V. Saravanan

In this Indian name, the name Vellu is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Saravanan. The abbreviation "a/l" (anak lelaki) or "a/p" (anak perempuan), if used, means "son of" or "daughter of" in Malay respectively.

V. Saravanan (born 11 January 1978) is a former Malaysian football player. He currently works as an assistant coach for Perak FC since 5 January 2023.

V. Saravanan

Personal information
Full name	Saravanan a/l Vellu
Date of birth	(1978-01-11) 11 January 1978 (age 47)
Place of birth	Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Striker / Winger
Youth career
1997–1998	Perak FA
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–2000	Perak FA
2001	Kuala Lumpur FA
2002–2004	Perak FA
2005–2008	UPB-MyTeam FC
2009	ATM FA
2011	PKNS FC
International career
1997–1998	Malaysia U-21
1999–2000	Malaysia U-23
1999–2004	Malaysia	19	(1)
Managerial career
2012–2022	HJK Helsinki (Youth Coach)
2023–present	Perak FC (assistant head coach)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Saravanan spent the majority of his football career at Perak FA, winning two Malaysia Cup in 1998 and 2000.^[1] He also played for Kuala Lumpur FA, UPB-MyTeam FC, ATM FA and PKNS FC.

Saravanan also represented Malaysia 19 times from 1999 to 2004.^[2] His only international goals was against Thailand in a 2004 friendly match. Early on in his career, he was in the Malaysia national under-21 football team that competes in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, held in Malaysia.^[3]

He retired from professional football at the end of 2011 to move with his girlfriend to Finland.^[4]

In 2021, he obtained his UEFA A license and was a physical education instructor in Pajulahti, Finland.

He is fluent in Finnish, English, Malay and Tamil.

Prior to moving to Malaysia, he was a football coach for Helsinki Football Club (HJK) in Helsinki, Finland, in 2019 and served IF GNISTAN between 2012 and 2018.

Personal life

He married his long-time girlfriend, Satu Johanna Ekholm, who is a physiotherapist from Finland working with the National Sports Council of Malaysia. They have a son.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	19 August 2004	Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Thailand	1–2	Won	Friendly