Nazri Nasir

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Nazri Nasir

| image = File:1 nazri nasir 2014.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Nazri as assistant coach of the LionsXII

| fullname = Mohamed Nazri bin Nasir

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|1|17|df=yes}}{{cite news|title=Nazri Nasir's fact file|newspaper=The Straits Times|page=29|date=24 July 1990}}

| birth_place = Singapore

| height = {{convert|1.78|m|abbr=on}}{{cite news|author=Darren Lai|title=The most successful player of the decade|newspaper=Today|page=48|date=24 October 2005}}

| position = Defensive midfielder, Centre back

| currentclub = Ventforet Kofu (assistant manager)

| years1 = 1988–1991

| youthyears1 = 1987

| youthclubs1 = Jurong Town{{cite news|author=Hakikat Rai|title=Jurong eager on Suria for League|newspaper=The Straits Times|page=27|date=28 September 1987}}

| clubs1 = Jurong Town{{cite news|title=Jurong Town Football Club|newspaper=The Straits Times|page=17|date=2 January 1988}}

| caps1 =

| goals1 =

| years2 = 1991–1992

| clubs2 = Balestier United{{cite news|author=Joe Dorai|title=Balestier secures Nazri's signature|newspaper=The Straits Times|page=30|date=1 April 1991}}

| caps2 = 10

| goals2 = 0

| years3 = 1992–1994

| clubs3 = Police SA

| caps3 =

| goals3 =

| years4 = 1994–1995

| clubs4 = Singapore FA

| caps4 = 14

| goals4 = 6

| years5 = 1996

| clubs5 = Sembawang Rangers

| caps5 = 24

| goals5 = 1

| years6 = 1997–2001

| clubs6 = SAFFC

| caps6 =

| goals6 =

| years7 = 2002–2008

| clubs7 = Tampines Rovers

| caps7 = 299

| goals7 = 19

| nationalyears1 = 1990–2004

| nationalteam1 = Singapore

| nationalcaps1 = 104{{cite web| url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/stats-centclub/52/00/59/centuryclub1204.13.pdf| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521035635/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/stats-centclub/52/00/59/centuryclub1204.13.pdf| url-status=dead| archive-date=21 May 2013| title=FIFA Century Club fact sheet| publisher=FIFA| date=12 April 2013}}

| nationalgoals1 = 13

| manageryears1 = 2008–2009

| managerclubs1 = Tampines Rovers (general manager)

| manageryears2 = 2012–2013

| managerclubs2 = NFA U15

| manageryears3 = 2014–2015

| managerclubs3 = LionsXII (assistant)

| manageryears4 = 2017–2018

| managerclubs4 = Young Lions (assistant)

| manageryears5 = 2018

| managerclubs5 = Singapore (assistant)

| manageryears6 = 2019

| managerclubs6 = Singapore (interim)

| manageryears7 = 2020–2024

| managerclubs7 = Singapore U23

| manageryears8 = 2021–2022

| managerclubs8 = Singapore (interim)

| manageryears9 = 2021–2025

| managerclubs9 = Young Lions

| manageryears10 = 2022–2025

| managerclubs10 = Singapore (assistant)

| manageryears11 = 2024–2025

| managerclubs11 = Singapore U23 (assistant)

| manageryears12 = 2025–

| managerclubs12 = Ventforet Kofu (assistant)

}}

Mohamed Nazri bin Nasir (born 17 January 1971) is a Singaporean professional football manager and former footballer. He was the captain of the Singapore national team from 1997 to 2003,{{cite web| url=http://www.fas.org.sg/news/fas-launches-fas-captains-advisory-panel| title=FAS launches FAS Captains' Advisory Panel| publisher=Federation of American Scientists| access-date=21 March 2014| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008231515/http://www.fas.org.sg/news/fas-launches-fas-captains-advisory-panel| archive-date=8 October 2017}} and led the team to the 1998 AFF Championship title. He is the current assistant coach of J2 League club Ventforet Kofu.

He was a defensive midfielder known for his "combative, hard-running and ferocious tackling style".

