Lim Soon Seng
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Bernard Lim Soon Seng (; born 2 December 1976) is a former Singapore international
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played as a
right wing-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
for
Tanjong Pagar United Tanjong Pagar United Football Club is a professional football club that competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top division of football in Singapore. The club took part in S.League from 1996 to 2004, and from 2011 to 2014. The club withd ...
in the S.League. Lim took up competitive football only in 1994, when he joined Tiong Bahru. He made his S.League debut in 1997 and by the following year, had established himself as a first-team player. He won the Singapore Cup and Singapore FA Cup double with the now-renamed Tanjong Pagar United in 1998, and finished league runners-up in both
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
and
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
. His achievements won him recognition as the 1998 S.League Young Player of the Year. His club form led to a call up to the Singapore national team for the
1998 AFF Championship The 1998 AFF Championship, officially known as the 1998 Tiger Cup, was the second edition of the AFF Championship. It was held in Vietnam from 26 August to 5 September 1998. Thailand had been the defending champions, but lost to Vietnam in the ...
in which he made his international debut against Malaysia in the opening group match. Singapore defeated Vietnam in the final to win their first international trophy. Lim was seriously injured in an accident while riding his motorbike under the influence in January 1999. The injuries left him with impaired vision, coordination problems slower reflexes on the left side of his body and he had to undergo reconstruction of a ligament in his left knee. He attempted to make a comeback with Tampines Rovers in 2002 but was sacked by the club after he received an eight-week prison sentence in July 2002 for alleged disorderly behaviour and assaulting a police officer.


Early life

Lim was born to a taxi driver and a housewife. He studied at Balestier Primary School and
Thomson Secondary School North Vista Secondary School is a co-educational government secondary school in Sengkang, Singapore. Founded in 1956 as Gan Eng Seng Government Chinese Middle School, North Vista had a rich heritage to providing all with a holistic education. Hi ...
before enrolling in the mechanical engineering course at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.


Football career


Club career


Tiong Bahru

Lim took up competitive football only in 1994, after he approached
Tiong Bahru CSC Tanjong Pagar United Football Club is a professional football club that competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top division of football in Singapore. The club took part in S.League from 1996 to 2004, and from 2011 to 2014. The club withd ...
youth coach Robert Lim and joined the National Football League club. He started out as a
centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
, captaining the reserve team of the renamed S.League club Tiong Bahru United. His name 'Bernard' was conceived by first team captain Lim Tong Hai (no relation) in order to distinguish the two Lims. Ten days after his first reserve league appearance, Lim made his S.League debut in the 81st minute of a 2–2 away draw against defending champions
Geylang United Geylang International Football Club is a professional football club based in Bedok, Singapore, which plays in the Singapore Premier League, the top division of football in Singapore. The club was founded in 1973 with the purpose of building a s ...
on 29 March 1997. Towards the end of the season, he replaced the injured Singapore international S. Subramani in central defence. He switched to right-back after the return of Subramani and impressed head coach
Robert Alberts Robert René Alberts (born 14 November 1954) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. Playing career Alberts played for Ajax's third team and had stints at French outfit Clermont Foot and in the NASL with Vancouver Whitecaps. ...
sufficiently to retain his place as the team's first-choice right-back. The club ended as
1997 S.League The 1997 S.League was the 2nd season of the S.League, the top professional football league in Singapore. The format of the league was changed, a single season of home and away matches replacing the split seasons and a playoff model of the 1996 sea ...
runners-up behind Singapore Armed Forces. Lim established himself as a first-team player for the renamed Tanjong Pagar United in the 1998 season. The club ended as league runners-up to Singapore Armed Forces on goal difference but achieved a Singapore Cup and Singapore FA Cup double. In the same year, Lim was honoured as the S.League Young Player of the Year. His performances led to a call-up to the Singapore national team. After suffering a motorcycle accident in January 1999, Lim returned to light training with Tanjong Pagar United in March but sat out the entire 1999 season. He stopped training with Tanjong Pagar United after he was enlisted for National Service in September. He served National Service as a clerk; Singapore Armed Forces had the option to register him as a player but chose not to. By March 2000, Lim was training with
Gombak United Gombak United Football Club was a professional football club which competed in the S.League, the top division of football in Singapore. The club was based in Bukit Gombak. During the early years of the S. League, Gombak United played their ho ...
. The club wanted to sign Lim but he had three months left on his contract with Tanjong Pagar United, which he had to serve after completing his National Service in February 2002. S.League rules also stated that a player cannot play for another club for the rest of the season if his contract ends midway through the season. The transfer collapsed after both clubs failed to agree on a compensation fee for the remainder of his contract.


