It’s almost 22 years since Lionel Lewis was named the Most Valuable Player at the 2004 ASEAN Championship – now known as the ASEAN Hyundai Cup™ – yet his shock at receiving the award as Singapore reclaimed the title has yet to recede.
Lionel was in goal as coach Raddy Avramovic led the island state to success, marking six years since the Lions’ first of four titles in Southeast Asia’s premier football competition which will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year.
“Honestly, I’ve got no idea how it happened,” says Lionel, still surprised over two decades later. “It’s very tough for keepers to win an MVP award. Normally it goes to the top scorer, a striker or the best midfielder, players like Datsakorn Thonglao or Chanathip Songkrasin.
“My teammate Noh Alam Shah won it at the next edition, and after me, Vietnam goalkeeper Dương Hồng Sơn won it too (in 2008). Being given the opportunity to play is something I treasure, but I was stunned. I really didn’t know why.”
Lionel’s enduring modesty belies the talent others saw in him. Having made his international debut in 2001, it was in 2004 that Lionel made his breakthrough with Singapore’s team, even though national service commitments had limited his playing time.
A call-up for a training camp in Korea Republic was followed by the FIFA World Cup 2006 Qualifier against Japan at Saitama Stadium, with Lionel starting against the AFC Asian Cup holders less than a month before the 2004 ASEAN Championship kicked off.
Still only 22 years old then, Lionel earned the trust of Avramovic, a goalkeeper of note during his career, having played in the English First Division with Notts County and Coventry City as well as representing the former Yugoslavia at international level.
“I’m thankful to Raddy,” says Lionel. “There were times when I would make mistakes, I was still learning and my goalkeeper coach and I would try to fix it, but Raddy would pull me aside and say: ‘You should try this. This will work.’
“He would give valuable advice. I was very thankful that the head coach of our team used to be a goalkeeper.”
The faith shown by Avramovic was to prove well-founded as Lionel was the bedrock of Singapore’s charge to the title.
A second-place finish behind Indonesia in the group stages in Hanoi set up the Singaporeans for a two-legged semi-final clash with Myanmar, which the Lions prevailed with an 8-5 aggregate win in extra-time.
That meant a rematch with the Indonesians in the final, and the prospect of playing the first leg in Jakarta’s iconic Gelora Bung Karno Stadium was daunting.
“There were 80,000 or 90,000 fans there,” says Lionel. “It was madness. Being able to play in the Senayan was beautiful. I had never experienced that before.
“At 3pm the stadium was packed. You can’t get out of the hotel, not even to the lobby to get some snacks. No chance. Once you’re there, the atmosphere is unbelievable. They never stop singing.
“I wasn’t that old then, I was pretty young. The crowd was amazing because they’re all out against you. They’re singing against you. Any ball you take they would boo you and make noise.
“But for me, any time I’m on the field I’m really focused and I know what to do. Anything outside the field doesn’t affect me. I can control myself. The only thing I can’t control is the external factors; the pitch, the floodlights, the fans.”
Singapore prevailed in that first leg, with goals from Daniel Bennett, Khairul Amri and Agu Casmir securing a 3-1 win that put Lionel and company in pole position to win the ASEAN Championship 2004 title on home soil in front of a capacity crowd at the former Singapore National Stadium.
The country’s previous victory in the competition had come in Hanoi in 1998, so this edition presented Lions fans with the opportunity to witness first-hand their team lifting the most coveted title in ASEAN football.
“We knew this was a day when, if we gave everything, we could make history,” says Lionel. “I felt the team was ready to go, so eager to play.
“We heard that from two or three o’clock, the stadium was already half-full. By four o’clock some of the reporters that we saw in our hotel were saying it was 75-80 percent full. Everyone was queuing to get in.
“The fans were amazing, the roads were congested. Fans were everywhere. It was a wonderful experience.”
Further goals from Indra Sahdan and Casmir ensured Singapore closed out a 5-2 aggregate victory with Lionel excelling between the posts to be named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Clubs from Indonesia and beyond attempted to sign the young goalkeeper, but his continuing national service meant Lionel had to remain closer to home, staying with Young Lions FC before joining Home United FC in 2005.
“Winning the MVP award allowed me time off to play football rather than just working, it allowed me time to focus on my football,” says Lionel.
“Playing at the Gelora Bung Karno was very difficult but I loved playing there. If you could put on another game now, I’d go back again. Maybe we should re-run the 2004 final!”
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