Nizam aims to be the new dazzler for LionsXII

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SINGAPORE - Khairul Nizam was barely three years old, but the image of V Sundramoorthy's perfectly executed "bicycle kick" goal against Brunei at the National Stadium in the 1993 Malaysia Cup has stuck in his head since.

Now 19, Nizam hopes to emulate the former Lions star as part of the Lions X11, which will contest next year's Malaysia Cup, Malayian Super League and FA Cup competitions as Singapore's return to domestic football up north after 18 years.

The teenager is part of a strikeforce that includes Khairul Amri and Agu Casmir, and comparisons with household names like Fandi Ahmad, Abbas Saad and Sundramoorthy, all of whom led the line for the Lions in the Malaysia Cup in the early 1990s, will be inevitable.

The Lions XII's campaign starts on Jan 10 - the fixture list will be announced later - but Nizam, Amri and Casmir are aware they have plenty to live up to. But they are unfazed.

"It will be a big responsibility for us, especially the senior players. It's not a burden, but a motivation for us to work even harder," said Amri, 26.

"Sundram has spoken at length with me. He said the Malaysia Cup is a big thing. In fact, the former players like Malek (Awab) and Samad (Allapitchay) have pitched in and reminded me how important this is to the whole of Singapore and they are behind us on this."

"But the football is still the same. It's still 90 minutes. We just need to work harder, build our teamwork and communicate better. It will be a good experience."

Added Casmir, 27: "It's just good to be back, and for me, as a striker, it's still the same. It doesn't matter who we play against. My job is to score. Simple is that."

The participation of the Lions XII in Malaysian competitions came after the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) signed a four-year agreement in July to help boost the game in both countries to help develop football. In exchange the Malaysian national under-23 side will also contest the S-League, Singapore League Cup and Singapore FA Cup.

Sundramoorthy's squad have been allocated a budget of $2 million a year to run their campaign, and the former Lions striker will also ex-teammate Kadir Yahaya as assistant coach.

It will mark Singapore's return to Malaysian football for the first time since 1994, when a side coached by Douglas Moore won the league and then stormed to a 4-0 victory over Pahang in the Malaysia Cup final at the Shah Alam Stadium.

Yesterday, 19 of the 28-strong Lions XII squad were at the Jalan Besar Stadium for the team's first training session, and Amri, Casmir and Nizam revealed their personal targets for the upcoming season.

"I hope to score at least 10 goals, and set up many more for the team. But firstly, I've to recover fully from my injury before I can help them," said Amri, who ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in June this year while playing for former Indonesian side Persiba Balikpapan.

But Casmir preferred not to reveal his goals and said: "My target is a secret. Anyway, it's only the first training session, and I prefer to let my feet do the talking when the time comes."

While Amri and Casmir, veterans of Singapore's recent Asean Football Federation Cup triumphs, remain relaxed, teenager Nizam just wants to emulate Sundramoorthy and score that perfect goal.

"There's a lot of pressure on me, especially as I've just come back from injury. But I hope to be able to ask Sundram how he did those magical moves and that bicycle kick!"