Missing you: Visnu Nair was very close with his late father B. Sathianathan.
PETALING JAYA: It has been more than a year since the passing of charismatic coach B. Sathianathan (pic), but his coaching legacy continues under the good hands of his son.
Visnu Nair, who was a goalkeeper during his playing days, said his father was the reason he took up coaching.
He currently holds the AFC B coaching licence and football diploma from University Barcelona and has kicked off the MyCoachingHub, an educational platform for football trainers.
He started it with his late father early last year but a driving force behind it now.
“The main idea was to give back and expose the younger generation to local football coaching. We want to equip them with the necessary knowledge to excel in their coaching journey abroad,” said Visnu.
“The self-funded webinars and football courses that we have included from 2023 until now have helped coaches to be exposed to different coaching methods and philosophies from around the world and locally.
“I believe with the expertise we have in this country we can and should stick together and help each other climb the coaching ladder as high as possible, together.
“This is what coach Sathia wanted to do for the future generation of local coaches.”
After ending his playing time with PJ Rangers in 2019, Visnu opened a goalkeeper academy called Premier Goalkeeping Academy.
Thanks to the knowledge he acquired from his diploma courses, he used to coach Cyberlynx International College, known as the International College of Sports and Management, Southampton Football Academy Malaysia, FC Kuala Lumpur and Little League.
Remembering his life: B. Sathianathan had wanted the future generation of local coaches to climb the ladder as high as possible.
This year, he moved to Villarreal Malaysia Academy to coach the youngsters and makes trips to Spain to learn the system and playing philosophy there.
Visnu admitted that his family were still grappling with the loss of his father.
Sathianathan passed away on July 18 last year after a long battle with cancer. He was the head coach of the national football squad from 2007 to 2009.
He coached the under-23 squad from 2006 to 2008, leading the team to win the Pesta Bola Merdeka title in 2007 and emerging as the runners-up in 2008.
“We have been doing everything possible to cope with the loss of our legendary father, but the pain of losing him is something that we will never truly heal from. He certainly left us far too soon and we are now left with a void that can never be replaced.
“That said, we are blessed to have an abundance of beautiful memories with him and all we can do in the present is to revel in those moments and count our blessings that God placed him in our lives.
“Given that he is someone who has been fairly televised, we have the privilege of watching footages of him in various stages of his life to remember the legacy that he has left behind.”
Visnu’s hope is to emulate his father one day by becoming a top-flight coach, he said, “It has always been my dream from young to follow in my father’s footsteps and I’m transitioning into coaching from playing.”
Visnu believes that football coaching is a journey and not a race, and his plans right now are to complete all his AFC Licences and take up UEFA coaching licences as well.
“I lived with one of the best coaches in Malaysian football and grew up, watching him handle various situations here. It’s an experience money can’t buy,” he said.
“Currently I’m enjoying the experiencing of coaching grassroots football.
“But one day, if an opportunity presents itself, I would love to coach at the highest level in Malaysian football.”
