Ex-national player and coach Kuppan passes on

KUALA LUMPUR: Former player and head coach of the national squad Datuk M. Kuppan has passed away at the age of 85.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), in a statement on Thursday, said that Kuppan – who was a national player in the 60s and coached the national squad during the 70s – will be buried in Butterworth, Penang.

Born in Bukit Mertajam on Oct 14, 1936, Kuppan was fondly known for the the nicknames Harimau Bintang or Black Panther from Penang and Jetboots due to his agility and pace.

Kuppan started his playing career with Penang as a striker and right winger at the age of 19, and was a member of the national squad coached by Choo Seng Quee, that won the Pestabola Merdeka title in 1958, 1959 and 1961.

Plying his trade during the era of legends such as Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Minhat, Sexton Lourdes, Edwin Dutton, Ahmad Nazari Min Zohari, Yusof Bakar, M. Govindaraju, Majid Ariff and Rahim Omar, Kuppan was also a member of the national squad that won the gold at the 1961 SEAP Games, but was not selected for the Asian Games in 1962.

He started his coaching career after attending a coaching course in 1972, and led Penang to the 1974 Malaysia Cup before winning the 1976 Pestabola Merdeka with the national squad.

After retiring, he founded the Blue Cross Sports Club and became an advisor to the Blue Star academy.

Kuppan was offered to become the national coach again in 1988 but turned it down and the job was taken up by Englishman Richard Bate. — Bernama