Lionel Tan Explained

Lionel Tan
Fullname:Lionel Tan Han Wei
Birth Date:1997 6, df=yes
Birth Place:Singapore
Height:1.84 m
Currentclub:Lion City Sailors
Clubnumber:5
Position:Centre-back / Right-back
Youthyears1:2011–2014
Youthclubs1:Singapore Sports School
Youthyears2:2015
Youthclubs2:National Football Academy
Youthyears3:2016
Youthclubs3:Home United
Years1:2016
Clubs1:Home United
Caps1:0
Goals1:0
Years2:2017
Clubs2:Hougang United
Caps2:14
Goals2:0
Years3:2018
Clubs3:→ SAFSA (loan)
Caps3:0
Goals3:0
Years4:2019–2020
Clubs4:Young Lions
Caps4:19
Goals4:0
Years5:2020–2022
Clubs5:Hougang United
Caps5:50
Goals5:3
Years6:2023–
Clubs6:Lion City Sailors
Caps6:26
Goals6:2
Nationalyears1:2015
Nationalteam1:Singapore U19
Nationalcaps1:12
Nationalgoals1:0
Nationalyears2:2017–2019
Nationalteam2:Singapore U23
Nationalcaps2:11
Nationalgoals2:1
Nationalyears3:2023–
Nationalteam3:Singapore
Nationalcaps3:12
Nationalgoals3:3
Club-Update:13 May 2023
Nationalteam-Update:25 Mar 2023

Lionel Tan Han Wei (陈汉玮, born 5 June 1997) is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays either as a centre-back or right-back for Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors and the Singapore national team.

Lionel was with the National Football Academy after graduating from Singapore Sports School. In 2016, Lionel started his career with Home United's Prime League team. Subsequently, in 2017, he moved to Hougang United. His performance at the youth level led to him being nominated for the 2014 Dollah Kassim Award although he did not win it in the end.[1] [2]

Club career

Youth

Lionel started his career with National Football Academy (NFA) U-18 team in 2015 after his graduation from the Singapore Sports School.[3] He had hoped to move on to the Garena Young Lions squad following his exploits with the NFA. However, when no such move arose, Tan jumped at the chance to be reunited with Robin Chitrakar at Home United's Prime League squad.

Home United

Lionel moved to Home United in 2016 and was made the vice captain of the prime league squad. During his time with the Protectors' Prime League squad, he helped them achieve a double, winning the Prime League and the Singapore FA Cup.

Lionel then made his senior debut on 14 July 2016 against Albirex Niigata (S) in the Singapore League Cup. He made a total of two senior appearances for Home United before moving on the next season.

Hougang United

Lionel then moved to Hougang United for the 2017 Singapore Premier League season.[1] He made his debut for the Cheetahs against Tampines Rovers, coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute before earning a shock first start in the following match against Brunei DPMM in a 2–0 defeat.[4]

Loan to SAFSA

In 2018, Lionel was loaned to SAFSA while he is serving his National Services duties.

Young Lions

After spending one year with SAFSA, Lionel moved to Garena Young Lions for the 2019 Singapore Premier League season for whom he made a total of 19 league appearances.[5]

Return to Hougang United

Lionel returned to Hougang United after the completion of his National Service in the middle of the 2020 Singapore Premier League season. He scored the first professional goal of his career in the third match of the 2021 Singapore Premier League season, sweeping in a loose ball and helping his team to a shock 3–1 win against powerhouse Lion City Sailors.[6] [7]

Lion City Sailors

On 18 January 2023, Lion City Sailors announced the arrival of Lionel on a free from Hougang United. [8] He make his debut on 24 February in a 3–1 win over Tanjong Pagar United. He scored his first goal for the club on 1 July against the same opponent in the away fixture in a thrashing 7–1 win. On 20 September, Lionel make his AFC Champions League debut in a 1–2 lost against Thailand club Bangkok United. On 9 December, he helped the club to win the 2023 Singapore Cup which is also his first back to back cup win with a different club.

International career

Youth

Lionel was part of the 2015 Under-18 Squad for AFC Under-19 Championship qualifiers.[9]

Lionel is also in the 2016 AFC Under-19 Championship qualifiers playing in matches against Thailand which the team lost 3–0.[10] He also played against Chinese Taipei.

In 2017, Lionel was called up to the Singapore Under-22 squad for the 2017 Southeast Asian Games but failed to make a single appearance as the Republic crashed out in the group stages.[11]

He captained the Singapore Under-22 squad for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

Senior

Lionel made his full senior debut for Singapore in a 1–1 draw against Hong Kong which saw him score his debut goal as well as an own goal.[12] Lionel then scored again in his second cap, a 1–0 victory over Macau.[13] Donning the unusual number 9, Lionel has made his name as a new spearhead of Singapore's attack.

On 12 September 2023, Lionel scored a goal from Zulfahmi Arifin set pieces freekick to put Singapore in the lead against Chinese Taipei at the Bishan Stadium.

