Ken Worden
KOTA KINABALU (Sept 21): Sabah Football Club (Sabah FC) has extended its condolences to the family of Ken Worden, the former Rhinos head coach who passed away in Australia on Monday.
Worden, who is also former Malaysia and Singapore national teams’ head coach, was 78.
“Sabah FC would like to convey our deepest condolences to the family of the late Ken Worden who passed away this morning (Monday).
“Coach Ken Worden is no stranger to Malaysian football having coached Selangor, Malaysia, Singapore, Terengganu, KL SPA and also the Sabah state team,” Sabah FC posted in its Facebook page on Tuesday.
“Gone from our sight but never from our hearts … rest in peace coach,” added Sabah FC in its post.
Worden was appointed head coach of Sabah in 1999 and during his time here, he assembled a squad that comprised some of the country’s best talents such as Sharil Arsat, Rizal Sukiman, K Sanbagamaran and Shahrin Majid.
The existing squad then also comprised goalkeeper Khairul Azman Mohamad and also well established local footballers such as Jelius Ating, Burhan Ajui, Suharmin Yusof as well as young talents in Zainizam Marjan and Rosdin Wasli.
Worden however parted ways with the Rhinos in the middle of the 2002 campaign and joined Selangor.
And his impact was immediate as he guided Selangor to the Malaysia Cup title the same year after beating Sabah 1-0 during the sudden death extra time, with the ‘golden goal’ scored by evergreen forward Amri Yahya who now plays for Sabah FC.
In fact, it was Worden’s various stints with Selangor that he was best remembered where he led them to the Malaysia Cup title in 1995, 1996 and 2002; the FA Cup in 1991; and the charity shield in 1996 and 2002.
The English-born Worden, who formerly played for Burnley and Preston North End, had also coached and played in Australia.