Tampines Rovers

Lim's doctors had initially advised him against a return to football but he passed the S.League medical and was later certified medically fit in 2002. Following the end of his National Service and his release by Tanjong Pagar United, Lim signed a two-year part-time contract with Tampines Rovers in March 2002 after training with them for a month. At his request, Lim was registered as a reserve league player in order to work himself back into fitness. Lim's playing contract was terminated by Tampines Rovers after he was arrested for alleged disorderly behaviour and assaulting a police officer.


International career

Lim received his first call-up to the Singapore squad for a training camp in May 1998. Three months later, he was named in the squad for the
1998 AFF Championship The 1998 AFF Championship, officially known as the 1998 Tiger Cup, was the second edition of the AFF Championship. It was held in Vietnam from 26 August to 5 September 1998. Thailand had been the defending champions, but lost to Vietnam in the ...
. He made his international debut coming on for the injured
Aide Iskandar Aide Iskandar bin Sahak (born 28 May 1975) is a former professional footballer. He was a member of the Singapore national team which won the ASEAN Football Championship in 1998, 2004 and 2007, captaining the team in the latter two editions. ...
in the 28th minute of the group stage opening match win over Malaysia on 26 August; he assisted Ahmad Latiff Khamaruddin's goal in the 39th minute, Singapore's second goal in the 2–0 win. On 5 September, he came on in the 84th minute as Singapore defeated Vietnam in the final to clinch the AFF Championship, their first international trophy. Lim made a total of five substitute appearances during the tournament. Lim was named in the 25-man provisional squad for the Dunhill Cup in Vietnam from 29 January to 7 February 1999, but had to withdraw from the squad after his motorbike accident.


Outside football

Before 2002, Lim was working as a logistics administrator job at the Tampines Rovers chairman's company. He was sacked from his job after being arrested for alleged disorderly behaviour and assaulting a police officer. As of December 2004, Lim was working as a property agent.


Personal life

Lim met up with national teammates
R. Sasikumar Ramu Sasikumar, or R. Sasikumar for short, is a former Singaporean footballer and sports marketing executive. He is known for scoring the winning and solitary goal for Singapore in the 1998 AFF Championship final. He currently manages the Red Ca ...
and Robin Chitrakar at Clarke Quay on the night of 6 January 1999 after a national team training session was cancelled due to rain. In the early morning of the following day, the trio proceeded to
Newton Food Centre Newton Food Centre (纽顿熟食中心) is a major hawker centre in Newton, Singapore. The food centre was promoted by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) as a tourist attraction for sampling Singaporean cuisine. It was first opened in 1971 and ...
. At 6.07 am, Lim lost control of his motorbike under the influence near Kramal Lane and was sent to the intensive care unit at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Lim suffered a mild stroke following an impact to his head, which left him with impaired vision, coordination problems and slower reflexes on the left side of his body. He went into a coma for a few days and was discharged after two weeks. He later underwent reconstruction of a ligament in his left knee. On 16 June 2002, Lim was arrested for alleged disorderly behaviour and assaulting a police officer and received an eight-week prison sentence in July 2002.


Honours

Tanjong Pagar United * Singapore Cup: 1998 * Singapore FA Cup: 1998 Singapore * AFF Championship: 1998 Individual * S.League Young Player of the Year: 1998


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lim, Soon Seng 1976 births Living people Singaporean sportspeople of Chinese descent Singaporean men's footballers Singapore men's international footballers Men's association football defenders Tanjong Pagar United FC players Tampines Rovers FC players Singapore Premier League players