Career statistics

Club

ClubSeasonLeagueSingapore CupLeague CupAFC CupCommunity ShieldTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Home United2016S.League000030000030
Hougang United2017S.League13020000000150
SAFSA (loan)2018Singapore National Football League000000000000
Young Lions (loan)2019Singapore Premier League19000000000190
Hougang United2020Singapore Premier League11000000000110
2021Singapore Premier League18300000000183
2022Singapore Premier League2106000300300
Total50360003000593
Lion City Sailors2023Singapore Premier League24210001000262
2024–25Singapore Premier League200000001030
Total26210001010292
Career total1045903040101235

International

International caps

No Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
1 23 March 2023 Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong 1–1 (draw) Friendly
2 26 March 2023 Macau Olympic Complex Stadium, Macau 1–0 (won) Friendly
3 16 June 2023 National Stadium, Singapore 2-2 (draw) Friendly
418 June 20231-1 (draw)Friendly
5 8 Sept 2023 Bishan Stadium, Singapore 0-2 (lost) Friendly
612 Sept 2023 3-1 (win) Friendly

International goals

No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 23 March 2023 Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong 1–1 1–1 Friendly
2 26 March 2023 Macau Olympic Complex Stadium, Macau 1–0 1–0
3 12 September 2023 Bishan Stadium, Bishan, Singapore 2–1 3–1

U23 International caps

No Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
1 9 July 2017 Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Singapore0–1 (lost) Friendly
2 12 July 2017 Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Singapore1–0 (win) Friendly
3 22 March 2019 MFF Football Centre, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia1–1 (draw) 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
4 24 March 2019 MFF Football Centre, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia1–1 (draw) 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
5 26 March 2019 MFF Football Centre, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia3–1 (win) 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
6 7 June 2019 Jalan Besar Stadium, Kallang, Singapore3–0 (win) 2019 Merlion Cup
7 9 June 2019 Jalan Besar Stadium, Kallang, Singapore1–0 (win) 2019 Merlion Cup
8 9 October 2019 Bishan Stadium, Bishan, Singapore0–3 (lost) Friendly
9 26 November 2019 Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines0–0 (draw) 2019 Southeast Asian Games
10 28 November 2019 Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines0–2 (lost) 2019 Southeast Asian Games
11 1 December 2019 Biñan Football Stadium, Manila, Philippines0–3 (lost) 2019 Southeast Asian Games

U19 International caps

No Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
1 23 August 2015 Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos0–1 2015 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
2 25 August 2015 Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos0–4 2015 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
3 29 August 2015 Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos0–6 2015 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
4 31 August 2015 Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos1–1 2015 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
5 30 September 2015 SCG Stadium, Nonthaburi, Thailand10–0 2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification
6 4 October 2015 SCG Stadium, Nonthaburi, Thailand0–3 2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification
7 6 October 2015 SCG Stadium, Nonthaburi, Thailand2–2 2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification
8 11 September 2016 Hàng Đẫy Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam0–0 2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
9 15 September 2016 Hàng Đẫy Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam1–2 2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
10 17 September 2016 Hàng Đẫy Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam2–1 2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
11 19 September 2016 Hàng Đẫy Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam0–2 2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
12 4 August 2017 Hartfield Park, Australia0–4 Friendly [14]

Honours

Club

Home United

Hougang United

Lion City Sailors

International

Singapore U22

Notes and References

  1. Web site: YOUNG CENTERBACK LIONEL TAN SIGNS FOR HOUGANG UNITED. January 2, 2017.
  2. Web site: Muhelmy wins The New Paper Dollah Kassim Award. December 14, 2014.
  3. Web site: S.League.com - Match Details. 12 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20170118044801/http://sleague.com/match-details/?id=PL%2F15-0026. 18 January 2017. dead.
  4. News: Lionel Tan out to become a great Chinese centre-back for the Lions. 2017-04-14. FourFourTwo. 2017-04-16. en-SG. https://web.archive.org/web/20170416222331/https://www.fourfourtwo.com/sg/features/lionel-tan-out-become-a-great-chinese-centre-back-lions. 16 April 2017. dead.
  5. Web site: Lionel Tan returns to Hougang United - Football Association of Singapore. 2021-03-23. spl.sg. en.
  6. Web site: hermesauto. 2021-03-20. Football: Hougang United shock Lion City Sailors with 3-1 victory. 2021-03-22. The Straits Times. en.
  7. Web site: 2021 Singapore Premier League Round 3: Roundup - Football Association of Singapore. 2021-03-23. spl.sg. en.
  8. Web site: Sailors . Lion City . 2023-01-18 . A leap of faith and an eye for more success: Lionel . 2023-03-23 . Lion City Sailors FC . en-US.
  9. Web site: MEDIA INFORMATION FAS - Announcement of Under-18 squad for AFC Under-19 Championship qualifiers - The Football Association of Singapore. 11 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305031807/http://www.fas.org.sg/newsroom/press-release/media-information-fas-announcement-under-18-squad-afc-under-19-championship-q. 5 March 2016. dead.
  10. Web site: AFC U-19 CHAMPIONSHIP 2016 . The-afc.com . 2017-06-28.
  11. Web site: From combat to football boots: The 'crazy' 22-year-old who interrupted NS to chase a SEA Games dream. 2021-03-23. CNA. en.
  12. Web site: 2023-03-23 . Hong Kong draw with Singapore in football's clash of Asia's world cities . 2023-03-23 . South China Morning Post . en.
  13. Web site: Football Association of Singapore – Lionel Tan's 2nd goal on his 2nd cap gives Singapore the win over at Macau. Facebook . 2023-03-26 . facebook.com . en.
  14. Web site: Squad vs OZ u20 .