Departing Lions coach Ogura praised for connecting with players and fans

Ogura was a former assistant coach of the Japanese national side and the third consecutive Japanese head coach of the Singapore team, replacing Takayuki Nishigaya in February 2024.

His 16-match stint with the Lions comprised five wins, three draws and eight losses. Two of those victories came in the last two matches when Singapore beat Maldives in a friendly and Bangladesh in an Asian Cup qualifier.

Last year, Ogura led the Lions to the ASEAN Championship semi-finals, the first time the Lions reached that stage since the 2021 edition. They were eliminated by eventual winners Vietnam.

Ogura leaves Singapore at the top of their third-round Asian Cup qualifying group, with four points after their first two matches. The Lions are ahead of Hong Kong on goals scored, with Bangladesh third and India bottom. Each of the six group leaders will qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup.

Mr Hirono pointed out that during last year's ASEAN Championship, there was a willingness to try and go \"toe to toe\" with regional heavyweights such as Thailand and Vietnam.

The footballer who played under Ogura said: \"We can see a vast difference in how we play before him and with him. I think there's a lot more positivity, especially with our campaign at the ASEAN Championship.\"

There was clear communication on how Ogura wanted his teams to play, he added. \"He emphasised a lot of our one-on-one battles, to get very close to our opponent ... he wants us to move the ball and play with no fear. In terms of training, he's always emphasising that how we train is how we play. He looks at our training and he looks at what the player does on the field and how he acts on the field. He's always looking, always looking out at what we do ... how we train determines our possibility of playing on match day.\"

According to the source: CNA.