Honours
S-league: 1999, 2003
Singapore Cup: 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005
FA Cup: 1998
Player of the Year 1998
FAM-FAS Cup Champions Cup: 2005
Tiger Cup: 98, 04/05
ASEAN Football Championship: 07
Players History
It would have been much fairer if both these two gentlemen had a writeup of their own football career but it would be impossible to tear them apart just like the careers they forge together.
But who would have believed that for the start of their individual career was much different.
Aide was always earmarked to be a national player as he came out of the national youth setup but Subramani never had that privilege.
But one can never keep a good player down and Subramani started his road toward being the national star by 1996 - the same year the S-league started; which gave him the stage to show off to then-national coach Barry Whitbeard his talent.
At the same time, his football career was also taking off with his club Tanjong Pagar as his no-nonsense defending endeared him to head coach Robert Alberts; who will really mould him into the star defender the Lions will depend on for over a decade.
Indeed by 1998, S.Subramani was one of the factor why the Jaguars nearly won the Treble as build on a bed-rock defence, Tanjong Pagar United pushed SAFFC to the end and only missed out on the S-league title due to goal difference.
But it was still better than one can expect as he won a Cup Double - Singapore Cup and FA Cup - as well as the S-league Player of the Year award at the end of it all.
It was fully justified for the saying go, all championship sides are build from the back and he was the main pillar at the back for the Jaguars and without him, it was doubtful the Queenstown club would have matched SAFFC all the way in the League and won the Cup competitions.
At the same time, Aide career cannot be considered as brilliant for the criticism of him at that point was he lacked concentration for the full 90 minutes thus he was not fulfilling his early promise.
Still, if there are moments that change history, 1998 was it for a recession meant Home United could picked up Robert Alberts in mid-point after the league season (At that time, league and Cup can be considered two separate seasons with Cup competition only starting after league season end) and much like how he mould Subramani, the Dutchman will finally kickstart Aide club career.
Other than that, the other moment was the Tiger Cup in Vietnam as Barry Whitbeard finally solved his defensive puzzle with a three-man partnership - Aide, Subramani and R.Sasi Kumar.
It was perfect as Aide was the passer while Subramani had the focus and Sasi kumar got the muscle.
That foundation saw Singapore bring back their first-ever international trophy - Tiger Cup and it caught the eye of the Dutchman now at the helm of Home United.
He was determined to bring the trio together for the start of the 1999 season and he got his wish thus the start of Home golden age, up to this point, was build.
For it was not difficult to guess what happen at the end of the 99 season.
Yes, Home United won their first S-league crown with the best defensive record and they only missed out on a Double after their bitter uniform rival SAFFC knocked them out in the Singapore Cup semi-final.
But next season, it was in reversal as Home United will go to win the Singapore Cup after beating SAFFC in the Final while the Protectors lost the S-league crown to the Warriors in return despite having another good defensive record that year.
At the point, Sasi kumar was starting to develop other interests and he will soon fade out of the picture and in such circumstance, clubs will usually go look for a foreigner to bulk up their defence but Aide and S.Subramani will show why they are the perfect pairing as they adapt brilliantly to the new situation.
They will now form a partnership in the centre that was as brilliant as the trio one and they show they did not need the muscle for they had the defensive capabilities to cope without it.
However during that transition period, national coach Vincent Subramaniam and after that his successor Jan Poulsen seek new partnership for them with the likes of Winston Yap and Razif Mahamud etc all try out but they could not replicate the same wavelength as the Home United pair.
Indeed by the end of the 2002 season, the Home United pair defensive capabilities was back to it best and the 2003 season will see the Bishan club sweep all opposition in front of them as the Protectors achieved a League and Cup double.
In 2004, Home United will reach the AFC Cup semi-final - the first time in history a local club had gone so far in Asia continental competition - and a year later, they will win the Singapore Cup for the fourth time.
All this achievement, the pairing had a major part in it for since the end of the partnership, up to the point of writing nearly six years later, Home United had been unable to achieve that high point again.
Even the Lions achievements in that period was build on such a solid foundation as the Lions won their second Tiger Cup in 05 and the duo gave a performance that was as good as 98 especially Subramani who had soldiered on in the second leg of the semi-final after being hit in the head by a bottle thrown by the opposition.
In 07, the Lions won the renamed, from Tiger Cup, ASEAN Football Championship for the third time and after that, the Lions did remarkably to reach the World Cup Qualifiers group stage - which only the top 20 Asian nations participate in.
Much like Home United, the four years since their retirement from international football one after the other, the Lions have struggled to find another pairing like them to build a solid foundation so to launch an assault on Asia.
They have shown what a pairing they were at the back as they won a combined 236 caps and nobody could have replaced them in their time.
Aide, who depart Home United in 2005, play for Johore FA in the MPL, Tampines Rovers, Geylang United and then lastly Sengkang Punggol in the next four years.
He will win another Singapore Cup with Tampines Rovers but he was never able to forge another partnership in defence that will match the high of the past decade again.
As for Subramani, he took over the captaincy from Aide at Home and continue to play as good as he give at the club until 2009 when he decided his body could take it no longer after over 350 appearances for them.
Singapore, Home United and the public must be grateful for their contribution in their time and they were the perfect pairing at the perfect time for Singapore football.
Aide Iskandar stats
Geylang United
Year | League App | Goal | Cup App | Goal |
2007 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
2008 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
Total | 57 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
GEYLANG UNITED vs GOMBAK UNITED – 28/5/07
Home United
Year | League App | Goal | Cup App | Goal |
1999 | 21 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
2000 | 21 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
2001 | 31 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
2002 | 30 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
2003 | 28 (2) | 1 | 5 | 0 |
2004 | 22 (1) | 2 | 4 | 0 |
2005 | 24 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
Total | 177 (3) | 9 | 33 | 3 |
Home United - Asia
Year | Asian App | Goal | Others | Goal |
2000 | ? | ? | - | - |
2001 | ? | ? | - | - |
2002 | 2 | 0 | - | - |
2004 | 10 | 0 | - | - |
2005 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
Total | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
Sengkang Punggol
Year | League App | Goal | Cup App | Goal |
2009 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Total | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Tampines Rovers
Year | League App | Goal | Cup App | Goal |
2006 | 18 (1) | 1 | 6 (1) | 0 |
Total | 18 (1) | 1 | 6 (1) | 0 |
TAMPINES ROVERS vs SAFFC – 25/10/06
Tampines Rovers - Asia
Year | Asian App | Goal |
2006 | 2 | 0 |
Total | 2 | 0 |
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S.Subramani stats
Home United
Year | League App | Goal | Cup App | Goal |
1999 | 22 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
2000 | 21 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
2001 | 31 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
2002 | 30 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
2003 | 28 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
2004 | 22 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
2005 | 26 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
2006 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2007 | 32 (1) | 1 | 6 | 0 |
2008 | 26 (1) | 0 | 3 | 0 |
2009 | 9 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Total | 272 (3) | 2 | 46 | 0 |
Home United - Asia
Year | Asian App | Goal | Others | Goal |
2000 | ? | ? | - | - |
2001 | ? | ? | - | - |
2002 | 2 | 0 | - | - |
2004 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
2005 | 8 | 0 | - | - |
2006 | 2 | 0 | - | - |
2008 | 6 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2009 | 5 | 0 | - | - |
Total | 33 (1) | 0 | 3 | 0 |
