Singapore’s famed batch of ‘84 is almost immortal in the local football folklore, regarded as the pinnacle of homegrown talent in the modern era.
Ridhuan Muhammad, part of that eminent batch, has widely been described as Singapore’s very own Cristiano Ronaldo. The accomplished winger is often referred to as ‘R6’, a play on the Portugal captain’s own moniker, ‘CR7’.
Not only are they both wingers by trade and of a similar age – Ridhuan is a year older – they are both evergreen.
Ronaldo has just become the joint-highest men's international goalscorer in history, whilst Ridhuan, who was on the brink of retirement in 2016, has agreed to play another season for Tanjong Pagar United in the Singapore Premier League. And the 37-year-old’s love of football began at an early age.
“It all started at the age of seven. During those days in Singapore football, the Malaysian Cup was one of the things that hyped me up. Both my parents – my dad and my late mum, were really supportive from the very start. My dad would always bring me to matches at the old National Stadium without fail. Looking at some of our legends like Fandi Ahmad, Abbas Saad, Malek Awab and Kadir Yahaya playing spiked my interest in football and I knew that I wanted to be a footballer since then,” Ridhuan said in an exclusive interview with Goal.
“I enrolled myself at the now defunct Milo Soccer School and that’s where I met players like Shahril Ishak, Hassan Sunny and Sevki Sha'ban - Baihakki Khaizan only joined at a later stage. From there we grew – at 11 years old, we went for our first overseas cup tournament in Osaka, Japan. That tournament was huge – Brazil, Japan & South Korea were all taking part in it. That was my first trip and first flight out of Singapore,” he added.
As soon as the National Football Academy was set up in 2000, the tricky winger was quickly snapped up alongside 19 other trainees, as a result of his tenacity and his awe-inspiring skills.
During his time in the academy, the deft winger had to deal with judgmental looks from people who saw him and his team-mates on the streets late at night, but they never let it bother them - they had their eyes set on a bigger prize.
“The passengers in the train used to look at us funny. They were probably wondering why a bunch of students wearing their school uniforms were hanging out till late. Little did they know the sacrifices we made to pursue our dreams. I went for training and got paid what, $2.50 per training? That did not cover the cost of food and transportation.
“I knew what I wanted - to be up there as a professional footballer. But of course, I tried not to jeopardise my studies - as long as I did my homework, pass my exams, and graduate. That's the minimum. But sometimes, of course, who would want to do their homework at night - my homework will be done in the morning in the class itself,” he chuckled.
The Singaporean football veteran often feels that people underestimate the sacrifices and hard work required to make it big in football, primarily because the struggle is now not the same as it was a few decades back.
“We knew everything we did was an investment. We need to put in the effort, invest our time, and sacrifice for our future. It’s safe to say that it was worth it after all. Maybe most people don't know the kind of struggle we went through to get where we are today. Nowadays it's easy transportation and the pay is better, but they don't know how hard we struggled, worked and trained.”
In his case, the hard work did pay off because Ridhuan joined S.League side Young Lions as a teenager. However, that wasn’t to say he didn’t have to bide his time.
“During my first year at the club, I didn’t really get much playing time. It’s either I’m on the pitch playing as a first 11 or I’m up on the stands watching them play.”
Yet, despite not getting many chances in the league at that stage, he managed to catch the eye of Singapore coach Radojko Avramovic, who decided to call him up to the national squad. The youngster ended up making his debut against Qatar in November 2003.
It would be the first of 68 caps for his country, but Ridhuan remembers that first match as if it were yesterday.
“During that year, when Raddy [Radojko Avramovic] came in, he was planning to have youngsters come into the set-up and I eventually earned my national team debut against Qatar. Even though we lost, it was a great experience and it was a proud moment for me to be donning that national team jersey at that age despite not having much playing time during that year. I was star-struck playing with the likes of S. Subramani and Aide Iskandar. It was like a dream come true!” Ridhuan exclaimed.
He soon got to play in the Southeast Asian Games, his first major tournament with the national side.
“Although we did not qualify for the next round, I got that opportunity, and I took it well. I came on as a substitute in the first game then I progressively transitioned into the first 11 throughout that campaign,” he explained.
The following year, he was part of the side that won the 2004 AFF Championship. Singapore were underdogs going into the tournament. After a topsy turvy group stage, during which the side lost two and won two, the team went on a roll, ultimately downing regional giants Indonesia 2-1 in the final.
Although Ridhuan only featured in the first game of that tournament, he has fond memories of that tournament, describing it as one of the best moments in his life.