Nazri had spent most of his time as a head coach that understand the youth development fundamental and their weakness. He holds an AFC Pro Diploma Coaching Certificate license.

Club career

= Jurong Town =

Nazri began his career with Jurong Town in Singapore's FAS Premier League in 1988. where he won the President's Cup in 1988 and 1989.{{cite news|title=Jurong pave way for young talent|newspaper=The Straits Times|page=23|date=2 January 1990}}

== Trials at FC Nitra ==

Along with Rafi Ali and Sanizal Jamil, he was sent for a two-month training stint with Slovakian club FC Nitra under the Goh Chok Tong Talent Scheme in 1990.{{cite news|author=Joe Dorai|title=FAS select three teenagers for stint with Czech club|newspaper=The Straits Times|page=29|date=24 July 1990}}{{cite news|author=Peter Khoo|title=Czech club Nitra will play hosts to talented teen trio|newspaper=The Straits Times|page=39|date=9 November 1990}}

= Balestier United =

Nazri rejected an offer of a professional contract from FC Nitra{{cite news|author=Joe Dorai|title=Singapore trio turn down Czech pro offers|newspaper=The Straits Times|page=30|date=19 March 1991}} and signed for Balestier United in 1991 on a two-year deal worth S$10,000 per year.

= Singapore FA =

In February 1994, Nazri signed a two-year contract with the Singapore FA{{cite news|title=Nazri accepts two-year deal with the FAS|newspaper=The Straits Times|page=30|date=17 February 1994}} which went on to achieve the Malaysian League and Malaysia Cup double that year.{{cite news|author=Peter Khoo|title=The perfect end to Singapore's 14-year drought|newspaper=The Straits Times|page=40|date=18 December 1994}} Following the withdrawal of the team from Malaysian competitions and the upcoming Southeast Asian Games, the FAS decided to enter the Lions in the 1995 Premier League pending the formation of Singapore's S.League.{{cite news|author=Joe Dorai|title=It's official: FAS to keep Lions intact this year|newspaper=The Straits Times|page=28|date=5 March 1995}} The team went the season unbeaten as they finished winners.

= Sembawang Rangers =

Nazri played for Sembawang Rangers in the inaugural 1996 S.League season.

= SAFFC =

In 1997, Nazri signed for SAFFC the following year. He won the S.League in 1997 and 1998. After club captain Fandi Ahmad retired from football and became SAFFC head coach, Nazri became the club captain from the 2000 season onwards where he won the league title in his first season as captain.

= Tampines Rovers =

In 2002, Nazri signed for Tampines Rovers where he played as a central defender,{{cite news|author=Jose Raymond|title=Nazri's a Stag|newspaper=Today|page=29|date=21 November 2001}} winning the league in 2004 and 2005 as club captain.

Nazri retired as a player at the age of 37 in 2008.

International career

Nazri made his international debut against Malaysia on 13 September 1990. He was riding his motorbike when he was injured in a road traffic accident on the expressway on 19 November 1992; his backbone and right collarbone were fractured.{{cite news|title=Footballer Nazri hurt in crash|newspaper=The Straits Times|page=1|date=20 November 1992}} He began retraining five weeks later{{cite news|title=Nazri and Borhan doing light workouts|newspaper=The Straits Times|page=30|date=5 January 1993}} but did not recover sufficiently to play in the 1993 Merdeka Tournament in February 1993.{{cite news|title=Borhan, Nazri out|newspaper=The Straits Times|page=31|date=12 January 1993}}

However, in the 1999 Dunhill Cup held in Vietnam, Nazri scored a late 86th-minute goal against Russia which would have secured the win until teammate Mohd Noor Ali scored an own goal in the very last minute of the match.{{Citation |title=1999 Dunhill Cup Vietnam |date=2023-02-14 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1999_Dunhill_Cup_Vietnam&oldid=1139250314 |access-date=2024-06-27 |language=en}}

On 7 February 2002, Nazri scored the winning goal in a 2–1 win over North Korea. On 21 May 2002, he captained Singapore in the friendly match against Uruguay in a 2–1 lost.

