In October 2009, at the age of 36 years, S.Subramani, one of Singapore's finest football players, announced his retirement from Home United Club, his home team of 11 years.
This is a fine model that reflects Moreland & Levine's Group Socialization process because it shows the level of Subramani's (individual) commitment and allegiance to Home United (group) after his evaluation of the team. This evaluation process comes in 5 stages. During the socialization process, Subramani went through a series of role transitions, from a prospective member, a new member, a full member, a maginal member and finally, an ex-member.
The socialization process begins at the prospective member stage where each side searches for information. Subramani was originally from Tanjong Pagar United and played exceptionally well for the team, however, due to financial problems the club was forced to close down. But due to his excellent performance on the field, Home United FC made an immediate attempt to recruit him to their team. Subramani thought over the offer before finalizing his desire to joy Home United. 
When Subramani became the new member, he had to learn the culture or norms of his new team as it was much different from his previous; inorder to gain full acceptance from them. Being one of the top football teams in Singapore, Home United was unlike Tanjong Pagar because its practice regime was much harsher than the former. Subramani went on with the trainings without any complaints because of his love for football, therefore his new team accepted him without much difficulty.
Even though Subramani is a full member of the Home United team, there was an on-going process of negotiation on his roles and position in the team and the team's goals. As a result, he was made defender of the team because of his great defending skills and later on captain, due to the team's respect for him as a football player. He stayed on for 11 years.
Subramani became a marginal member when his playing opportunities gradually declined because he had sustained injuries.
Therefore, making his decision to officially leave the team in 2009.
This decision meant that Subramani is now an ex-member of the team, therefore his team and him would undergo a period of remembrance in which Subramani would reminisce on his participation in the team and his team would look back on their achievements and history because of his membership--They had won 2 S-league titles under his leadership.
Hello!
ReplyDeleteIt's really sad to see such a talented player go. Although Singapore's football team may not be the best, there are still a few expectionally talented players. Too bad, too little emphasis is placed on our team Singapore.
Hopefully, Subramani will continue to be involved in the soccer industry of SG though he has become the ex-memeber of Home United Club. Perharps becoming a coach for his team? Hmm...
Hey there!
ReplyDeleteNormally when you see a veteran in his field you never tend to think about when he first started out as a total newbie. And i thought it was interesting how you noted his beginning stages as a prospective member.
I do wonder however, if he influenced the team in any way during his term as full member. Even though he had absorbed the group cultures to become a full member of the soccer team, perhaps he had some refreshing perspectives to offer his team?
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Rachel Lim
haha. i'm a ex-soccer girl, so i understood how it was like if a soccer player ends up NOT playing(benchwarmers) due to injuries or lack of appreciation of talent by the coach.
ReplyDeleteIt's depressing to see a talented soccer player leave his club, because i felt that it takes a long while to bond with the team,and to get the team to communicate with you. When any soccer player leaves the team, the effects are drastic, not in terms of emotions, although yes, there will be sadness, but in terms of replacement. They might not be used to the new players defending skills, and things would not be as smooth.
Furthermore, i felt that playing good soccer requires teamwork, and also communication. If one is lacking, the game will not proceed smoothly, and more often than not, members will start blaming each other.
hopefully, before he leaves, he could teach the new replacement what he has done while on the team, and get the whole team to bond with the new replacement.
true, when we choose to remain or leave a group we will weigh the costs and rewards before making the decision like what Subramani did. When he left the team, it was because he was experiencing more costs. the time he spent on training on the team was not allowing him to do what he loved which was playing the game. since he wasn't rewarded adequately he chose to leave, to do something somewhere else which will allow him to reap the benefits which he wants.
ReplyDeleteTo Rachel Lim SY
ReplyDeleteI know alot about his background because my father is a big fan of Subramani. :)
In regards to him being a full member, Subramani acted as the moral booster of the team. If you watch Singapore football as much as my parents do ( i am forced to watch with them as there were no other good programmes on tv), you will notice that he would pat his team mates' back or shoulder if they had made a mistake on the field or when they were losing a particular match...
To handwritingsonthewall,
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you that the media place little emphasis on Singapore Football. The media always make a big hooha about the English Premier League. The only time Singapore Football gets promoted will be on friday nights and when major teams such as Liverpool and Manchester United arrived in Singapore to compete with the Singaporean teams.