Mohamed Noh - Remembering Mat Noh, Rest In Paradise

 Mohamed Noh Hussein - RIP

One of Singapore's own great soccer legends - Mohamed Noh often affectionately known just as Mat Noh has gone home. Rest In Paradise. Noh was one of my favourite players. Always the gentleman, he was good looking but shy and was a definite favourite of the women fans. Noh was also known as the Allan Clarke of Asia and Singapore because the way he played has an uncanny resemblance to Clarke who once played for Leeds United and England and was a most elegant and stylish player. I would venture further that Noh was even more stylish and elegant.

Mat Noh running with the ball near the right touchline and running towards goal was pure poetry in motion. As elegant as a galloping horse and graceful as a swan. Noh was a master of the dummy and body feint. When right-back Hasli Ibrahim passed a ball forward to him, he would run towards it with his marker breathing down his neck but as he approached the ball, he will let it run through his legs, turned the defender and be on his way. I learned that from him. Very often I have seen him receiving 50m passes from Zainal Abidin with whom he has a telepathic understanding and he would simply be while running lifted his right leg and trapped the ball in mid air with the middle top of his right foot, cushioned and controlled it so easily and then he would hug the touchline, beat his man before swinging in the crosses with deadly accuracy. 

When attacking the bye lines, Noh would stretched his marker and beat his man with a body feint pretending to cross with his right foot and then switching to his left. Sometimes, he did it twice - feinting and switching from right to left then left to right again to the embarrassment of his opponent and the delight of the fans. Opponents were often left on their back sides watching his back as he galloped away. Noh was also two-footed. I saw him scored an amazing goal away to Perak. From the right wing cutting in, he has beaten two defenders and with his left foot, send the ball crashing to the top corner of the goalie's right. Another unique goal was his back heeled goal versus Pahang where he left the goalie and defenders rooted. 

Noh also scored that penalty (against R. Arumugam) that saw Uncle Choo's Singapore beating that illustrious Malaysia team in a Pre-World Cup game at the time where Malaysia was a top team in Asia. I also watched him frequently up close as he played for and captained Toa Payoh United in the then NFL. I was a fan of Toa Payoh United as I used to live there and because of Mat Noh. We also got to watch him play in the Business League and for Singapore Malays. I watched him up close with the rest of the soccer legends whenever they trained under Uncle Choo at my school field next to Jalan Besar stadium when it was occupied by other soccer matches. From these legends, I watched and learned from them. How Kim Song dashed past opponents and also his trademark flying headers, how S. Rajagopal swung his banana kicks, executed his rabona and also his overhead bicycle kicks. How Hasli Ibrahim did those scissors' tackles turning his opponents into scissors cut curry rice, Lim Teng Sai, Syed Mutalib, Lim Tien Jit (Rocky) and Robert Sim made those no nonsense tackles and putting their head into areas where even angels fear to tread. How Zainal Abidin strolled in midfield and casually made those 50m pinpoint passes anywhere. How M. Kumar stuck to his opponents like a leech. How V. Khanisen never stopped running. How super sub Crazy Horse Nasir Jalil contributed with his wild running. How Samad Allapitchay made his forays upfield from defence. How Dollah Kassim made his own magic. How Noh would trap a ball in mid air with his right foot, how he dummied his opponents and his full works of body feints then try to practise them on a soccer pitch when I played. In those days, players do not have their names on their back but we could easily identified each of them with their unique style and how they played. We have something to look forward to every home game at Kallang and some would travel up north for the away games. Our mundane lives were uplifted. 

I have personally met Mat Noh only a few times - where he once worked for MAS and at his old home in Toa Payoh where I bumped into him at his block and once just outside his house where he happened to have just came out from his house. He was a man of few words. Humble and very reserved. I have always wanted to meet all my boyhood soccer heroes just to tell them in person how much many soccer fans of that generation and I love and appreciated the joy they have given us. I have since met up with Quah Kim Lye, Andy Yeo, Robert Sim, Lim Teng Sai, Syed Mutalib, S. Rajagopal, Ho Kwang Hock and Quah Kim Song. I would asked them about the rest such as the late M. Kumar, Hasli Ibrahim, Zainal Abideen and especially about Mat Noh but to my dismay no one really knew where was Mat Noh or what and how has he been doing at the time. I have met Eric Paine and spoken to him on a few occasions and David Lee on numerous occasions but my regret was I have not met up close with Mat Noh to personally tell him how we lived through that time as one united nation because of players like him and the soccer legends.

I have never missed a match at the National Stadium and my friends Ben and Lionel were often with me. My late uncle Eric was always with me and we would later rope in my dad and his friend often getting there early just to ensure we could find a car park lot. There have not been and never will there be a number 8 like him again. Ever. We shall never forget our legends and Mat Noh is one of the greats. Thank you for those glorious memories. So long hero! May you rest in eternal peace. 

Here was an article I have previously posted that has mentioned him fondly (Kallang Roar) and a few others (Singapore Soccer Legends) I have shared in nostalgic memories of our Singapore Soccer Legends:

http://gforce-guru.blogspot.com/2011/07/kallang-roar-part-three.html

https://gforce-guru.blogspot.com/2011/11/singapore-soccer-legends.html

https://gforce-guru.blogspot.com/2013/11/singapore-soccer-legends-part-2.html