Flamboyance still sits perfectly with Sockalingam Rajagopal.
Sporting a cap, Nike T-shirt and long hair during a recent visit to the Ceylon Sports Club, he looked every inch the dazzler he was on the football pitch and off it in the 1970s.
At age 75, Rajagopal does not follow the fortunes of the Singapore team. But in his heyday he made sure the national side shone with his exceptional skills.
“He combined elegant balance and the ability to bend the ball through defences as if the football gods exclusively afforded him superhuman skills,” said football historian A. Thiyaga Raju, who wrote the book ROAR: Football Legends of Singapore.
“One of Singapore’s most colourful attacking fullbacks, Rajagopal was known for his tireless galloping runs down the left flank which earned him the nickname ‘The Camel’. No one could match his jaw-dropping skills.”
Free-kicks over the wall, around the wall and under it, banana kicks from corners, lobs, bicycle kicks, flicking the ball into the air and nestling it on his neck – Rajagopal could do everything.
But now all those deeds are in the past for him.
“I don’t follow football seriously,” he told tabla! “I am mostly at home taking care of my wife. I just relax and sometimes sing old English songs at friends’ pubs and restaurants. Dean Martin is my favourite.”
Rajagopal and his second wife Melody Felipe live in Taytay, a municipality in the Philippines. He returns to Singapore occasionally.
“Singapore is down in football, and that’s a problem,” he said.
“This is mainly because the players don’t have good sparring partners. You can coach them as much as you want, but if they don’t get to play against European teams on a regular basis, their standard will not improve.
“I started playing competitive football in secondary school and it blossomed because at 17 I was playing against the top teams in Singapore such as RAF Seletar and RAF Changi, which were full of strong and skilful British players who played in the English leagues. The standard was very high.”
A shy boy from Hooper Road estate in Newton, Rajagopal was discovered at 14 by Singapore’s World Cup referee George Suppiah.
George, who was then coach of the Combined Schools team, spotted Rajagopal’s talent when he was playing for St. Andrew’s and later Monk’s Hill School.
Rajagopal’s best years with the national team were from 1975 to 1977 when he played a key role in helping Singapore qualify for the Malaysia Cup final in 1975, when they lost 1-0 to Selangor at the Merdeka Stadium on Aug 31 – Merdeka Day.
Arguably the fittest player in the team despite his party lifestyle off the pitch, Rajagopal also demonstrated his magic in the 1977 World Cup qualifiers against Thailand and Hong Kong and the Malaysia Cup semi-final against Selangor at the National Stadium that same year.
Against Thailand, he scored a brilliant free kick which curled past the Thai wall and nestled in the net, giving Singapore a 2-0 win.
Against Hong Kong, it was an exquisite cross from Rajagopal that Quah Kim Song headed home to salvage a 2-2 draw.
In the Malaysia Cup 1st leg semi-final of 1977, Rajagopal’s magical left foot gave Singapore the match-winner in a 2-1 win.
Ex-international Leong Kok Fann, 66, who grew up in Winstedt Drive, just opposite to Rajagopal’s block, said everyone in the estate would root for him.
“We all looked up to him because he was simply outstanding,” Leong said.
“The good thing about him was that he supported all the younger players, like forward N. Rajendran to whom he used to send 40m passes so he could score. Rajagopal could have played for any team, but he preferred to play for our Division 3 side Cairnhill FC, taking us all the way to Division 1.”
In August 1975, he was offered a three-year contract by Hong Kong first division clubs Caroline Hill and Mac-Kinnon for a monthly salary of $1,750. But he declined due to work and family commitments.
In April 1978, Indian side Mohun Bagan too offered him a three-month contract. But again he refused due to family issues.
Many believe Choo Seng Quee, arguably Singapore’s greatest football coach, taught Rajagopal the skills to excel. But Rajagopal, who did not get along with the strict disciplinarian, said it was all natural.
“I developed my skills myself,” he said. “There was no one to teach me when I was studying at Monk’s Hill Secondary. All the skills I developed were due to playing a lot of football and against stronger teams.”
Former Singapore forward Roy Krishnan, 73, said Rajagopal had the uncanny ability to turn a match around with one of his kicks.
“Without him I would have been finished,” Krishnan said.
“He always fed me with good balls and told me to ‘go, go, go’. He is undoubtedly one of the best footballers Singapore has produced.”
However, Rajagopal’s routine of pub visits, hangover training sessions, off-field incidents and late-night gallivanting resulted in numerous spats with officialdom.
Former national team trainer Justin Morais said Choo “did not like him because he did not listen to anyone”.
“People made up stories about him, but he was never a drunkard,” said Morais
“I kept a close watch on him and helped him recover from injuries. We are close and he visits me whenever he comes to Singapore.”
Rajagopal, together with Quah, Mohammed Noh and Dollah Kassim were the fan favourites during the 70s.
But he retired at 29 as he could not get along with some of the officials from the governing body.
“I did not have a certificate, so I could not go into coaching,” said Rajagopal.
“I worked for a while in Johor Bahru and then with a freight forwarding company in Singapore.
“I don’t want fame or fortune, I just want to lead a happy life with my wife.”
