B. Sathianathan

Sathianathan s/o R. Bhaskran (9 May 1958 – 18 July 2023), also known as Coach Sathia, was a Malaysian football coach and player.[1] His final coaching role was with Sarawak United in the Malaysia Super League, having previously coached the Malaysia national football team and the under-23 team.

In this Indian name, the name Bhaskaran is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Sathianathan.

Career

As a player and attacking midfielder, he had played with NSCRC (Negeri Sembilan Chinese Recreation Club), Negeri Sembilan FA and Malacca FA.[1] He also was part of the Malaysia squad that won bronze medal at the 1983 Sea Games.[1] In 1988, he became Negeri Sembilan skipper at centre-back.[2]

Early in his career in coaching, he coached Negeri Sembilan FA. He held the assistant coach position for the national Olympic team between 1997–1999 and 2002–2004. He was also the assistant head coach at MPPJ FC in 2006 until the dissolution of the club and acting as the interim head coach for a short period after Michael Feichtenbeiner was relieved of his job.[3]

In 2006, he was selected by the Football Association of Malaysia to be the head coach for the Malaysia under-23 side in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics qualifiers. After winning the 2007 Merdeka Tournament, he was selected as the head coach for the senior team by FAM president Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah.

His first match as the team's head coach was in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Bahrain. In the match, Malaysia lost 4-1 before drawing 0–0 at Shah Alam. After the World Cup 2010 qualifying campaign ended, he then brought the under-23 side to the 2007 SEA Games in Thailand, without any success after only managing 1 win, 1 draw and 1 defeat and for the first time since 1999, Malaysia failed to advance into the semi-finals.

For 2008, Sathianathan brought the Malaysia XI to face Premier League giants Chelsea. Eventually, the match was won 2-0 by Chelsea and the squads did well in the match as Chelsea head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari praised the Malaysian team.

In the 2008 Merdeka Tournament, Sathianathan again brought Malaysia into the final. Malaysia showed impressive performances from the start of the tournament and did not concede in all of their matches. However Sathianathan's side lost 6-5 in a penalty shoot-out against Vietnam in the final.[4]

In 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup, the Malaysian team started well with a convincing win over Laos. However, in the last two matches, his team lost 2–3 to Vietnam and beaten by host Thailand 3–0. The loss against the Thais saw Malaysia exit the competition from the group stage for the first time since 1998. Rumours also spread that he will be replaced by Indonesia's former coach, Peter Withe because of his failures. However, the FAM decided to extend his contract for one more year with a condition that he must improve Malaysia's FIFA ranking.[5]

In February 2009, Sathianathan's one-year contract was terminated by the FAM, after Malaysia was thrashed 5-0 by United Arab Emirates in a 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification match.[6][7] Subsequently, he coached Kelantan FA from November 2009 and guided the team to win the 2010 Malaysia Cup. He was forced to leave his post after being handed a 6-month coaching ban by FAM from January 2011 for criticising the national football body and later became the CEO of Kelantan FA.[8]

Sathianathan was appointed the coach of ATM FA in November 2011. Under Sathianathan's leadership, ATM won the 2012 Malaysia Premier League, and an automatic promotion to the 2013 Malaysia Super League. Sathianathan succeeded in maintaining ATM as a Super League team for 3 seasons and also a finalist of the 2013 Malaysia Cup, until he was relieved of his duties in April 2015.[9]

Sathianathan was announced as the new Felda United F.C. head coach in February 2017.[10] Under his helm, Felda secured 3rd place in the 2017 Malaysia Super League and reached the semi-finals of the 2017 Malaysia Cup. He won the Super League's Best Coach award in that season.[11] Even though Felda was relegated for failing to acquire a Super League license for the next season,[12] Sathianathan succeeded in guiding the team to win the 2018 Malaysia Premier League and promotion back to Super League at the first attempt.[13] After Felda's 2018 Malaysia Cup journey ended in the quarter-finals and a restructuring of the club management, Sathianathan announced that he will not continue coaching the team after the end of his contract that year.[14][15]

On 22 November 2018, Sathianathan was announced as Selangor FA's new head coach.[16] The announcement was made official the next day, in a live session with Sathianathan via Selangor's official Facebook page.[17]

On 21 September 2020, Sathianathan was sacked by Selangor due to a string of poor results after the Malaysian Super League resumed.[18][19]

Personal life and views

Regarding the continuation of playing in the Malaysia Football League throughout the Ramadan fasting period, he mentioned that "Football leagues in Arabian countries (where the Muslim population is greater than Malaysia) also don’t stop during Ramadan. In fact, the festivities and spirit are felt on the pitch too", as reported by Fox Sports Asia in an article.

B. Sathianathan died of cancer on 18 July 2023, at the age of 65.[20]

Honours

Negeri Sembilan

Malaysia U-23

Kelantan FA

ATM FA

Felda United FC

Individual
National Football Award

Best Coach: 2010, 2012, 2017

References
  1. "A love for football". The Star. 17 April 2006. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  2. "BEKAS PEMAIN KINI BERGELAR PRESIDEN MFL" (in Malay). Malaysia Football League. 19 August 2021. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  3. Eric Samuel (1 February 2006). "MPPJ to draw up new post for German coach". The Star Online. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  4. "Heartbreak As Malaysia Lose To Vietnam In Penalty Shootout". BERNAMA. 26 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
  5. "Peluang kedua buat Sathia". Utusan Malaysia. 16 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-16.(in Malay)
  6. "FAM Terminate Coach Sathianathan, Team Manager Chin Aun". BERNAMA. 1 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
  7. "Malaysia sack Sathianathan". FIFA.com. February 1, 2009. Archived from the original on February 2, 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  8. "KAFA appoint Sathianathan as CEO for coaching". BERNAMA via Arena.my. January 26, 2011. Archived from the original on February 21, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  9. "MSL: ATM want Sathia back in charge". 4 August 2015.
  10. "Sathia jurulatih baharu Felda United". Archived from the original on 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  11. "Sathianathan gunning for more success at Felda | New Straits Times".
  12. "Felda coach accepts demotion | New Straits Times".
  13. "Football: Felda still in Fighters' mode as they wrap up campaign | The Star".
  14. "'Bye-bye FELDA' | Harian Metro".
  15. "Reference at www.utusan.com.my".
  16. "B. Sathianathan's appointment by Selangor FA completes interesting coincidence | Goal.com".
  17. "'I want Selangor fans to smile again, said new coach Sathianathan | New Straits Times".
  18. "Selangor pecat Sathianathan | Berita Harian".
  19. "Sathianathan no longer Red Giants' head coach | Sports | Malay Mail". 21 September 2020.
  20. "Ex-Harimau Malaya boss Sathianathan dies aged 65". The Vibes. 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  21. Atsushi Fujioka; Erik Garin; Mikael Jönsson; Hans Schöggl (11 January 2018). "Sultan's Gold Cup". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
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