Victory Sports Club has appointed experienced coach Mohamed Shiyaz (Mohan) in order to bring the team back to its former glory.
Shiyaz will take on the position when the FA Cup begins, with the club having established an agreement with him until the end of the upcoming season. Slovakian coach Gergely Geri was Victory's coach during the President's Cup and a significant portion of the Dhivehi Premier League.
However, he was unable to secure significant wins for the club. The team had almost fallen into the relegation zone.
An official from Victory stated that as coach Geri wanted to resign from his position on his own, both sides came to an agreement and terminated the contract.
The end of a historical rivalry
The reason why Shiyaz becoming Victory's coach is so significant is because of his family background. He is the son of the biggest rival in Victory's history, New Radiant's most important personality and club founder Queen Ahmed Waheed.
These two teams were the biggest rivals in Maldivian football for a time. Shiyaz was on the side of New Radiant 15 years ago as well when competing against Victory. He was able to secure the 2012 Dhivehi Premier League (named the Dhivehi League back then) season for New Radiant while being undefeated and by putting Victory on the back foot.
Suzain was Victory's coach at the time, with his and Shiyaz's rivalry being quite popular in the media back then. Suzain faced suspension by FAM from football activities for a large part of that season. This was because Suzain had criticized then-FAM President Ali Azim, who is also Shiyaz's brother. Suzain's sense of rivalry that had formed in his heart against New Radiant has now fizzled, with him currently holding an important position at New Radiant.
Shiyaz's father, Waheed's role in building New Radiant and the club's success was a valuable service. However, Shiyaz has come out to save his father's "rival" club Victory and take the club back to its rightful position.
"Victory's management has given their assurance that they will do what is needed to hopefully bring the club back to its former position. My work will be to make it a reality and do all that is needed to make it work," said Shiyaz during last night's ceremony.
"God willing, I will work to the best of my ability to bring success to Victory Sports Club. I will do everything to ensure Victory gets the wins it needs from the FA Cup from the start of the season to the next."
"Since Victory is aiming for the cup, my biggest goal right now is to ensure the club wins the FA Cup. I have been appointed to Victory Sports Club in the hopes of making that happen."
Will Shiyaz's heart truly be with Victory?
Shiyaz has come out against his father's club in the past as well, with Shiyaz winning some of the matches. However, the question is whether Shiyaz's heart truly will be with his father's rival club.
Shiyaz, who has also worked as the coach of Maziya, went to the press conference to sign for Maziya as their coach while wearing a green shirt, showcasing himself as someone who is "a grand supporter of Maziya".
However, the same cannot be said when he went to sign for Victory. He went to the signing ceremony last night without wearing any of the colors (red and yellow) that represents the club.
Regarding the previous invites he has received, Shiyaz said that he will always work as a professional regardless of the team.
"I competed against my father's team. I do not think I will be able to compete against someone who is closer to me. In any case, there is nothing but achieving victory in the 90 minutes on the field that goes on in my mind," said Shiyaz while speaking at a press conference in 2021.
One of the biggest hopes of Victory's management is to make the club a superpower in Maldivian football once more. The management has complete trust in Shiyaz in making that happen.
"This is a new beginning for Victory. Under Shiyaz's instruction, the team will be re-aligned, with complete trust being apparent that the club will return to its former glory," said a club official.