On 9 August 1999 which technically fall on Singapore national day, as the score was at 1–1 against causeway rivals Malaysia, Nazri scored the winning goal in the 90+5 injury stoppage time goal to secure the win in a friendly match.

Nazri took over the captaincy in 1997 and skippered Singapore to the 1998 AFF Championship title. He was inducted into the FIFA Century Club in June 2007.{{cite web| url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/centclub/ip-590_08a_centurymen_10349.pdf| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322050943/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/centclub/ip-590_08a_centurymen_10349.pdf| url-status=dead| archive-date=22 March 2014| title=FIFA Century Club fact sheet| publisher=FIFA| date=12 June 2007}}

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Nazri was appointed as the general manager at former club Tampines Rovers.{{cite news| title=Nazri kicks off new career| newspaper=Today| page=52| date=3 January 2008}} He then take on a role as a coach of the National Football Academy U-15 teams that participated in the 2012 and 2013 Lion City Cup.

On 16 December 2013, he was confirmed as assistant to the LionsXII head coach and former Singapore Lions teammate Fandi Ahmad for the upcoming 2014 Malaysia Super League season.{{cite web| url=http://lionsxii.sg/nazri-nasir-joins-lionsxii-as-assistant-coach/| title=Nazri Nasir joins LionsXII as assistant coach| publisher=LionsXII| access-date=6 March 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329025015/http://lionsxii.sg/nazri-nasir-joins-lionsxii-as-assistant-coach/| archive-date=29 March 2014| url-status=dead}} He then joined Fandi again, as his assistant coach for the newly revamp 2018 Singapore Premier League season.

Nazri was appointed to interim head coach position of Singapore national team for the 2019 Airmarine Cup friendly tournament on 20 and 23 March 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.goal.com/en-my/news/nazri-nasir-to-lead-singapore/74o52sq83a3z16sbkp6lzsl82|title=Nazri Nasir to lead Lions in AIRMARINE Cup | Goal.com|publisher=Goal}} With the team, he won the semi-final match against Malaysia 1–0 before losing in the final to Oman 4–5 on penalties, having tied 1–1 in normal time.

On 12 July 2023, Nazri lead the Under-22s for the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification qualifiers in September. This will also be implemented as the FAS shared that Nazri is set to have his provisional squad report for centralised training on 21 August 2023, with changes made to the SPL fixtures to allow the team to have uninterrupted 14-day pre-competition preparation time before they leave for Vietnam. Eventually Nazri was unable to helped the U-23 team qualify to the final tournament.

On 29 November 2024, Nazri saw himself getting a red card for the first time as a head coach during the league match between Young Lions and Albirex Niigata (S).

On 19 January 2025, Nazri was given an opportunity with a Japanese club for coaching attachment stint where on 15 May, he became the assistant coach of J2 League club Ventforet Kofu working under head coach Shinji Otsuka.

Personal life

Nazri was born to father, Nasir Ahmad (d. December 1993, aged 69{{cite news |date=15 December 1993 |title=Condolences to Nazri, Amin |newspaper=The Straits Times |page=34}}) and mother, Aisha Abdullah. He credits his mother for supporting his football career despite him having asthma at eight years old and poor grades in his studies.{{cite news |date=7 April 1991 |title=Nazri leaves a lasting impression |newspaper=The Straits Times |page=28}} He has six brothers and four sisters.{{cite news |date=27 November 1993 |title=Nazri provides 'oomph' |newspaper=The Straits Times |page=8}} His older brother, Amin, is a former Singapore international defender and current Hougang United coach.{{cite news |date=1 March 2014 |title=S.League: Beating cancer is his biggest win |url=http://news.asiaone.com/news/sports/sleague-beating-cancer-his-biggest-win |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114053458/http://news.asiaone.com/news/sports/sleague-beating-cancer-his-biggest-win |archive-date=14 November 2014 |access-date=21 March 2014 |newspaper=The New Paper}}

He completed his primary education at Sembawang Primary School and secondary education at Si Ling Secondary School. He graduated with a NTC 2 certificate in architectural draughting from McNair Vocational Institute.