Singapore would go on to repeat the trick in 2007 while co-hosting the tournament with Thailand. Both hosts locked horns in the finals, but it was Singapore who bagged their third AFF Championship trophy with a 3-2 win on aggregate. Ridhuan scored his first goal for his country against Laos in that campaign. However, it was his strike later that month against Malaysia in the semi-finals that really counted.
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“The equalising goal that I scored was a big relief not only for me, but for the whole of Singapore. It may have been one of the easier goals, but for me, it was one of the most important goals I have scored in my life. That led us to a penalty shoot-out and in the end, we went through to the finals.”
Ridhuan’s performances with the national team were enough to attract the attention of Singapore giants, Tampines Rovers. Then Tampines head coach Vorawan Chitavanich gave Ridhuan the chance to fulfil his dream, which was to play alongside the players he admired such as Rafi Ali, Nazri Nasir and Rezal Hassan.
Ridhuan simply couldn’t turn down such an opportunity and he jumped at the chance to play alongside them. His seniors helped him grasp the idea of competitive football and Ridhuan keenly learned from their experience.
The playmaker amassed 10 goals in 77 appearances in three seasons he spent at Tampines, coupled with mesmeric playmaking skills.
By 2009, however, the zippy forward began to get itchy feet and felt that it was time to take his career to the next level by playing for a foreign club. That was when he got the call from Indonesian club, Arema Malang, together with team-mate Noh Alam Shah.
“I got a call from Noh Alam Shah while I was in the process of dealing with Persib Bandung. He called to tell me that Arema’s management asked him which Singaporean player he was comfortable with to bring along. He knew that I was also looking for a club overseas and he mentioned my name," Ridhuan stated.
“Baihakki and Fahrudin Mustafic were supposed to join Alam Shah in Arema but their negotiations with the club fell through and they went to Persija Jakarta in the end. Therefore the empty slot in Arema had opened for me. It’s rare for me to get such an opportunity and I also knew that I had the chance to share the pitch with Alam Shah. With all that in mind, I felt that it was the right move and I immediately made my decision."
During his stint in Arema, the right-winger scored 24 goals in 90 appearances as he propelled the club to new heights, more than eager to prove his worth.
“Alam Shah’s advice was to make my presence known in Indonesia because they didn’t really know me that well. So, from the start, my mindset was to give my best and to make sure that my signing was worth it. And it showed - I proved it. That year I won the first title in my career for a club. Arema had not won it for the past 17 years but our team managed to clinch the title,” Ridhuan explained.
Ridhuan was immediately flooded with offers from other clubs, but he decided that his loyalties lay with Arema. It was at this time that comparisons began to be drawn with Cristiano Ronaldo by the club’s fans.
"The fans were supportive, crazy and fanatic! Even overwhelming at times. They always connect me with Cristiano Ronaldo. Since Cristiano was also known as CR7, they labelled me as R6. I even started my own R6 merchandise during that point of time too!"
On the whole, his time in Indonesia was an unbelievably entertaining period in his life - probably best exemplified by his teammate Alam Shah demonstrating his chauffeuring capabilities on an away trip to Papua.
“I remember there was one time when we were getting ready to go to Papua to play Persiwa Wamena, Alam Shah drove our players' bus to the stadium. Imagine Alam Shah driving us to a game. He told the driver, ‘Bapak, Bapak relek aja. Biar saya aja.’ He literally went on to drive us to the stadium,” the Singaporean football veteran reminisced.
A hamstring injury meant he spent half a season on loan with Putra Samarinda while recovering. Though he could not contribute much to the club, he still described it as “a great experience”.
Although he thoroughly enjoyed his time in Indonesia and wanted to stay longer, matters were taken out of his hands in 2014, with FIFA set to announce a ban on all footballing activities in the country.
“There was a huge issue about dualism. At that time, FIFA had a ban on recognition for players from overseas. That means if I were to stay there any longer - even if I was still playing and got paid, I wouldn’t have been under the FIFA radar. It will be as though I was not playing any football until the ban was lifted and they settled their issues. So that’s why I made my decision to come back to Singapore,” Ridhuan explains.
Initially with most of the S.League clubs having already finalised their plans for that season, he was forced to accept a short-term contract with Geylang International.
After spending a season with Geylang, Tampines Rovers began taking a keen interest in the winger once again. Hence, the seasoned footballer signed for the side again in 2015, but he lamented a lack of achievements in the second stint with the team. The team dropped points unnecessarily and ended up trophyless, something that Ridhuan described as “bittersweet”.
One of the problems for him personally was that he did not always see eye to eye with V. Sundramoorthy, the Tampines Rovers head coach at that time.
“There was one time when we played Brunei DPMM and Coach Sundram wanted to sub me out during half-time in the dressing room and I just couldn’t accept it. I took out my jersey, threw it and Ieft to shower. But Clement Teo persuaded him [Sundram] and I continued playing in the second half.
“Guess what? I immediately assisted the equalising goal. As much as I respected him, I just wanted him to give me at least another 15 minutes of the second half. But that was just my thinking as a player. If I were to be in his position as a coach, I don’t know what I would have done.” Ridhuan revealed.
At the conclusion of the 2015 S. League season, Ridhuan was not offered a new contract and contemplated retirement. However, he wasn’t done with football just yet, and was signed by Warriors FC just before the start of the 2016 S League season.
He had a good first season with the Warriors, providing four goals and six assists in all competitions, and that was enough to earn him a contract extension. Unfortunately, the second year did not go so well.
“I didn’t really play much. They (Warriors) didn’t have me in their plans for the following year - maybe because of the Under-23 rules. I thought long and hard and I eventually decided to step out,” Ridhuan asserted.
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Hoping to finish his playing career in Indonesia, he accepted a short-term contract with Borneo FC.
“Most of the teams already had signed players and I was just trying my luck with different clubs. I ended up signing for Borneo FC for one month just for a tournament. I took that one-month tournament like my last stint before retirement just to feel the crowd back there which I’ve missed. I came back afterwards and told myself that I was done with football. Even when Warriors called and wanted me to come back, I told them I won’t because I was already starting a stable job that year,” Ridhuan revealed.
The Singapore legend started working outside of football, but his passion for the sport never abated. He continued to play football socially as a means of remaining active and staying fit. At the same time, he missed the buzz of professional football, and, after several years out of the professional game, began to hanker for competitive action once more. He had plans to join the Singapore Football League Division 1 side, Warwick Knights and had even been through pre-season with a number of other ex-pros, but then the Covid pandemic struck.
In January of this year, Tanjong Pagar announced that they had signed the fleet-footed winger for the 2021 season and that he was officially coming out of retirement. The club have since made it clear that they are not placing too many expectations on him – his role will be to help the team to progress and also to act as a role model to the club’s younger players.
“I told myself that even if I don’t really get to play much, at least I could be in the team to help the youngsters to guide, motivate and give them the mental support they need,” Ridhuan admitted.
He also tries to be sanguine about Singapore’s Under-23 rule that was meant to address the dearth of talent at youth level in the country, but which many feel has hurt the country’s national team and which may have been partly responsible for bringing his initial career to a premature end.
“I think most of the senior players who are not playing anymore are not able to accept the regulation changes because we all had gone through hardship. It’s good for youngsters to get exposure and playing time - if I were their age, I would love to have had that opportunity too," he admitted.
"But for me, I’ve been through adversity. During my days, Rafi and so many other senior players were still playing at a high level and I had to really fight for my spot. It wasn’t a walk in the park and there weren’t any privileges for you. If you are good, it means you are good.
“But FAS of course have their plans so I took it in a positive way, though it took me three years,“ he added.
The good news for Singapore football is that even if Ridhuan’s playing return is short-lived, he has big plans for the future as he envisions being a coach in the sport he lives and breathes - and has plenty of fond memories of.
“The term ‘Gang of Four’ and ‘Fantastic Four’ came about a while back. It was made up of Shahril Ishak, Hassan Sunny, Baihakki Khaizan and me – because we were the first batch of NFA and we were still there representing the national team back then," he reminisced.
“There was once I played in a combined school tournament with Shahril. When he scored, he celebrated by taking his jersey out and he ended up knocking himself on the goal post. The whole stadium laughed. I think that was one of the funniest moments I can think of till today,” Ridhuan laughed.
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“One of my most special games was playing against the Japan national team. That squad was made up of top players like Kawaguchi, Santos, Miyamoto, Nakata, Inamoto, Takayama, and Takash," the winger mused.
"When the squad was coming out of the changing room going to the alley, I looked at Baihakki and went 'Siala…', It was as if we were playing a game from Sega. We lost 2-1 in Singapore, but we drew with them in the Saitama Stadium."
At 37, Ridhuan may not be as physically fit as his fellow wideman Cristiano – not many athletes are - but Singapore’s version of the Portuguese superstar clearly still has a lot more to contribute to the sport he loves.
