The legendary Selangor and Malaysian captain, who won 163 caps, died at his home in Ampang Jaya at 7.30am.
Among the first to pay tribute to Chandran were his former teammates, led by Soh Chin Aun, president of the Ex-State and Ex-National Footballers Association of Malaysia.
“We are saddened by the passing of our past president and national football legend, Datuk M Chandran,” Soh said in a statement.
“He had excellent leadership qualities and was respected by his teammates and the football fraternity.”
Soh said Chandran was a great role model as a player and an administrator, who led by example, and a disciplinarian.
N Thanabalan, deputy president of the association and a football legend himself, said Chandran’s death is a great loss to him personally “as he was more of a close friend than a teammate to me”.
“We played together in the national team for seven years. He was a great defender. Our friendship extended beyond the football field as we were close family friends, too. It is an irreplaceable loss to me and the nation,” he said.
Another footballing great, Santokh Singh, said Chandran was always there to provide moral support when the odds were against the team.
“He held the national team together and led them to the highest achievement the nation had made so far – qualifying and playing in the 1972 Munich Olympics. He will be greatly missed,” Santokh, who is also a vice-president of the association, said.
The son of a Malayan Railway train driver, Chandran started his playing career with Selangor Indian Association.
While playing for then employers Chartered Bank, he was spotted by Selangor manager Harun Idris and taken into the state team, which triumphed a number of times in the Malaysia Cup tournament.
In the 1972 Munich Olympics, the national team led by Chandran finished third in a group consisting of West Germany, Morocco and the United States. The team also secured the bronze medal in the 1974 Tehran Asian Games.
Chandran retired from playing a year later and moved to coaching.
A profound loss, says King
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, said Chandran’s death was a profound loss to the country.
In extending his condolences to Chandran’s family, Sultan Abdullah said Chandran had been an inspiration to all Malaysians with his passion and dedication to football.
Chandran led the national team to qualify for the 1972 Munich Olympics. “His role in the development of Malaysian football was legendary and both my late father (Sultan Ahmad Shah Sultan Abu Bakar) and I have tremendous respect for our former captain.
“He was an unassuming man who let his work do the talking and his work ethics was admirable,” said Sultan Abdullah in a statement issued by Istana Negara here today.
Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said: “The country has lost a gem of a footballer who had brought honour to Malaysia.”