Nazri married air stewardess Sharifah Nur Leila on 27 November 1994.{{cite news |date=28 November 1994 |title=Nazri meets his match in Sharifah |newspaper=The Straits Times |page=52}} His sons, Adam and Amer Hakeem, play under the National Football Academy set-up as centre-backs.{{cite news |date=7 June 2013 |title=Dad cracks whip only on field |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/case-you-missed-it/story/dad-cracks-whip-only-field-20130609 |newspaper=The Straits Times}}{{cite news |date=20 September 2012 |title=SSS profile: Amer doesn't want to be the new Nazri |url=http://www.tnp.sg/sss/content/sss-profile-amer-doesnt-want-to-be-new-nazri |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322043218/http://www.tnp.sg/sss/content/sss-profile-amer-doesnt-want-to-be-new-nazri |archive-date=22 March 2014 |newspaper=The New Paper}}

International statistics

= International goals =

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" \|+International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition ! scope="col" \|No. ! data-sort-type="date" scope="col" \|Date ! scope="col" \|Venue ! scope="col" \|Opponent ! scope="col" \|Score ! scope="col" \|Result ! scope="col" \|Competition
scope="row" \|1 \|4 December 1991 \|Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines \|{{fb\|Philippines}} \| align="center" \|2–0 \| align="center" \|2–0 \|Friendly
scope="row" \|2 \|21 February 1997 \|Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia \|{{fb\|China}} \| align="center" \|1–3 \| align="center" \|1–3 \|1997 Dunhill Cup
scope="row" \|3 \| rowspan="2" \|9 October 1997 \| rowspan="2" \|Lebak Bulus Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia \| rowspan="2" \|{{fb\|CAM}} \| align="center" \|1–0 \| align="center" \|2–1 \|Friendly
scope="row" \|4 \| align="center" \|2–0 \| align="center" \|2–1 \|Friendly
scope="row" \|5 \|3 September 1998 \|Thống Nhất Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam \|{{fb\|IDN}} \| align="center" \|2–1 \| align="center" \|2–1 \|1998 AFF Championship
scope="row" \|6 \|2 February 1999 \|Thống Nhất Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam \|{{fb\|Russia}} \| align="center" \|1–0 \| align="center" \|1–1 \|1999 Dunhill Cup
scope="row" \|7 \|31 July 1999 \|Berakas Sports Complex, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei \|{{fb\|MAS}} \| align="center" \|2–1 \| align="center" \|2–1 \| rowspan="3" \|Friendly
scope="row" \|8 \|9 August 1999 \|Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei \|{{fb\|CAM}} \| align="center" \|2–0 \| align="center" \|2–0
scope="row" \|9 \|7 February 2000 \|Singapore National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore \|{{fb\|MAS}} \| align="center" \|2–1 \| align="center" \|3–1
scope="row" \|10 \|28 October 2000 \|Bishan Stadium, Bishan, Singapore \|{{fb\|SRI}} \| align="center" \|2–0 \| align="center" \|4–0 \|2002 AFF Championship
scope="row" \|11 \|9 November 2001 \|Tinsulanon Stadium, Songkhla, Thailand \|{{fb\|Laos}} \| align="center" \|2–0 \| align="center" \|3–0 \|2002 AFF Championship
scope="row" \|12 \|7 February 2002 \|Singapore National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore \|{{fb\|North Korea}} \| align="center" \|2–1 \| align="center" \|2–1 \| rowspan="2" \|Friendly
scope="row" \|13 \|16 July 2002 \|Darul Makmur Stadium, Pahang, Malaysia \|{{fb\|MAS}} \| align="center" \|1–0 \| align="center" \|2–1

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|+International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition

! scope="col" |No.

! data-sort-type="date" scope="col" |Date

! scope="col" |Venue

! scope="col" |Opponent

! scope="col" |Score

! scope="col" |Result

! scope="col" |Competition

scope="row" |1

|4 December 1991

|Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines