Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2011
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Wednesday, August 31, 2011
'LIVE' telecast of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil (tm) Asian Qualifiers Round Three, Group A match, China PR vs Singapore
Source
SINGAPORE, 31 August 2011: The Football Association of Singapore and MediaCorp have confirmed plans for the ‘Live’ telecast of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Asian Qualifiers Round Three, Group A match, China PR vs Singapore.
The match will be played on the 2nd of September 2011, 8pm at Kunming Tuodong Stadium, China.
‘Live’ Telecast Details
Date: Friday, 2nd September 2011
Time: 7.55pm
‘Live’ on MediaCorp, Channel 5
We thank you for your support! Majulah Singapura!!!!!
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2011
The match will be played on the 2nd of September 2011, 8pm at Kunming Tuodong Stadium, China.
‘Live’ Telecast Details
Date: Friday, 2nd September 2011
Time: 7.55pm
‘Live’ on MediaCorp, Channel 5
We thank you for your support! Majulah Singapura!!!!!
In the end, it is all down to the players
Source
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2011
Singapore’s master tactician, Radojko Avramovic speaks about his optimism in his current batch of Lions who are in Kunming, preparing for their FIFA World Cup Asian Zone Group A opener against China.
Sitting down with his signature black coffee in front of him, coach Raddy as he is affectionately known was still suffering from the effects of a bout of flu but was all smiles as he fielded questions from the contingent of Singaporean reporters at the majestic Grand Park Hotel in Kunming.
He started off explaining how he has been caught by surprise, with the team seemingly unperturbed by the much talked about high altitude in Kunming.
With a slight smile on his face, he said:“In some way, the boys have surprised me with their quick acclimatisation and they have come here with a strong mind. This team is a good team, and when I observe them in training or even in the last three games that we played, they are really serious in what they do and they are trying their best and that is what we want from them and to continue that way while we give them the support on the sidelines.”
Coach Raddy continued to stress that the players are the ones who matter most, as they are the ones who have to turn on the magic and get the job done on the pitch.
“This match is important for us(Singapore) because it gives us an opportunity to see where we are and the other part of it is that we should try and get some good results. However, what will happen in this game or next few games that we play, I don’t think anyone can predict. What I really want to see is that our boys go out and try to play and compete to the best of their abilities. If they give their 100% in any of the games and still lose, there will be no hard words because I will know they have given it their all.” he added.
When quizzed about how the match on 2 September will pan out, the lanky frame of Avramovic leaned forward as he went on to explain what he reckons were the key strengths of the Chinese team.
He elaborated: “This China team will most likely continue to play the way they did under their previous coach(Gao). They have very good full-backs who join their wide players down the wings, putting in a lot of crosses to catch the opponents’ defence. They have also called up some of their most experienced players like Zheng Zhi, Li Wei Feng and Sun Xiang to bolster the squad.
“Don’t forget that this China team was build in the past three years, in preparation for this World Cup qualification. They are the strongest team in this group and I hope they win all their games against the other two teams but not against us. In that way, it will leave the other three of us in Group A to fight for the second spot.”
With a live telecast of the match confirmed by Mediacorp and the Football Association of Singapore, millions of Singaporean viewers will be tuning in to support the Lions who will have to be at their best, to secure a positive result against the strongest team in the Group.
And like Coach Raddy said, “In the end, it is all down to the players. They have to realize that they are the ones who can make the difference on the field. But of course, from the side, the team officials will give them all the support and help they need.”
Mark the date down on your calendar. 2 September 2011. Channel 5. The Lions will walk out to do battle but you can be their 12th man.
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2011
Singapore’s master tactician, Radojko Avramovic speaks about his optimism in his current batch of Lions who are in Kunming, preparing for their FIFA World Cup Asian Zone Group A opener against China.
Sitting down with his signature black coffee in front of him, coach Raddy as he is affectionately known was still suffering from the effects of a bout of flu but was all smiles as he fielded questions from the contingent of Singaporean reporters at the majestic Grand Park Hotel in Kunming.
He started off explaining how he has been caught by surprise, with the team seemingly unperturbed by the much talked about high altitude in Kunming.
With a slight smile on his face, he said:“In some way, the boys have surprised me with their quick acclimatisation and they have come here with a strong mind. This team is a good team, and when I observe them in training or even in the last three games that we played, they are really serious in what they do and they are trying their best and that is what we want from them and to continue that way while we give them the support on the sidelines.”
Coach Raddy continued to stress that the players are the ones who matter most, as they are the ones who have to turn on the magic and get the job done on the pitch.
“This match is important for us(Singapore) because it gives us an opportunity to see where we are and the other part of it is that we should try and get some good results. However, what will happen in this game or next few games that we play, I don’t think anyone can predict. What I really want to see is that our boys go out and try to play and compete to the best of their abilities. If they give their 100% in any of the games and still lose, there will be no hard words because I will know they have given it their all.” he added.
When quizzed about how the match on 2 September will pan out, the lanky frame of Avramovic leaned forward as he went on to explain what he reckons were the key strengths of the Chinese team.
He elaborated: “This China team will most likely continue to play the way they did under their previous coach(Gao). They have very good full-backs who join their wide players down the wings, putting in a lot of crosses to catch the opponents’ defence. They have also called up some of their most experienced players like Zheng Zhi, Li Wei Feng and Sun Xiang to bolster the squad.
“Don’t forget that this China team was build in the past three years, in preparation for this World Cup qualification. They are the strongest team in this group and I hope they win all their games against the other two teams but not against us. In that way, it will leave the other three of us in Group A to fight for the second spot.”
With a live telecast of the match confirmed by Mediacorp and the Football Association of Singapore, millions of Singaporean viewers will be tuning in to support the Lions who will have to be at their best, to secure a positive result against the strongest team in the Group.
And like Coach Raddy said, “In the end, it is all down to the players. They have to realize that they are the ones who can make the difference on the field. But of course, from the side, the team officials will give them all the support and help they need.”
Mark the date down on your calendar. 2 September 2011. Channel 5. The Lions will walk out to do battle but you can be their 12th man.
New coach, new problems for China
Source
REPORTING FROM KUNMING
ARE THE China national team in disarray?
Local fans are already panning the decision to replace former incumbent Gao Hongbo with ex-Real Madrid coach Jose Antonio Camacho, who is commanding a yearly three million euro ($5.2m) salary.
However, the Spaniard might not be able to pick his captain - as sources indicate that authorities within the China FA want centre-back Du Wei to take the armband.
REPORTING FROM KUNMING
ARE THE China national team in disarray?
Local fans are already panning the decision to replace former incumbent Gao Hongbo with ex-Real Madrid coach Jose Antonio Camacho, who is commanding a yearly three million euro ($5.2m) salary.
However, the Spaniard might not be able to pick his captain - as sources indicate that authorities within the China FA want centre-back Du Wei to take the armband.
Young Lions all grown up: Izwan, Safuwan not fazed as huge clash with China looms
Source
Asian World Cup qualifier, Group A
China v Singapore
SINGAPORE - In the blood and thunder of a Causeway derby double-header, the coaching staff of the Lions (picture) and many Singapore fans wondered nervously just how goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud and central defender Safuwan Baharudin would fare in the second round World Cup qualifier.
Izwan, only 21, was thrust into the spotlight after injuries to regulars Hassan Sunny and Lionel Lewis, and he made full use of his opportunity, playing a crucial role in the Lions 6-4 aggregate win over arch-rivals Malaysia. In front of him, Safuwan, even younger at 19, was cool, tough and uncompromising, playing alongside veteran Daniel Bennett as if he was born for the role.
While Safuwan will start against China in the Lions' opening Group A match in the third round of qualifiers, Izwan is not guaranteed a place as the experienced Lewis has recovered from a groin injury, although national coach Radojko Avramovic will have no problem fielding the young goalkeeper in front of 40,000 intense Chinese fans in Kunming on Friday.
The two players have grown up quickly, after finding their feet with the Singapore under-23s and the Courts Young Lions in the S-League.
Speaking to Today from Kunming, Safuwan said yesterday: "I did not expect to be drafted into the national squad so early. In my mind, I thought I would be ready only when I reached 23 or 24, not now.
"So, for me, I have been forced to grow up very quickly because we had to equal our last performance in the last World Cup qualifiers, that is to play in the group stage and, fortunately, we did.
"I know that China will be tougher, especially here, but I feel calmer than when we played Malaysia."
Safuwan has earned his starting position alongside Bennett.
He played well last Thursday in the 0-0 draw with Thailand in a friendly in Bangkok.
Izwan is up for the challenge as he battles Lewis for the No 1 jersey.
He will never forget how the senior players in the squad treated him ahead of the two games against Malaysia.
"I was able to play in the Malaysia matches because of the way the senior players treated us. They did not make us feel as though we were juniors and gave us the confidence that we could play at a higher level," he said.
"That has been important in the way we are approaching the China match and, although I am a little nervous, I'm not afraid."
The Lions' tactical preparations have been aided by the video they watched of the match with China in the National Day challenge in 2009 here, which they lost on penalties after the game ended 1-1.
Avramovic took the players through the match, and Safuwan said: "Except for three or four older players recalled to their team, the side we are facing are almost the same.
"Sure, while they start as favourites at home, we have not come here blind and have every chance of going back with a decent result. Unlike the do-or-die match with Malaysia, there are other games to come in the group stage."
After a festive dinner on Monday night, the team were given a day off yesterday for the Muslim players to celebrate Hari Raya Puasa.
They spent the day with a little shopping and Izwan said: "This is my first time away from home during Hari Raya. I feel a little sad, but we are out as a group and are having a great time."
Asian World Cup qualifier, Group A
China v Singapore
SINGAPORE - In the blood and thunder of a Causeway derby double-header, the coaching staff of the Lions (picture) and many Singapore fans wondered nervously just how goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud and central defender Safuwan Baharudin would fare in the second round World Cup qualifier.
Izwan, only 21, was thrust into the spotlight after injuries to regulars Hassan Sunny and Lionel Lewis, and he made full use of his opportunity, playing a crucial role in the Lions 6-4 aggregate win over arch-rivals Malaysia. In front of him, Safuwan, even younger at 19, was cool, tough and uncompromising, playing alongside veteran Daniel Bennett as if he was born for the role.
While Safuwan will start against China in the Lions' opening Group A match in the third round of qualifiers, Izwan is not guaranteed a place as the experienced Lewis has recovered from a groin injury, although national coach Radojko Avramovic will have no problem fielding the young goalkeeper in front of 40,000 intense Chinese fans in Kunming on Friday.
The two players have grown up quickly, after finding their feet with the Singapore under-23s and the Courts Young Lions in the S-League.
Speaking to Today from Kunming, Safuwan said yesterday: "I did not expect to be drafted into the national squad so early. In my mind, I thought I would be ready only when I reached 23 or 24, not now.
"So, for me, I have been forced to grow up very quickly because we had to equal our last performance in the last World Cup qualifiers, that is to play in the group stage and, fortunately, we did.
"I know that China will be tougher, especially here, but I feel calmer than when we played Malaysia."
Safuwan has earned his starting position alongside Bennett.
He played well last Thursday in the 0-0 draw with Thailand in a friendly in Bangkok.
Izwan is up for the challenge as he battles Lewis for the No 1 jersey.
He will never forget how the senior players in the squad treated him ahead of the two games against Malaysia.
"I was able to play in the Malaysia matches because of the way the senior players treated us. They did not make us feel as though we were juniors and gave us the confidence that we could play at a higher level," he said.
"That has been important in the way we are approaching the China match and, although I am a little nervous, I'm not afraid."
The Lions' tactical preparations have been aided by the video they watched of the match with China in the National Day challenge in 2009 here, which they lost on penalties after the game ended 1-1.
Avramovic took the players through the match, and Safuwan said: "Except for three or four older players recalled to their team, the side we are facing are almost the same.
"Sure, while they start as favourites at home, we have not come here blind and have every chance of going back with a decent result. Unlike the do-or-die match with Malaysia, there are other games to come in the group stage."
After a festive dinner on Monday night, the team were given a day off yesterday for the Muslim players to celebrate Hari Raya Puasa.
They spent the day with a little shopping and Izwan said: "This is my first time away from home during Hari Raya. I feel a little sad, but we are out as a group and are having a great time."
Avramovic down with fever
Source
SINGAPORE - Ahead of their opening Group A encounter against China in the Asian World Cup qualifiers on Friday, the Lions have come to terms with the high altitude of Kunming, the Chinese city that sits 1,900m above sea level.
But there was nothing in their arsenal to stop the flu bug as it attacked coach Radojko Avramovic.
The 61-year-old Serb came down with fever yesterday and was in bed most of the time while the 22-man Singapore squad had the day off for Hari Raya Puasa.
Speaking to Today over the phone from Kunming yesterday, Singapore team manager Eugene Loo said Avramovic would be ready for the team's training session today.
"It is nothing serious and he should be okay," said Loo. "Fortunately, it was a day off for us and he was able to rest in his room."
The Lions landed in Kunming last Friday. They went through intensive training sessions twice daily until Monday, when it was reduced to a two-hour session in the evenings.
Their last training stint will be at the 40,000-capacity Kunming Tuodong Stadium match venue tomorrow.
Preparations have been smooth. While the Chinese press have been tracking the team, they have been respectful, staying away during closed-door training sessions and adhering to instructions not to interview the players during rest breaks .
"The Chinese Football Association have been very helpful and it has helped us focus on the match," said Loo.
It will be a rush for the team after the tie. They will fly home on Saturday for their next match with Iraq at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Tuesday.
"There is hardly time for rest as we are supposed to check into the Amara Hotel on Sunday. The good thing is we will be in better physical condition playing at low level after Kunming," said Loo.
SINGAPORE - Ahead of their opening Group A encounter against China in the Asian World Cup qualifiers on Friday, the Lions have come to terms with the high altitude of Kunming, the Chinese city that sits 1,900m above sea level.
But there was nothing in their arsenal to stop the flu bug as it attacked coach Radojko Avramovic.
The 61-year-old Serb came down with fever yesterday and was in bed most of the time while the 22-man Singapore squad had the day off for Hari Raya Puasa.
Speaking to Today over the phone from Kunming yesterday, Singapore team manager Eugene Loo said Avramovic would be ready for the team's training session today.
"It is nothing serious and he should be okay," said Loo. "Fortunately, it was a day off for us and he was able to rest in his room."
The Lions landed in Kunming last Friday. They went through intensive training sessions twice daily until Monday, when it was reduced to a two-hour session in the evenings.
Their last training stint will be at the 40,000-capacity Kunming Tuodong Stadium match venue tomorrow.
Preparations have been smooth. While the Chinese press have been tracking the team, they have been respectful, staying away during closed-door training sessions and adhering to instructions not to interview the players during rest breaks .
"The Chinese Football Association have been very helpful and it has helped us focus on the match," said Loo.
It will be a rush for the team after the tie. They will fly home on Saturday for their next match with Iraq at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Tuesday.
"There is hardly time for rest as we are supposed to check into the Amara Hotel on Sunday. The good thing is we will be in better physical condition playing at low level after Kunming," said Loo.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Hafiz Rahim - Knocked down but not out
Source
Against Thailand, a certain Lion with the No.12 on his back came forward to the touchline, anticipating his debut for the Singapore national team. His name? Hafiz Rahim.
Anterior cruciate ligament injury or more commonly known within the footballing fraternity as an ACL injury is by far one of the worst injuries a player can sustain. Mainly due to the long recovery period required for the player to get back into shape, let alone be match fit.
The talented forward, Hafiz Rahim of Geylang United FC suffered three ACL injuries throughout his career, two of which happened consecutively on both legs. The count is as such – Right, Left, Right.
For an individual who wanted desperately to be a footballer from the age of five, the injuries did stop him in his tracks and made him ponder if he should walk away from football altogether.
However he was backed by a wonderful medical team in Geylang United FC who saw him through all three of his ACL injuries. They not only aided him in his swift recovery but also in keeping his career intact.
“They gave me their full support throughout my injury and my recovery period on all three occasions.” Hafiz said with tons of gratitude.
Just like how he has been with Geylang from the tender age of 14, the club repaid his faith in them by keeping him on their books even through his injury spells.
Speaking on Geylang United’s Head Coach Mike Wong, Hafiz said “He always inspires us and pushes us to believe in ourselves during both training sessions and match-days. He is very hard on the players but we all know that it is for the good of us and nothing else.”
When asked about Geylang United’s shaky start to the 2011 Great Eastern- YEO’S S-League, he put it down to luck. “It was down to luck in the first round, we played well but we had no luck. Then with a change in players in round two, we had a change in luck too.”
The success at club level was not the only high note for Hafiz this year. And It was only natural for the speedy forward to be called up for the national squad with his recent form the pitch, and happen it did, after the national team booked its place in the third round of the FIFA 2014 Brazil™ World Cup Asian Qualifiers beating arch rivals Malaysia 6-4 on aggregate.
Though he got hints that he was up for the Lions during a training session with his club, he took no heed of it. For it was his first ever call up at the age of 27, he wanted it to be confirmed before celebrating.
Speaking more on it, Hafiz said “I was at home when I got the call. I was stunned. That’s the best word to describe my emotions after I got that call confirming my first national team call up.”
He seems to have fit right into the national team from day one, having known some of the current Lions from a young age and he plans to do the same when he is called up for national duty against China. Just like the wonderful display of talent he showcased when he came on as a substitute in the International Friendly against Thailand. He caught the attention of many in those few minutes he was on the pitch and we can only hope for more from him.
You know you've got a talented player on your books when the experienced heads like V.Sundramoorthy and Mustafic Fahrudin both applauded the boy on his international debut.
Fahrudin said during one of the training sessions, "This boy(Hafiz) is good ah! He can run with the ball very fast and he can shoot."
As for coach Sundram, who is currently assisting Coach Radojko Avramovic in preparations for the game against China, he added: "Hafiz is an exciting player. He can really shoot and he just needs polish up his confidence in front of goal and not be afraid to take the goalkeeper on."
Let us wish this new member of the Lions all the best and may he never mess up his pre-match ritual of having everything start from his right side in the dressing room!
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2011
Anterior cruciate ligament injury or more commonly known within the footballing fraternity as an ACL injury is by far one of the worst injuries a player can sustain. Mainly due to the long recovery period required for the player to get back into shape, let alone be match fit.
The talented forward, Hafiz Rahim of Geylang United FC suffered three ACL injuries throughout his career, two of which happened consecutively on both legs. The count is as such – Right, Left, Right.
For an individual who wanted desperately to be a footballer from the age of five, the injuries did stop him in his tracks and made him ponder if he should walk away from football altogether.
However he was backed by a wonderful medical team in Geylang United FC who saw him through all three of his ACL injuries. They not only aided him in his swift recovery but also in keeping his career intact.
“They gave me their full support throughout my injury and my recovery period on all three occasions.” Hafiz said with tons of gratitude.
Just like how he has been with Geylang from the tender age of 14, the club repaid his faith in them by keeping him on their books even through his injury spells.
Speaking on Geylang United’s Head Coach Mike Wong, Hafiz said “He always inspires us and pushes us to believe in ourselves during both training sessions and match-days. He is very hard on the players but we all know that it is for the good of us and nothing else.”
When asked about Geylang United’s shaky start to the 2011 Great Eastern- YEO’S S-League, he put it down to luck. “It was down to luck in the first round, we played well but we had no luck. Then with a change in players in round two, we had a change in luck too.”
The success at club level was not the only high note for Hafiz this year. And It was only natural for the speedy forward to be called up for the national squad with his recent form the pitch, and happen it did, after the national team booked its place in the third round of the FIFA 2014 Brazil™ World Cup Asian Qualifiers beating arch rivals Malaysia 6-4 on aggregate.
Though he got hints that he was up for the Lions during a training session with his club, he took no heed of it. For it was his first ever call up at the age of 27, he wanted it to be confirmed before celebrating.
Speaking more on it, Hafiz said “I was at home when I got the call. I was stunned. That’s the best word to describe my emotions after I got that call confirming my first national team call up.”
He seems to have fit right into the national team from day one, having known some of the current Lions from a young age and he plans to do the same when he is called up for national duty against China. Just like the wonderful display of talent he showcased when he came on as a substitute in the International Friendly against Thailand. He caught the attention of many in those few minutes he was on the pitch and we can only hope for more from him.
You know you've got a talented player on your books when the experienced heads like V.Sundramoorthy and Mustafic Fahrudin both applauded the boy on his international debut.
Fahrudin said during one of the training sessions, "This boy(Hafiz) is good ah! He can run with the ball very fast and he can shoot."
As for coach Sundram, who is currently assisting Coach Radojko Avramovic in preparations for the game against China, he added: "Hafiz is an exciting player. He can really shoot and he just needs polish up his confidence in front of goal and not be afraid to take the goalkeeper on."
Let us wish this new member of the Lions all the best and may he never mess up his pre-match ritual of having everything start from his right side in the dressing room!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri!
The Football Association of Singapore & Singapore Football would like to wish all our Muslim friends out there, Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri!! May this festive season be a blessful and joyous occasion for all!! Thank you for your support for the Singapore Lions and keep it burning red and strong!! Majulah Singapura!!
No Hariss, no worries: S'pore acclimatising well and Mustafic says partnership with Isa proving a hit
Source
SINGAPORE - With four days left before Singapore open their third round World Cup qualifying campaign against China in Kunming, the Singapore Football Association (FAS) are still holding out hope that midfielder Hariss Harun will be able to make the trip north.
The 20-year-old, who is doing his National Service with the Police, is into the third week of an eight-week basic training programme and the FAS are keeping their fingers crossed he will be released for the match.
But even if he does make it to Kunming, which is about 1,900m above sea level, Hariss is unlikely to be of any use to the team because he would have little time to acclimatise.
For it has taken Rodojo Avramovic's men three days since arriving in Kunming last week to get over breathing difficulties in training. And now that they are breathing normally, midfielder Mustafic Fahrudin has allayed fears that Hariss' absence will considerably weaken the Lions' engine room.
The defensive midfielder, whose partnership with Hariss proved formidable in the Lions 6-4 aggregate victory over Malaysia in the second round World Cup qualifiers last month, told Today he is getting used to playing alongside replacement Isa Halim, whom he partnered in the 0-0 Bangkok friendly against Thailand last Wednesday.
"It is not as though we are in partnership for the first time. We have played together before and Isa's play is similar to Hariss' and he can be as good," said Mustafic said from Kunming.
"So I think we are okay in midfield and there shouldn't be any worries."
The 30-year-old is also confident that after constant training over the last three days, Kunming's high altitude will not bother the Lions much on Friday.
"It was a good decision to come here early to get used to the altitude. It is beautiful here, 16 to 17°C in the night and I think we can last the match."
However, he added that he is still worried about his knee, which was injured when he turned out for Tampines Rovers in an S-League clash against Hougang United earlier this month.
"That is the only nagging problem for me. I'm receiving treatment and there is no pain or swelling. I am just careful in training," he said.
Since touching down in Kunming, Singapore's two China-born naturalised citizens, Qiu Li and Shi Jiayi, have been hounded by journalists, with most asking the same question: What will it be like to play against their former country?
"I tell them the same thing, that it felt a little awkward when I played for Singapore in a friendly match against China at the National Stadium two years ago," said Shi.
"But not anymore. In fact, my parents are coming down from Shanghai to watch the match and you know what, they will be cheering for me and Singapore!"
SINGAPORE - With four days left before Singapore open their third round World Cup qualifying campaign against China in Kunming, the Singapore Football Association (FAS) are still holding out hope that midfielder Hariss Harun will be able to make the trip north.
The 20-year-old, who is doing his National Service with the Police, is into the third week of an eight-week basic training programme and the FAS are keeping their fingers crossed he will be released for the match.
But even if he does make it to Kunming, which is about 1,900m above sea level, Hariss is unlikely to be of any use to the team because he would have little time to acclimatise.
For it has taken Rodojo Avramovic's men three days since arriving in Kunming last week to get over breathing difficulties in training. And now that they are breathing normally, midfielder Mustafic Fahrudin has allayed fears that Hariss' absence will considerably weaken the Lions' engine room.
The defensive midfielder, whose partnership with Hariss proved formidable in the Lions 6-4 aggregate victory over Malaysia in the second round World Cup qualifiers last month, told Today he is getting used to playing alongside replacement Isa Halim, whom he partnered in the 0-0 Bangkok friendly against Thailand last Wednesday.
"It is not as though we are in partnership for the first time. We have played together before and Isa's play is similar to Hariss' and he can be as good," said Mustafic said from Kunming.
"So I think we are okay in midfield and there shouldn't be any worries."
The 30-year-old is also confident that after constant training over the last three days, Kunming's high altitude will not bother the Lions much on Friday.
"It was a good decision to come here early to get used to the altitude. It is beautiful here, 16 to 17°C in the night and I think we can last the match."
However, he added that he is still worried about his knee, which was injured when he turned out for Tampines Rovers in an S-League clash against Hougang United earlier this month.
"That is the only nagging problem for me. I'm receiving treatment and there is no pain or swelling. I am just careful in training," he said.
Since touching down in Kunming, Singapore's two China-born naturalised citizens, Qiu Li and Shi Jiayi, have been hounded by journalists, with most asking the same question: What will it be like to play against their former country?
"I tell them the same thing, that it felt a little awkward when I played for Singapore in a friendly match against China at the National Stadium two years ago," said Shi.
"But not anymore. In fact, my parents are coming down from Shanghai to watch the match and you know what, they will be cheering for me and Singapore!"
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Player Profile: Fahrudin Mustafic
Football career
Fahrudin was brought to Singapore with the help of fellow Serbian and Tampines Rovers player, Sead Muratovic. Impressive displays in his first two seasons earned him citizenship.
Fahrudin or Farra as he is affectionately called by fans of Tampines Rovers and the national team, made his debut for the national team in January 2006, in the friendly against Denmark.
Known as less a fanciful and more a tenacious player, he became a pivotal member of the national set-up with his crisp passing and tight marking ability. Has a knack of netting penalties and is the first choice penalty taker for both club and country.
Fahrudin was also part of the national side that took part in the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship, where he played a key role in helping Singapore retain the championship. He scored his first goal for Singapore through a controversial Penalty kick against Thailand on 31 January 2007 at the National Stadium during the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship Final.
In September 2009 Fahrudin was bought by Indonesia Super League Side, Persija Jakarta. After he was released he joined Persela Lamongan. He then returned to his former club Tampines Rovers in June 2011.
Player Profile: Izwan Mahbud
Full Name: Mohamed Izwan Bin Mahbud
Nickname: Wan, Boo
Jersey: 1
Position: Goalkeeper
Birthdate: 14 July 1990
Height (cm): 179
Weight (kg): 79
Foot: Right
With Young Lions since: January 2008
International Caps/ Goals: 3/0
Previous team(s): 2007 National Football Academy Under-18s, 2006 National Football Academy Under-17s
International Tournaments/ Achievements: 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup – Group Stage, 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games – Group Stage, 2009 Vientiane Southeast Asian Games – Bronze Medalist, 2006 AFC Under-17 Championship Finals – Group Stage
Player Profile
Izwan Mahbud provides the last line of defence for Singapore national football team and is the difference between victory and defeat with his safe pair of hands and sound command in the box. He is the latest to emerge in Singapore's fine tradition of producing quality goalkeepers, following the likes of David Lee, Rezal Hassan, Hassan Sunny and Lionel Lewis.
As part of the class of 2006, his performances between the posts ensured the scores were kept respectable with a string of top-drawer saves against the likes of Japan and South Korea. His steady rise to the top has seen him earn the number one jersey for his club and a call-up to the senior national team last year. The custodian's reassuring presence in goal will calm nerves in the youthful side and provide the foundation for defensive solidity in 2011.
Izwan was one of the most promising goalkeepers to emerge when he took charge between the posts at youth level. Strong, agile and commanding in the box, he has risen through the ranks over the years to become the undisputed number one for club. His positive displays in 2010 have earned him a call-up to the national team and he made his first appearance for the Lions as a second-half substitute in the 4-0 win over Laos in late November. Facing strong challenges from the other goalkeepers in the team this season, Izwan will be keen to retain the number one jersey as his own.
Off The Pitch
Most Admired Singapore Player: Hassan Sunny
Most Admired International Player: Iker Casillas
Most Admired Team: Manchester United
Describe yourself in a few words: Naughty and talkative.
If you aren't a footballer, which other profession will you want to try and why? Chef. I like to cook.
What's your ideal day off? Hanging out with my family and friends, especially with my cousin who has always been there for me.
If you are stranded on an island which three items or people will you bring? My mum, food and laptop.
Tell us something the fans do not know about you: Me and a few teammates once scared off the rest as 'ghosts' at the last day of the tournament last year.
Your message to the fans in 2011? Thanks for the support you have given for the past three years. We will continue to do our best.
Your personal and/ or team goals for 2011? Help the team finish among the top five, keep as many clean sheets as possible and score one goal this season!
From Courts Young Lions
Logo competition for Singapore Football !
If you think you have what it takes to design a logo, design a logo for us!
Singapore Football needs a logo for their website, Twitter and the Facebook Fanpage.
Send your logo in .jpg format to singaporeleague@live.com
We will then use the winner logo and use it as the Singapore Football very own logo.
But one bad news is that there will be no prizes given to the winner.
Do not worry as we will give credits for the design of the logo.
Design a logo with passion for us for the endless support that you have given to Singapore Football scene.
So send your creative ideas logo now!
Dateline of submission of logo is on 30 September 2011 at 2359hours.
Result will be publish on the site, Facebook and Twitter by 3rd October 2011.
Just a reminder: There will be no prizes for this competition.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Send your email in this format :
(Logo(.jpg) uploaded in the attachment)
Name: Full Name
(And answer this question.)
Why do you think your logo deserve to be the new Singapore Football Logo ? (not more then 50 words)
________________________________________________________________________________
The best logo design and the best answer will win the SGfootball Logo Competition.
Thank you for the endless support.
SGfootball
Singapore Football needs a logo for their website, Twitter and the Facebook Fanpage.
Send your logo in .jpg format to singaporeleague@live.com
We will then use the winner logo and use it as the Singapore Football very own logo.
But one bad news is that there will be no prizes given to the winner.
Do not worry as we will give credits for the design of the logo.
Design a logo with passion for us for the endless support that you have given to Singapore Football scene.
So send your creative ideas logo now!
Dateline of submission of logo is on 30 September 2011 at 2359hours.
Result will be publish on the site, Facebook and Twitter by 3rd October 2011.
Just a reminder: There will be no prizes for this competition.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Send your email in this format :
(Logo(.jpg) uploaded in the attachment)
Name: Full Name
(And answer this question.)
Why do you think your logo deserve to be the new Singapore Football Logo ? (not more then 50 words)
________________________________________________________________________________
The best logo design and the best answer will win the SGfootball Logo Competition.
Thank you for the endless support.
SGfootball
Player Profile: Hariss Harun
Full Name: Hariss Harun
Jersey: 17
Position: Midfielder
Birthdate: 19 Nov 1990
Height (cm): 178
Weight (kg): 74
Foot: Right
With Young Lions since: 2007
Previous team(s): NFA U-16 (2006)
International Tournaments/Achievements: AFC U-16 Championship 2006 Finals, SEA Games 2007 (Bronze Medal), SEA Games 2009 (Bronze Medal), 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, 2011 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers, Asian Games 2010 Finals, Olympics 2012 Qualifiers
Player Profile
The youngest ever player to don the Lions' jersey, Hariss Harun is undoubtedly the future of Singapore football. At just 16 years and 217 days old, he came on as a second half substitute in a friendly against North Korea and he has never looked back ever since. Being both a combative midfielder and a playmaker, Hariss is the complete midfielder that every coach wishes he has on his team.
His versatility is also one of his strengths as he has played at centre back, right back, attacking midfielder and when required, he has also played as a forward for the Courts Young Lions in previous seasons. Hariss is also a natural born leader. His great charisma has earned him the captain's armband as well as the respect of even the most seasoned campaigners in the S.League. The former MVP at Barcelona's La Masia academy in a recent training stint and S.League's Young Player of the Year is set to set the nation alight with his football brilliance in the years to come.
Off The Pitch
Most Admired Singapore Player: Kadir Yahya
Most Admired International Player: Steven Gerrard
Most Admired Team: Liverpool
Describe yourself in a few words: Positive, determined, shy
If you aren't a footballer, which other profession will you want to try and why? I would like to be a Police Officer, because it is a stable job and something ideal for me.
What's your ideal day off? Having a day out with family or friends
If you are stranded on an island which three items or people will you bring? My iPhone, TV and food
Tell us something the fans do not know about you: I'm a rather reserved person.
Your message to the fans in 2011? We appreciate your support. Please continue to support us, and we will do our best to bring success to Singapore.
Your personal and/ or team goals for 2011? To finish as high up the S-League table as possible and to contribute with assists and goals for the team.
From Courts Young Lions
Player Profile: Shahril Ishak
He is a natural centre midfielder who can also can play as a striker or winger.
Club career
Shahril has previously played for S.League clubs Young Lions.
Hopes are high for this Young Lion and with his natural ability on the ball and inventive footballing brain, Shahril is well capable of meeting those expectations. Joined the Young Lions from the national U18 team in 2003 and made his international debut soon after.
In 2007, Shahril left the Young Lions and signed for Home United.
In 2010 he joined Persib Bandung along with his teammate in Singapore national football team, Baihakki Khaizan.
International career
Singapore's most natural creative midfielder to emerge in recent years, Shahril Ishak has quickly established himself as the heartbeat of the Lions engine room since he made his international debut aged just 19 against Maldives on 4 March 2003.
With winger Muhammad Ridhuan, defender Baihakki Khaizan and keeper Hassan Sunny, he is part of the 'NFA Gang of Four', the quartet which has played together since their early teenage years and earned senior international honours in 2003.
He has been employed in various positions across the midfield by coach Radojko Avramovic, but Shahril staked a strong claim for an influential central role with a series of convincing performances there in the second half of 2004.
He played a major role in the victory in the Tiger Cup in 2005 and also the ASEAN Football Championship in 2007. He was also part of the 2005 SEA Games squad and the 2006 Asian Games.
He was part of the Singapore Under-23 team that took part in the 2007 Southeast Asian Games in Korat, Thailand that won a bronze medal.
Capped for Singapore at senior, U23, U18 and U16 levels.
In Aug 2010, Shahril was revealed as the new captain of the national team, In December he captained the Lions for the AFF Suzuki Cup.
Player Profile: Shi Jiayi
Club career
Shi started his career at Shanghai state's Football Academy. He moved to Singapore's Sinchi FC in 2003.
He made an immediate impact with the Young Lions after joining from Sinchi FC during the mid-season transfer window in 2004. A positive, hardworking midfielder , his performances earned him a nomination for the S.League Young Player of the Year award that season. He plays for Home United FC and is captain for the 2011 season.
International career
Jiayi made his debut for the Singapore national football team on 11 October 2005 against Cambodia.
He was an integral part of the team during the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship in which Singapore defeated Thailand 3-2 in the Finals.
He scored his first international goal against Palestine.
Player Profile: Qiu Li
Qiu Li (Chinese: 邱礼, born June 6, 1981 in Shenyang, Liaoning, China) is a naturalised Chinese-Singaporean professional association football player. He currently plays as a midfielder/striker for the Home United FC in the S. League.
Football career
Qiu aka Ah Pui started his senior career in Changchun Yatai and transferred to Liaoning Zhongyu in 2001. He was released by the club in 2005 as he was surplus to requirements.
Pui was brought to Singapore to play for the now defunct S. League club, Sinchi FC. After the club decided to pull out of the S-league for the 2006 season, he stayed in Singapore and agreed on a contract with the Young Lions where he excelled with 19 goals from 25 matches played. He joined Home United in 2007 but failed to find his form and joined Tampines Rovers FC in 2008. Impressive displays in his debuting two seasons earned him Singapore citizenship. He returned to Home United FC in 2011.
He made his debut for the national team in 28 May 2008, in the friendly against Bahrain.
However on the 24th of November 2008, FIFA banned Qiu Li from playing for Singapore because he did not meet the new criteria stating that a new citizen needs to reside in his new country for 5-years. Qiu Li had only lived in Singapore for 3 years. Thus he would be only eligible for international football come 2010.
On 23 July 2011, Qiu Li scored his first goal (finally) in the first leg of the World Cup Qualifier played at a sold out crowd at Jalan Besar Stadium. Singapore won 5–3.
Player Profile: Daniel Bennett
Daniel Mark Bennett
Daniel Mark Bennett (born 7 January 1978 in Great Yarmouth, England) is a professional soccer player who plays for the Singapore national football team, and for the Singapore Armed Forces Football Club (SAFFC) in Singapore's S.League. He was born a British citizen, but changed his nationality to Singaporean in 2002 in order to play international football for Singapore. He was a key member of the Singapore teams which won the ASEAN Football Championship (formerly known as the 'Tiger Cup') in 2004 and 2007. He has also won four S.League titles with SAFFC, and was named the S.League's 'Player of the Year' in 2001. He played for Wrexham in the English Football League from 2001-3, and helped the club win the FAW Premier Cup in 2003.
International career
Bennett made his debut for the Singapore national team on 11 December 2002 against the Philippines at Singapore's National Stadium. He had a goal disallowed that day (an effort that he still maintains was a legitimate goal). He scored his first international goal against Hong Kong on 4 August 2003.
Bennett was a key member of the Singapore teams which won the 2004 Tiger Cup (defeating Indonesia in the final), and the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship (defeating Thailand in the final).
Bennett made his debut for the Singapore national team on 11 December 2002 against the Philippines at Singapore's National Stadium. He had a goal disallowed that day (an effort that he still maintains was a legitimate goal). He scored his first international goal against Hong Kong on 4 August 2003.
Bennett was a key member of the Singapore teams which won the 2004 Tiger Cup (defeating Indonesia in the final), and the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship (defeating Thailand in the final).
Club career
Bennett had a stint playing for Tiong Bahru in the Singapore Premier League as a 17 year-old in 1995, before he left Singapore to study at Loughborough University in the UK. He then returned to Singapore, and played in the S.League for Balestier Central from 1999–2000, and for Tanjong Pagar United in 2001. He won the S.League's 'Player of the Year' award at the end of the 2001 season.
Bennett then had a stint playing for Wrexham in the English football league. He helped the club win the FAW Premier Cup in 2003.
Bennett briefly returned to the S.League in 2002, playing 11 games for SAFFC during their title-winning season. He then returned to Singapore permanently in 2003 and joined SAFFC. He moved to Woodlands Wellington in 2005, before rejoining SAFFC in 2007. He was part of the SAFFC teams which won the S.League and Singapore Cup double in 2007 and 2008.
During the 2007 Singapore Cup final against Tampines Rovers, Bennett was involved in a clash with Noh Alam Shah (a Tampines Rovers striker and fellow Singapore national team player) during which Alam Shah kneed Bennett in the head in a tussle for the ball and, after being dragged away by his team-mates, returned and kicked Bennett in the head. Bennett was knocked unconscious and had to be taken to hospital while Alam Shah was sent off. SAFFC ultimately won the match 4-3. The incident resulted in Alam Shah receiving a 12 month ban (reduced to 7 months on appeal).
Bennett had a stint playing for Tiong Bahru in the Singapore Premier League as a 17 year-old in 1995, before he left Singapore to study at Loughborough University in the UK. He then returned to Singapore, and played in the S.League for Balestier Central from 1999–2000, and for Tanjong Pagar United in 2001. He won the S.League's 'Player of the Year' award at the end of the 2001 season.
Bennett then had a stint playing for Wrexham in the English football league. He helped the club win the FAW Premier Cup in 2003.
Bennett briefly returned to the S.League in 2002, playing 11 games for SAFFC during their title-winning season. He then returned to Singapore permanently in 2003 and joined SAFFC. He moved to Woodlands Wellington in 2005, before rejoining SAFFC in 2007. He was part of the SAFFC teams which won the S.League and Singapore Cup double in 2007 and 2008.
During the 2007 Singapore Cup final against Tampines Rovers, Bennett was involved in a clash with Noh Alam Shah (a Tampines Rovers striker and fellow Singapore national team player) during which Alam Shah kneed Bennett in the head in a tussle for the ball and, after being dragged away by his team-mates, returned and kicked Bennett in the head. Bennett was knocked unconscious and had to be taken to hospital while Alam Shah was sent off. SAFFC ultimately won the match 4-3. The incident resulted in Alam Shah receiving a 12 month ban (reduced to 7 months on appeal).
Personal life
Bennett was born in England. His family moved to Singapore when he was two years old. He was educated in Singapore at Tanglin Trust School and the United World College of South East Asia (where his father, Andrew Bennett, was a teacher and later Headmaster until 2004), before going on to study at Loughborough University.
Bennett is married to Cherry, a woman from China whom he met in Singapore.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Player Profile: Aleksandar Đurić
Aleksandar Đurić
(born 12 August 1970 in Doboj, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia), is a Yugoslav-born Singaporean professional association football player who plays as a striker for the Tampines Rovers in the S. League and for the Singapore national football team. Prior to that, he competed as a sprint canoer for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the early 1990s.
Career
Đurić competed for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona in the C-1 500 m event, but was eliminated in the repechages.
He debuted for the Singapore national team on the 9 November 2007, against Tajikistan in the first leg of the second round of the AFC 2010 World Cup qualifiers, making an immediate impact as he scored both goals in a 2-0 victory. He continued his fine form in the international stage, bagging goals in the game against Lebanon as well.
During the international friendly against Bahrain, due to the absences of captain Indra Sahdan and vice-captain Lionel Lewis, Đuric captained the Singapore national team for the first time, possibly making him the first ever non-Singapore-born player to start a game as a captain.
From 2005 to 2009, Đurić had his most successful period with SAFFC, scoring 157 goals in just 129 appearances. This made him one of the few players to score more than 100 goals in the S-League.
Aleksandar Đurić's fine performance in the 2007 S.League season won him several awards, and he was named the NTUC-Income Player of the Year, in the 2007 S-League Awards Night.
Đurić, known as the goal-machine, bagged more awards in 2008, retaining the Player of the Year and Top Scorer awards, but missed out on the rest of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2008 after suffering a fibula injury against Cambodia.
He scored his first goal in Asia’s premier club competition, AFC Champions League against Suwon Samsung Bluewings on 19 May 2009.
In September 2009, Đuric reportedly agreed to join Sriwijaya FC of the Indonesian Super League for a reported US$110,000 a season contract. However, a month later, he told the press that he declined the offer in the end because Sriwijaya tried to change the terms of the contract which was mutually agreed upon a month earlier.
Đurić was then signed by Tampines Rovers FC for the 2010 S-League Season. He scored 20 league goals in his first season there and his club eventually finished second-placed.
Only 30 want to see Lions in action in China
Source
SINGAPORE - Radojko Avramovic and his Lions arrived in Kunming yesterday to kick off their acclimatisation programme in the Chinese city, located some 1,900m above sea level.
On Sept 2 when they stand, hands on hearts, to sing the Majulah Singapura at the Tuodong Stadium in the opening fixture in Group A of the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, only 30 Singaporeans will sing the national anthem with the Lions.
In response to queries, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) revealed they had only received some 30 requests for tickets to the China-Singapore fixture by their 2pm deadline yesterday. In comparison, some 500 travelled to Kuala Lumpur to watch the Lions face Malaysia in the second round, second leg qualifier on July 28.
One of the 30 who will travel to Kunming, 22-year-old student Arief Aditya, is not bothered by the lack of numbers.
"The venue and timing of the match makes it difficult for many to travel, but the number of people there doesn't really matter. I just hope Singaporeans will support the team," said Arief, who paid about S$1,000 for flights and accommodation in addition to the S$45 match ticket.
With Sept 1 being Teacher's Day, and the following Friday a school holiday, Arief and his friends will not miss any classes.
Akbar Hashim, who used to organise trips north of the Causeway for away games during the Malaysia Cup heyday, is offering similar services for this game.
But the uptake has been poor. "About 30 people have indicated their interest, but none have made confirmations so far," he said.
Akbar is charging S$1,200 for his package that will include airfare, accommodation, all transfers as well as match tickets.
"I have made most of the arrangements already, but FAS' deadline for ticket sales has closed, and if I don't get any confirmations by Monday, I will have to call the entire thing off," he added.
Arief, though, has something up his sleeves for the Lions in Kunming. He said: "We do have plans for what we will do at the match, but we want it to be a surprise."
SINGAPORE - Radojko Avramovic and his Lions arrived in Kunming yesterday to kick off their acclimatisation programme in the Chinese city, located some 1,900m above sea level.
On Sept 2 when they stand, hands on hearts, to sing the Majulah Singapura at the Tuodong Stadium in the opening fixture in Group A of the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, only 30 Singaporeans will sing the national anthem with the Lions.
In response to queries, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) revealed they had only received some 30 requests for tickets to the China-Singapore fixture by their 2pm deadline yesterday. In comparison, some 500 travelled to Kuala Lumpur to watch the Lions face Malaysia in the second round, second leg qualifier on July 28.
One of the 30 who will travel to Kunming, 22-year-old student Arief Aditya, is not bothered by the lack of numbers.
"The venue and timing of the match makes it difficult for many to travel, but the number of people there doesn't really matter. I just hope Singaporeans will support the team," said Arief, who paid about S$1,000 for flights and accommodation in addition to the S$45 match ticket.
With Sept 1 being Teacher's Day, and the following Friday a school holiday, Arief and his friends will not miss any classes.
Akbar Hashim, who used to organise trips north of the Causeway for away games during the Malaysia Cup heyday, is offering similar services for this game.
But the uptake has been poor. "About 30 people have indicated their interest, but none have made confirmations so far," he said.
Akbar is charging S$1,200 for his package that will include airfare, accommodation, all transfers as well as match tickets.
"I have made most of the arrangements already, but FAS' deadline for ticket sales has closed, and if I don't get any confirmations by Monday, I will have to call the entire thing off," he added.
Arief, though, has something up his sleeves for the Lions in Kunming. He said: "We do have plans for what we will do at the match, but we want it to be a surprise."
The Lions road less travelled
Source
Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2011
The morning on the 22nd of August saw a group of men decked in Nike apparel making their way through the doors of Changi Airport Terminal One to depart on a trip leading up to the opening game of the FIFA World Cup Asian Zone Group A Qualifier between China PR and Singapore.
The Lions left the comfort of home-cooked food, their own beds and their loved ones to begin a 13 day trip that would see them face Thailand in a friendly before taking on China on their home turf in the high altitude city of Kunming.
Training went smoothly at the Rajamangala National Stadium and when match-day came, the players went out and played to coach Radojko Avramovic’s plans.
Coach Raddy looked at various options and tested out players in different positions throughout the match against Thailand which ended goalless, to see who are the players he can call upon against China, to fill the position of midfield lynchpin, Hariss Harun who did not make the trip as he has only just begun national service.
Speaking after the match against the Thais, he said: “I don’t want to discuss whether Hariss will be able to make it for the China game or not. I have a whole team here and it will be an opportunity to see who can step up and show the commitment and hunger to fill the midfield role.”
Another key point about the trip was that many of the Malay players will have to miss the traditional Hari Raya celebrations at the end of August but the players who were quizzed by the media about this came out strongly to show their determination to play for the country.
Home United’s midfield enforcer, Isa Halim spoke to a reporter at Changi Airport and said: “Of course it is disappointing not to be able to celebrate Hari Raya with my wife. We just got married and she had made plans around work to be around for the festive period but unfortunately, I will not be able to make it. But I have to go for this trip and do my part for the team. We have a job to do and that is my focus.”
Throughout the four days spent in Bangkok, the atmosphere within the group was a good and focused one with players speaking positively about their chances against Group A’s giant, China.
The team packed up and headed for Kunming direct from Bangkok on Thursday, 25 August to begin their on-ground preparation leading up to the game at the Tudong Stadium on the 2nd of September.
Arriving at the hotel, coach Raddy decided swiftly that there will be no training upon arrival and subsequently proceeded to put the players through a recovery session encompassing sauna and swim sessions.
With a strong local media following since their arrival and the much talked about altitude adaptation, the Lions will have to stay focused and get themselves into the best shape possible in the coming week.
The Lions tour of duty continues.....
Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2011
The morning on the 22nd of August saw a group of men decked in Nike apparel making their way through the doors of Changi Airport Terminal One to depart on a trip leading up to the opening game of the FIFA World Cup Asian Zone Group A Qualifier between China PR and Singapore.
The Lions left the comfort of home-cooked food, their own beds and their loved ones to begin a 13 day trip that would see them face Thailand in a friendly before taking on China on their home turf in the high altitude city of Kunming.
Training went smoothly at the Rajamangala National Stadium and when match-day came, the players went out and played to coach Radojko Avramovic’s plans.
Coach Raddy looked at various options and tested out players in different positions throughout the match against Thailand which ended goalless, to see who are the players he can call upon against China, to fill the position of midfield lynchpin, Hariss Harun who did not make the trip as he has only just begun national service.
Speaking after the match against the Thais, he said: “I don’t want to discuss whether Hariss will be able to make it for the China game or not. I have a whole team here and it will be an opportunity to see who can step up and show the commitment and hunger to fill the midfield role.”
Another key point about the trip was that many of the Malay players will have to miss the traditional Hari Raya celebrations at the end of August but the players who were quizzed by the media about this came out strongly to show their determination to play for the country.
Home United’s midfield enforcer, Isa Halim spoke to a reporter at Changi Airport and said: “Of course it is disappointing not to be able to celebrate Hari Raya with my wife. We just got married and she had made plans around work to be around for the festive period but unfortunately, I will not be able to make it. But I have to go for this trip and do my part for the team. We have a job to do and that is my focus.”
Throughout the four days spent in Bangkok, the atmosphere within the group was a good and focused one with players speaking positively about their chances against Group A’s giant, China.
The team packed up and headed for Kunming direct from Bangkok on Thursday, 25 August to begin their on-ground preparation leading up to the game at the Tudong Stadium on the 2nd of September.
Arriving at the hotel, coach Raddy decided swiftly that there will be no training upon arrival and subsequently proceeded to put the players through a recovery session encompassing sauna and swim sessions.
With a strong local media following since their arrival and the much talked about altitude adaptation, the Lions will have to stay focused and get themselves into the best shape possible in the coming week.
The Lions tour of duty continues.....
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Gutsy Lions continue to shine [Thailand vs Singapore]
Source
SINGAPORE, 25 August 2011: Thailand and Singapore played out a goalless draw in an International Friendly on 24 August 2011 at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
It was an important match for both nations as they prepare to take on Australia and China respectively on the 2nd of September 2011, in the Asian Zone World Cup Qualifiers.
Singapore started the brighter of the two with Captain Shahril Ishak, Qiu Li and Shaiful Esah linking up play down the left on numerous occasions.
It took the Lions until the 11th minute to seemingly fine a loophole in the Thai defence, when Qiu Li found an unmarked Shahril down the left flank only to see his delivery cleared by the Thai backline.
The home side were pressing Qiu Li high up the pitch and a few mistimed tackles saw the Home United forward flat on the ground, grovelling in pain.
As the half wore on, the Thais started coming into the game with captain Datsakorn Thonglao and Surat Sukha stringing the passes in the middle of the park.
The Thais had a good opportunity with 24 minutes on the clock when Datsakorn looked up and sent a cheeky lob that seemed destined for the top left corner until Izwan Mahbud leapt into the air and claimed it with authority.
Two minutes later, the Thais put together their best move of the game when Apipoo Suntornpanavej dinked a long ball into the path of Sompong Soleb down the right who sent a teasing grounder into the box, only to see an oncoming Surat blaze the ball over the bar.
The second half started with both sides making a string of substitutions with Shahdan Sulaiman, Shukor Zailan and Lionel Lewis coming on for Qiu Li, Mustafic Fahrudin and Izwan Mahbud respectively.
Coach Avramovic was left fuming when a dubious offside call by the linesman left Shahril Ishak seething, after Shi Jia Yi played a brilliant ball to put Aleksandar Duric through before he squared it to an unmarked Shahril who drilled it into the net with much aplomb.
On 70 minutes, the newest member of the squad, Hafiz Rahim came on for Jia Yi and immediately showcased his fine dribbling skills on numerous occasions to trouble Thai backline which had to give away two yellow cards for late tackles on the nippy Geylang United winger.
As the match moved towards the final ten minutes, the partisan crowd at the Rajamangala National Stadium were treated to some exciting end-to-end stuff as Isa Halim and Ruzaini Zainal played a neat one-two before releasing Hafiz who sent a thunderbolt towards goal, only to see the Thai goalie, Sintaweechai Hathairattanakool palm the ball away for a corner-kick.
Lionel Lewis who managed to go through the entire second-half with no complications on his recent groin injury was called into action when he made two wonderful saves to deny the home side a last gasp winner.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, coach Avramovic said: “This is not the first time Thailand and Singapore played each other and both countries know each other well. I believe that this game is important for both of us as we prepare for the China game while the Thais will play Australia in the World Cup Qualifiers.
“It was an exciting and competitive game where both teams had chances. In the first half, we had more opportunities but they had chances in the second-half as well.
“It will be a difficult game against China as they have some quality players but we will go to Kunming and do our best and play our own game.”
Stopper Lionel Lewis also stepped in to assess his groin injury when he exclaimed: “I would first like to thank coach for giving me a good 45 minutes to play and test myself. I feel that I’m still not 100% but I’m getting there. I didn’t attempt to take any goal-kicks as we decided not to take the risk with a couple more days before the China game. As for the two saves towards the end of the game, it was part and parcel of the game and I definitely will continue to work towards full fitness when we reach Kunming.”
Hafiz Rahim, whose second-half appearance was his first-ever international match was equally delighted to be given a run-out by coach Avramovic when he said: “I wasn’t nervous when my name was called up to prepare to get on the pitch. I just wanted to go out there and do what I can and test myself against the Thai defenders. It was great to be given an opportunity to represent Singapore.”
The Lions will now move on to the next phase of their trip for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qualifier against China PR when they travel up to Kunming on 26 September to continue with their preparations.
Final Score: Thailand 0-0 Singapore
Thailand Starting Line-up: Sintaweechai Hathairattanakool(gk), Pratum Chuthong, Chonlatit Chantakam, Datsakorn Thonglao(c), Chatree Chimtalae, Surat Sukha, Apipoo Suntornpanavej, Theerathon Bunmathan, Sompong Soleb, Phaitoon Thiabma, Arthit Sunthornphit
Substitutes: Sivalak Tedsungoen, Niweat Siriwong, Suttinum Phukhom, Suchao Nutnum, Teerasil Dangda, Rangsan Vivatchaichok, Adul Lahsoh, Wutthichai Tatong, Supachai Komsilp, Pichitphong Choechiu, Jappkphan Kaewprom, Pokklaw A-Nan, Ponlawat Wangkahad, Piyaphon Buntao, Sarayoot Chaikamdee, Chatchai Bootprom
Singapore Starting Line-up: Izwan Mahbud (Lionel Lewis 45’), Daniel Bennett, Safuwan Baharudin, Shaiful Esah, Juma’at Jantan, Mustafic Fahrudin (Shukor Zailan 45’ (Delwinder Singh 92’), Isa Halim, Shahril Ishak(c) (Zulfahmi Arifin 86’), Shi Jia Yi (Hafiz Rahim 70’), Aleksandar Duric (Ruzaini Zainal 78’) , Qiu Li (Shahdan Sulaiman 45’)
Substitutes: Lionel Lewis, Afiq Yunos, Delwinder Singh, Sevki Sha’ban, Hamqaamal Shah, Shukor Zailan, Shahdan Sulaiman, Zulfahmi Arifin, Ruzaini Zainal , Hafiz Rahim
Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2011
It was an important match for both nations as they prepare to take on Australia and China respectively on the 2nd of September 2011, in the Asian Zone World Cup Qualifiers.
Singapore started the brighter of the two with Captain Shahril Ishak, Qiu Li and Shaiful Esah linking up play down the left on numerous occasions.
It took the Lions until the 11th minute to seemingly fine a loophole in the Thai defence, when Qiu Li found an unmarked Shahril down the left flank only to see his delivery cleared by the Thai backline.
The home side were pressing Qiu Li high up the pitch and a few mistimed tackles saw the Home United forward flat on the ground, grovelling in pain.
As the half wore on, the Thais started coming into the game with captain Datsakorn Thonglao and Surat Sukha stringing the passes in the middle of the park.
The Thais had a good opportunity with 24 minutes on the clock when Datsakorn looked up and sent a cheeky lob that seemed destined for the top left corner until Izwan Mahbud leapt into the air and claimed it with authority.
Two minutes later, the Thais put together their best move of the game when Apipoo Suntornpanavej dinked a long ball into the path of Sompong Soleb down the right who sent a teasing grounder into the box, only to see an oncoming Surat blaze the ball over the bar.
The second half started with both sides making a string of substitutions with Shahdan Sulaiman, Shukor Zailan and Lionel Lewis coming on for Qiu Li, Mustafic Fahrudin and Izwan Mahbud respectively.
Coach Avramovic was left fuming when a dubious offside call by the linesman left Shahril Ishak seething, after Shi Jia Yi played a brilliant ball to put Aleksandar Duric through before he squared it to an unmarked Shahril who drilled it into the net with much aplomb.
On 70 minutes, the newest member of the squad, Hafiz Rahim came on for Jia Yi and immediately showcased his fine dribbling skills on numerous occasions to trouble Thai backline which had to give away two yellow cards for late tackles on the nippy Geylang United winger.
As the match moved towards the final ten minutes, the partisan crowd at the Rajamangala National Stadium were treated to some exciting end-to-end stuff as Isa Halim and Ruzaini Zainal played a neat one-two before releasing Hafiz who sent a thunderbolt towards goal, only to see the Thai goalie, Sintaweechai Hathairattanakool palm the ball away for a corner-kick.
Lionel Lewis who managed to go through the entire second-half with no complications on his recent groin injury was called into action when he made two wonderful saves to deny the home side a last gasp winner.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, coach Avramovic said: “This is not the first time Thailand and Singapore played each other and both countries know each other well. I believe that this game is important for both of us as we prepare for the China game while the Thais will play Australia in the World Cup Qualifiers.
“It was an exciting and competitive game where both teams had chances. In the first half, we had more opportunities but they had chances in the second-half as well.
“It will be a difficult game against China as they have some quality players but we will go to Kunming and do our best and play our own game.”
Stopper Lionel Lewis also stepped in to assess his groin injury when he exclaimed: “I would first like to thank coach for giving me a good 45 minutes to play and test myself. I feel that I’m still not 100% but I’m getting there. I didn’t attempt to take any goal-kicks as we decided not to take the risk with a couple more days before the China game. As for the two saves towards the end of the game, it was part and parcel of the game and I definitely will continue to work towards full fitness when we reach Kunming.”
Hafiz Rahim, whose second-half appearance was his first-ever international match was equally delighted to be given a run-out by coach Avramovic when he said: “I wasn’t nervous when my name was called up to prepare to get on the pitch. I just wanted to go out there and do what I can and test myself against the Thai defenders. It was great to be given an opportunity to represent Singapore.”
The Lions will now move on to the next phase of their trip for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qualifier against China PR when they travel up to Kunming on 26 September to continue with their preparations.
Final Score: Thailand 0-0 Singapore
Thailand Starting Line-up: Sintaweechai Hathairattanakool(gk), Pratum Chuthong, Chonlatit Chantakam, Datsakorn Thonglao(c), Chatree Chimtalae, Surat Sukha, Apipoo Suntornpanavej, Theerathon Bunmathan, Sompong Soleb, Phaitoon Thiabma, Arthit Sunthornphit
Substitutes: Sivalak Tedsungoen, Niweat Siriwong, Suttinum Phukhom, Suchao Nutnum, Teerasil Dangda, Rangsan Vivatchaichok, Adul Lahsoh, Wutthichai Tatong, Supachai Komsilp, Pichitphong Choechiu, Jappkphan Kaewprom, Pokklaw A-Nan, Ponlawat Wangkahad, Piyaphon Buntao, Sarayoot Chaikamdee, Chatchai Bootprom
Singapore Starting Line-up: Izwan Mahbud (Lionel Lewis 45’), Daniel Bennett, Safuwan Baharudin, Shaiful Esah, Juma’at Jantan, Mustafic Fahrudin (Shukor Zailan 45’ (Delwinder Singh 92’), Isa Halim, Shahril Ishak(c) (Zulfahmi Arifin 86’), Shi Jia Yi (Hafiz Rahim 70’), Aleksandar Duric (Ruzaini Zainal 78’) , Qiu Li (Shahdan Sulaiman 45’)
Substitutes: Lionel Lewis, Afiq Yunos, Delwinder Singh, Sevki Sha’ban, Hamqaamal Shah, Shukor Zailan, Shahdan Sulaiman, Zulfahmi Arifin, Ruzaini Zainal , Hafiz Rahim
After a tune-up, it's off to China Lions now head to Kunming to open third round World Cup qualifying campaign next Friday
Source
SINGAPORE - One thing was certain after last night's friendly between Singapore and Thailand - Daniel Bennett (picture) still has to wait before he can join the select club of Lions with 100 caps to their name.
Bennett turned in a professional performance at the heart of the Singapore defence in the 0-0 draw at Bangkok's Rajamangala Stadium in the Lions' final warm-up fixture before they head to Kunming to open their third round World Cup qualifying campaign against China next Friday.
But with the match officials hailing from Thailand and more than six substitutions made, the fixture will not be considered an 'A' international, leaving Bennett on 99 caps until he steps out against China next Friday.
Still the match served its purpose in giving Singapore coach Radojko Avramovic the opportunity to test his squad players, especially with regulars - the likes of Hariss Harun (National Service commitments), Ismail Yunos (injury), and Fazrul Nawaz (personal commitments) - all failing to travel with the team.
Speaking to Today over the phone after the game, Avramovic said: "It was a competitive game played at a good tempo, but you can feel that it was a friendly, with both teams not pushing all the way, to stay injury-free.
"We saw some good things and some things that we needed to work on."
Singapore started the game strongly, carving out half-chances, but they slowly faded and gave the home side more possession and opportunities, especially in the second half.
Mustafic Fahrudin shrugged off his knee injury to play in the first half and was his usual hard-tackling self, with Isa Halim working his socks off alongside him in midfield.
Avramovic said: "This was a competitive game and good preparation for us."
Said Bennett: "We struggled to contain Datsakorn Thonglao in the midfield for a bit. At times we gave them too much space in the middle, and were a bit stretched, but Isa worked really hard, and it was important to see Fahrudin come through the 45 minutes.
"We desperately need some experience in the midfield against China."
Upfront, the Lions looked sprightly when Qiu Li and Shahril Ishak turned on their magic. Once Qiu Li faded, Singapore's attacking threat disappeared.
"He's got individual flair, and he'll play better against China for sure, he wants to do well against them," said Bennett, who revealed the Lions back four are finally starting to understand each other.
"It has taken a bit of time, but we are starting to feel comfortable now, and it was good to see Lionel Lewis playing for the national team again," the 33-year-old added.
Lewis turned in a professional performance, making one phenomenal save to keep Singapore in the game in the second half, but Avramovic is faced with a difficult decision with 21-year-old Izwan Mahbud also doing well, especially with his ability to distribute the ball.
While Avramovic admitted he has no answer yet to which of the two keepers will start in goal, he will have to ponder much more, especially with some uncertain performances from his substitutes, of whom Hafiz Rahim was the performer who stood out.
SINGAPORE - One thing was certain after last night's friendly between Singapore and Thailand - Daniel Bennett (picture) still has to wait before he can join the select club of Lions with 100 caps to their name.
Bennett turned in a professional performance at the heart of the Singapore defence in the 0-0 draw at Bangkok's Rajamangala Stadium in the Lions' final warm-up fixture before they head to Kunming to open their third round World Cup qualifying campaign against China next Friday.
But with the match officials hailing from Thailand and more than six substitutions made, the fixture will not be considered an 'A' international, leaving Bennett on 99 caps until he steps out against China next Friday.
Still the match served its purpose in giving Singapore coach Radojko Avramovic the opportunity to test his squad players, especially with regulars - the likes of Hariss Harun (National Service commitments), Ismail Yunos (injury), and Fazrul Nawaz (personal commitments) - all failing to travel with the team.
Speaking to Today over the phone after the game, Avramovic said: "It was a competitive game played at a good tempo, but you can feel that it was a friendly, with both teams not pushing all the way, to stay injury-free.
"We saw some good things and some things that we needed to work on."
Singapore started the game strongly, carving out half-chances, but they slowly faded and gave the home side more possession and opportunities, especially in the second half.
Mustafic Fahrudin shrugged off his knee injury to play in the first half and was his usual hard-tackling self, with Isa Halim working his socks off alongside him in midfield.
Avramovic said: "This was a competitive game and good preparation for us."
Said Bennett: "We struggled to contain Datsakorn Thonglao in the midfield for a bit. At times we gave them too much space in the middle, and were a bit stretched, but Isa worked really hard, and it was important to see Fahrudin come through the 45 minutes.
"We desperately need some experience in the midfield against China."
Upfront, the Lions looked sprightly when Qiu Li and Shahril Ishak turned on their magic. Once Qiu Li faded, Singapore's attacking threat disappeared.
"He's got individual flair, and he'll play better against China for sure, he wants to do well against them," said Bennett, who revealed the Lions back four are finally starting to understand each other.
"It has taken a bit of time, but we are starting to feel comfortable now, and it was good to see Lionel Lewis playing for the national team again," the 33-year-old added.
Lewis turned in a professional performance, making one phenomenal save to keep Singapore in the game in the second half, but Avramovic is faced with a difficult decision with 21-year-old Izwan Mahbud also doing well, especially with his ability to distribute the ball.
While Avramovic admitted he has no answer yet to which of the two keepers will start in goal, he will have to ponder much more, especially with some uncertain performances from his substitutes, of whom Hafiz Rahim was the performer who stood out.
Cannavaro feels S'pore's warmth
Source
SINGAPORE - Italy's 2006 World Cup captain Fabio Cannavaro seemed surprised when he was greeted by about 40 adoring fans when he walked out of the arrival gate at Changi Airport's Terminal 1 yesterday.
Calling out "El Capitano" and holding aloft a banner that read "Benvenuto a Singapore Fabio" (Welcome to Singapore, Fabio), he stood dumbfounded as his supporters shook his hands and jostled to pose for photos with him (picture).
Travelling as a football ambassador for Middle Eastern club Al-Ahli Dubai, the 39-year-old clearly didn't expect the noisy reception. Speaking only briefly, he said: "This is my first time in Singapore, I am very happy to be here."
The Italian defensive stalwart ended his career with Serie A giants Juventus in June last year. He signed a two-year contract with Al Ahli, but a troubling knee injury put an end to his career and he announced his retirement in July.
He is now a technical consultant and ambassador for the club and is in Singapore courtesy of Dentsu Sports Asia.
One of the fans, Mr Nigel Gan, said the group were avowed Serie A fans and wanted to show their appreciation to the player for helping Italy win the World Cup in 2006.
Said the 32-year-old security engineer: "Cannavaro is special and we wanted him to know that we still support him even though he is retired. He is a down-to-earth kind of guy and you saw how he was willing to please all of us."
SINGAPORE - Italy's 2006 World Cup captain Fabio Cannavaro seemed surprised when he was greeted by about 40 adoring fans when he walked out of the arrival gate at Changi Airport's Terminal 1 yesterday.
Calling out "El Capitano" and holding aloft a banner that read "Benvenuto a Singapore Fabio" (Welcome to Singapore, Fabio), he stood dumbfounded as his supporters shook his hands and jostled to pose for photos with him (picture).
Travelling as a football ambassador for Middle Eastern club Al-Ahli Dubai, the 39-year-old clearly didn't expect the noisy reception. Speaking only briefly, he said: "This is my first time in Singapore, I am very happy to be here."
The Italian defensive stalwart ended his career with Serie A giants Juventus in June last year. He signed a two-year contract with Al Ahli, but a troubling knee injury put an end to his career and he announced his retirement in July.
He is now a technical consultant and ambassador for the club and is in Singapore courtesy of Dentsu Sports Asia.
One of the fans, Mr Nigel Gan, said the group were avowed Serie A fans and wanted to show their appreciation to the player for helping Italy win the World Cup in 2006.
Said the 32-year-old security engineer: "Cannavaro is special and we wanted him to know that we still support him even though he is retired. He is a down-to-earth kind of guy and you saw how he was willing to please all of us."
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
International Friendly: Thailand vs SIngapore Live Streaming
The Live streaming have been remove due to the game which has already ended.
FT score: Thailand 0 Singapore 0
FT score: Thailand 0 Singapore 0
Isa Halim - It all started in the neighbourhood
Source
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2011
What started out as a game to fit into his new neighborhood eventually produced a fine player for the Lion city who is able to fit into two very different roles on a football pitch. Used as a defender by Home United FC in the Great Eastern Yeo’s S-League and a defensive midfielder for The Lions.
All 25 years of age and he is a regular fit in the Singapore national team with whom he has had 33 caps through sheer determination and grit.
“It all started one afternoon after my family moved into a new neighborhood. I saw a group of kids playing football and asked to join them in order to make new friends. It was a must if you remember back in those days, that the newbie in the group had to play as the goalkeeper and I took all sorts of shots even in the face!” chirped Isa when asked about how he was introduced to the game of football.
The rest of his long football journey continued through the youth ranks to the international stage; it started with playing for the school team to the national U-15 to the S-League and the epitome for all Singaporean players, to the National Team.
Though it may seem as though Isa had a walk in the park throughout his football career, there was one point in his life where he wanted to give up the sport he loved most. And it was at a tender age of 15 when he was dropped from the combined schools team just a day before a major tournament. He sank to a new low and wanted to throw in the towel.
Thankfully, sound advice from his COE coach, Hatta Ali, at Woodlands Wellington set him straight for good and pretty much for life. And he has never looked back since. At the tender age of 19, he got his break in the S-League with Woodlands Wellington. To make it even more special, it took place on the eve of his birthday.
Going back in time to his first call-up for the National team in 2005, he said “For me as I have grown up watching the likes of Aide Iskandar, Goh Tat Chuan and his assistant coach at Home United, S Subramani, to play alongside them was a scary thought. But I must say that I learned a whole lot as a player and also as an individual from them during that period of time.”
“Every single time I don the national colors; there is a sense of pride and the motivation to want only the best for my country.” He said with an extremely wide smile that not only showed his pride but a sense of achievement.
He accredited his glorious career to his family, one that has never stopped believing in him till this very day and his wonderful wife, who works as a cabin crew whom he wedded just barely a month ago but with whom has stuck through thick and thin with him for the past seven years.
With a gleeful smile, he said “I knew she was the one when I first met her. She also has stood by me even before I made a name for myself in football.”
He went on to add, “I can never ask for more in life. I have a great family and now a wonderful wife. I am in the national team and we are in the third round of the World Cup Asian Qualifiers. My club, Home United is in contention for the 2011 Great Eastern-YEO’S S-League title.”
One can only grow stronger with a journey like Isa’s, coupled with a strong family unit and we see that today through the brilliant display of football from him on the pitch.
And now with important matches lined up for the Lions, Isa will surely rise to the occasion when called upon to serve his nation.
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2011
All 25 years of age and he is a regular fit in the Singapore national team with whom he has had 33 caps through sheer determination and grit.
“It all started one afternoon after my family moved into a new neighborhood. I saw a group of kids playing football and asked to join them in order to make new friends. It was a must if you remember back in those days, that the newbie in the group had to play as the goalkeeper and I took all sorts of shots even in the face!” chirped Isa when asked about how he was introduced to the game of football.
The rest of his long football journey continued through the youth ranks to the international stage; it started with playing for the school team to the national U-15 to the S-League and the epitome for all Singaporean players, to the National Team.
Though it may seem as though Isa had a walk in the park throughout his football career, there was one point in his life where he wanted to give up the sport he loved most. And it was at a tender age of 15 when he was dropped from the combined schools team just a day before a major tournament. He sank to a new low and wanted to throw in the towel.
Thankfully, sound advice from his COE coach, Hatta Ali, at Woodlands Wellington set him straight for good and pretty much for life. And he has never looked back since. At the tender age of 19, he got his break in the S-League with Woodlands Wellington. To make it even more special, it took place on the eve of his birthday.
Going back in time to his first call-up for the National team in 2005, he said “For me as I have grown up watching the likes of Aide Iskandar, Goh Tat Chuan and his assistant coach at Home United, S Subramani, to play alongside them was a scary thought. But I must say that I learned a whole lot as a player and also as an individual from them during that period of time.”
“Every single time I don the national colors; there is a sense of pride and the motivation to want only the best for my country.” He said with an extremely wide smile that not only showed his pride but a sense of achievement.
He accredited his glorious career to his family, one that has never stopped believing in him till this very day and his wonderful wife, who works as a cabin crew whom he wedded just barely a month ago but with whom has stuck through thick and thin with him for the past seven years.
With a gleeful smile, he said “I knew she was the one when I first met her. She also has stood by me even before I made a name for myself in football.”
He went on to add, “I can never ask for more in life. I have a great family and now a wonderful wife. I am in the national team and we are in the third round of the World Cup Asian Qualifiers. My club, Home United is in contention for the 2011 Great Eastern-YEO’S S-League title.”
One can only grow stronger with a journey like Isa’s, coupled with a strong family unit and we see that today through the brilliant display of football from him on the pitch.
And now with important matches lined up for the Lions, Isa will surely rise to the occasion when called upon to serve his nation.
Talk of expanding capacity at existing stadiums gains momentum
Source
SINGAPORE - With the National Stadium no longer standing and the Sports Hub still some way from its targeted completion in early 2014, the football fraternity here is clamouring for a mid-sized stadium that can seat up to 15,000 people.
The need for a new stadium was brought sharply into focus when tickets for the second round FIFA World Cup qualifier between Singapore and Malaysia were sold out within a matter of hours last month with some spending up to S$1,500 on the open market for the right to enter the 6,000-capacity Jalan Besar Stadium on matchday.
The Singapore Sports Council (SSC) and the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) are still in talks to determine which facility will get a capacity upgrade.
Sources have revealed that ,in addition to the Tampines and Toa Payoh stadiums, Jalan Besar is also being considered, despite being hemmed in by the Jalan Besar Swimming Complex and the adjacent People's Association (PA) Headquarters
This leaves the gallery on Horne Road and the car park near the stadium's south entrance as possible expansion locations.
But Kenneth Hui, chief of the sports facilities group at the SSC, declined to reveal any further details when he was asked by Today.
He said: "SSC has been working closely with FAS to study the demand for and feasibility of a mid-sized stadium that can host Malaysia Cup matches and other events and we hope to reach a decision soon."
A Singapore team will play in the M-League and Malaysia Cup, while the Young Tigers, the Malaysian under-23 team, will compete in the S-League and Singapore Cup starting next year.
Said FAS chief Zainudin Nordin: "Our most immediate concern is to have a decent sized stadium to cope for the next few years till the Sports Hub is ready."
Toa Payoh has been earmarked for its prime location and accessibility, while Tampines Stadium is sitting on land designated for the Tampines Town Hub, that is managed by the PA.
SINGAPORE - With the National Stadium no longer standing and the Sports Hub still some way from its targeted completion in early 2014, the football fraternity here is clamouring for a mid-sized stadium that can seat up to 15,000 people.
The need for a new stadium was brought sharply into focus when tickets for the second round FIFA World Cup qualifier between Singapore and Malaysia were sold out within a matter of hours last month with some spending up to S$1,500 on the open market for the right to enter the 6,000-capacity Jalan Besar Stadium on matchday.
The Singapore Sports Council (SSC) and the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) are still in talks to determine which facility will get a capacity upgrade.
Sources have revealed that ,in addition to the Tampines and Toa Payoh stadiums, Jalan Besar is also being considered, despite being hemmed in by the Jalan Besar Swimming Complex and the adjacent People's Association (PA) Headquarters
This leaves the gallery on Horne Road and the car park near the stadium's south entrance as possible expansion locations.
But Kenneth Hui, chief of the sports facilities group at the SSC, declined to reveal any further details when he was asked by Today.
He said: "SSC has been working closely with FAS to study the demand for and feasibility of a mid-sized stadium that can host Malaysia Cup matches and other events and we hope to reach a decision soon."
A Singapore team will play in the M-League and Malaysia Cup, while the Young Tigers, the Malaysian under-23 team, will compete in the S-League and Singapore Cup starting next year.
Said FAS chief Zainudin Nordin: "Our most immediate concern is to have a decent sized stadium to cope for the next few years till the Sports Hub is ready."
Toa Payoh has been earmarked for its prime location and accessibility, while Tampines Stadium is sitting on land designated for the Tampines Town Hub, that is managed by the PA.
Holger eyes off Thailand
Source
By Kitinan Sanguansak – AFF Thai correspondent
Australia’s German coach Holger Osieck will visit the country on a spying mission to watch the Thai national side play Singapore in a friendly match at 7pm tomorrow.
Holger Osieck will head to Bangkok to watch Thailand face Singapore
The Thai team, also coached by a German trainer, Winfried Schaefer, open their World Cup qualifying campaign with a tricky trip to Brisbane, Australia, to face the Socceroos on September 2 before playing host to Oman four day later at Rajamangala National stadium. Saudi Arabia are the other team in Group D.
Thai players yesterday reported for a training camp and started their preparations on the Rajamangala pitch, the venue for the Singapore fixture, under the watchful eyes of Schaefer. Among the 27 players who turned up for training was Bangkok Glass striker Sarayoot Chaikamdee, whose name was not on the initial list released on Friday.
Thailand suffered a blow when the No 1 goalkeeper Kawin Thamsatchanan, who had been included in the team despite an elbow injury, and Chonburi left back Natthapong Samana had to withdraw.
Schaefer said the presence of his countryman Osieck would not be a matter of concern to him. “There is no cause for concern since our approach in the Singapore match would be different from the game in Brisbane,” said the former Cameroon manager.
Schaefer went on to suggest that he was happy with the players at his disposal despite the absence of Muang Thong defender Nataporn Phanrit, who last week collapsed during the League Cup match against Chon Buri.
“We called up Sarayoot because he’s a quality player and he always shows great desire to play for the country. We lost Kawin to injury but Sinthaweechai [Hathairattanakool], the experienced goalkeeper, is available.”
By Kitinan Sanguansak – AFF Thai correspondent
Australia’s German coach Holger Osieck will visit the country on a spying mission to watch the Thai national side play Singapore in a friendly match at 7pm tomorrow.
Holger Osieck will head to Bangkok to watch Thailand face Singapore
The Thai team, also coached by a German trainer, Winfried Schaefer, open their World Cup qualifying campaign with a tricky trip to Brisbane, Australia, to face the Socceroos on September 2 before playing host to Oman four day later at Rajamangala National stadium. Saudi Arabia are the other team in Group D.
Thai players yesterday reported for a training camp and started their preparations on the Rajamangala pitch, the venue for the Singapore fixture, under the watchful eyes of Schaefer. Among the 27 players who turned up for training was Bangkok Glass striker Sarayoot Chaikamdee, whose name was not on the initial list released on Friday.
Thailand suffered a blow when the No 1 goalkeeper Kawin Thamsatchanan, who had been included in the team despite an elbow injury, and Chonburi left back Natthapong Samana had to withdraw.
Schaefer said the presence of his countryman Osieck would not be a matter of concern to him. “There is no cause for concern since our approach in the Singapore match would be different from the game in Brisbane,” said the former Cameroon manager.
Schaefer went on to suggest that he was happy with the players at his disposal despite the absence of Muang Thong defender Nataporn Phanrit, who last week collapsed during the League Cup match against Chon Buri.
“We called up Sarayoot because he’s a quality player and he always shows great desire to play for the country. We lost Kawin to injury but Sinthaweechai [Hathairattanakool], the experienced goalkeeper, is available.”
Result Doesn't matter: Schaefer
Source
By Kitinan Sanguansak – AFF Thai correspondent
Thailand’s German coach Winfried Schaefer said a result of a friendly against Singapore today was of little importance, with his eyes on the team’s opening Group D match against Australia in the World Cup qualifiers next month.
Thailand take on Singapore tonight
The Thai side will begin its qualifying campaign with a tricky trip to Australia to face the Socceroos in Brisbane on September 2 before playing host to Oman four days later at Rajamangala National stadium. The other team in the group is Saudi Arabia.
Schaefer’s men limber up for a visit to Australia with the Singapore fixture today, with Holger Osieck, the Australia team’s coach, reportedly going to be in the stands at Rajamangala.
“The outcome of tomorrow’s match isn’t important for me. I’ll use the game to experiment with our tactics and watch the form of players before we trim the squad down to 23,” said Schaefer.
The German, the third foreign coach during Worawi Makudi’s reign as the Football Association of Thailand president, revealed he had a decision to make on which players to play in defensive roles.
“I would like to see Adul (Lahso) and Surat (Sukha) play together as defensive midfielders. But, in the second game against Palestine in the previous round, I put Surat at the left back and he did well.
“In regard to the right back, we lost Suree (Sukha) to injury problem. So, Jakaphan (Kaewprom) might deputise in that position again.
“I would try to give players as many as possible a chance to play against Singapore. Some of them would not play in the same role as at their clubs,” said Schaefer.
By Kitinan Sanguansak – AFF Thai correspondent
Thailand’s German coach Winfried Schaefer said a result of a friendly against Singapore today was of little importance, with his eyes on the team’s opening Group D match against Australia in the World Cup qualifiers next month.
Thailand take on Singapore tonight
The Thai side will begin its qualifying campaign with a tricky trip to Australia to face the Socceroos in Brisbane on September 2 before playing host to Oman four days later at Rajamangala National stadium. The other team in the group is Saudi Arabia.
Schaefer’s men limber up for a visit to Australia with the Singapore fixture today, with Holger Osieck, the Australia team’s coach, reportedly going to be in the stands at Rajamangala.
“The outcome of tomorrow’s match isn’t important for me. I’ll use the game to experiment with our tactics and watch the form of players before we trim the squad down to 23,” said Schaefer.
The German, the third foreign coach during Worawi Makudi’s reign as the Football Association of Thailand president, revealed he had a decision to make on which players to play in defensive roles.
“I would like to see Adul (Lahso) and Surat (Sukha) play together as defensive midfielders. But, in the second game against Palestine in the previous round, I put Surat at the left back and he did well.
“In regard to the right back, we lost Suree (Sukha) to injury problem. So, Jakaphan (Kaewprom) might deputise in that position again.
“I would try to give players as many as possible a chance to play against Singapore. Some of them would not play in the same role as at their clubs,” said Schaefer.
Sticking with a working formula ... Avramovic looking for more of the same from Lions against Thailand
Source
International football friendly
Thailand vs Singapore Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, 6pm (7pm Singapore time)
SINGAPORE - They captured the imagination of the football-watching public, brought back queues for tickets and, indeed, won the heart of the nation.
The Lions' two stirring performances in the 6-4 aggregate victory over old rivals Malaysia in the second round World Cup qualifiers last month saw the Lions play a disciplined, attacking brand of football.
With affirmation received on the pitch and off it, coach Radojko Avramovic will have his charges play more of the same despite injuries and the unavailability of a number of players.
"We have players missing but the team will not play any different. We will use similar players as cover in those positions, because changing a player's position can be confusing," said Avramovic in a telephone interview from Bangkok.
The Lions will face Thailand tonight, in their final warm-up fixture before opening their Group A third round qualifying campaign against China in Kunming on Sept 2.
Central midfielder Hariss Harun, who is into the second week of an eight-week basic police training course, having enlisted for National Service on Aug 10, has not travelled with the squad, and his availability for the China match remains in doubt.
Defender Ismail Yunos, who is said to have injured his knee, is also missing the two matches and striker Fazrul Nawaz has opted to stay home due to personal reasons.
Avramovic's assertion of sticking with the formula means Isa Halim will step in for Hariss to take over defensive duties in the Lions' engine room alongside the recovered Mustafic Fahrudin.
"Mustafic will play a small part in the Thailand game, to have a feeling of how the team works with him there, but he won't play for long as we are saving him for China," added the Serb, who is likely to pick Izwan Mahbud, 21, to start ahead of the recovered Lionel Lewis in the Singapore goal in a bid to maintain continuity.
"I don't understand how Hariss has not been released for such an important game, he will be a big miss. We are missing Ismail and Fazrul as well ... but we still have pretty much the same team that played against Malaysia. We should be devastated by the loss of these players but honestly there's no issue at all," said Lions defensive lynchpin Daniel Bennett.
"We were just happy to see Mustafic put on his boots in training instead of just trainers. He didn't take part in the full training session but the fact that he could take part was very encouraging."
Isa appears to be the only change in the Lions' side that came away from the Bukit Jalil Stadium with a 1-1 draw against Malaysia in the second leg and Avramovic is looking for his team to play a similar game.
"We will have to try to field players who will offer solutions for the problem-positions that we have, with China in mind, and see if these players can step up, in terms of commitment and involvement."
Probable Singapore first XI
Izwan Mahbud, Juma'at Jantan, Daniel Bennett, Safuwan Baharudin, Shaiful Esah, Isa Halim, Mustafic Fahrudin, Shi Jiayi, Shahril Ishak, Qiu Li, Aleksandar Duric
International football friendly
Thailand vs Singapore Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, 6pm (7pm Singapore time)
SINGAPORE - They captured the imagination of the football-watching public, brought back queues for tickets and, indeed, won the heart of the nation.
The Lions' two stirring performances in the 6-4 aggregate victory over old rivals Malaysia in the second round World Cup qualifiers last month saw the Lions play a disciplined, attacking brand of football.
With affirmation received on the pitch and off it, coach Radojko Avramovic will have his charges play more of the same despite injuries and the unavailability of a number of players.
"We have players missing but the team will not play any different. We will use similar players as cover in those positions, because changing a player's position can be confusing," said Avramovic in a telephone interview from Bangkok.
The Lions will face Thailand tonight, in their final warm-up fixture before opening their Group A third round qualifying campaign against China in Kunming on Sept 2.
Central midfielder Hariss Harun, who is into the second week of an eight-week basic police training course, having enlisted for National Service on Aug 10, has not travelled with the squad, and his availability for the China match remains in doubt.
Defender Ismail Yunos, who is said to have injured his knee, is also missing the two matches and striker Fazrul Nawaz has opted to stay home due to personal reasons.
Avramovic's assertion of sticking with the formula means Isa Halim will step in for Hariss to take over defensive duties in the Lions' engine room alongside the recovered Mustafic Fahrudin.
"Mustafic will play a small part in the Thailand game, to have a feeling of how the team works with him there, but he won't play for long as we are saving him for China," added the Serb, who is likely to pick Izwan Mahbud, 21, to start ahead of the recovered Lionel Lewis in the Singapore goal in a bid to maintain continuity.
"I don't understand how Hariss has not been released for such an important game, he will be a big miss. We are missing Ismail and Fazrul as well ... but we still have pretty much the same team that played against Malaysia. We should be devastated by the loss of these players but honestly there's no issue at all," said Lions defensive lynchpin Daniel Bennett.
"We were just happy to see Mustafic put on his boots in training instead of just trainers. He didn't take part in the full training session but the fact that he could take part was very encouraging."
Isa appears to be the only change in the Lions' side that came away from the Bukit Jalil Stadium with a 1-1 draw against Malaysia in the second leg and Avramovic is looking for his team to play a similar game.
"We will have to try to field players who will offer solutions for the problem-positions that we have, with China in mind, and see if these players can step up, in terms of commitment and involvement."
Probable Singapore first XI
Izwan Mahbud, Juma'at Jantan, Daniel Bennett, Safuwan Baharudin, Shaiful Esah, Isa Halim, Mustafic Fahrudin, Shi Jiayi, Shahril Ishak, Qiu Li, Aleksandar Duric
Sembawang all set to go Club await FAS green light to play in S-League, willing to give up seed money
Source
SINGAPORE - The paperwork has been done and they are confident their financial, management and technical structures meet the conditions set by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS).
The team have even signed former Lions striker Fandi Ahmad on a five-year contract, with plans to have him as their technical director.
Also on the payroll for five years is former Tanjong Pagar coach and international Tohari Paijan.
According to their general manager, Alfred Loi (picture), the team are ready to deliver the S$500,000 banker's guarantee to the FAS, if given the green light to play as Sembawang United in the S-League next year.
Should that happen, it will mark the reappearance of the Sembawang name in professional football here.
A previous side, with no connections to the present outfit, played as the Rangers for eight seasons before quitting in 2004.
Loi said their lawyers are in the process of registering Sembawang United as a private limited company but the key to their application to join the S-League is their financial strength.
He said they intend to be self-sufficient and are willing to forego the seed money given to local clubs, which can be close to S$1 million annually if they meet performance standards.
"We won't be asking the FAS for any seed money because we have the funding in place and a long-term strategy to generate funds," said Loi.
"Fandi and Tohari have also strengthened our management team and, hopefully, that goes some way to prove we are serious about our application."
The FAS are only expected to announce details of the 2012 S-League season later this year.
United are backed by the same businessman who is bankrolling a trip to Italy for young footballers, mostly from the Institute of Technical Education, to train under coaches at the Genova International School of Soccer (GISS) and Serie B club Vicenza Calcio.
The training stint is managed by the businessman's Sembawang Soccer Academy and estimated to cost about S$1 million.
A total of 24 trainees have already left for Italy and will be there for up to six months.
Fandi, who is GISS' talent scout for South-east Asia, is there with them but is scheduled to return at the end of the month.
Said Loi: "About 10 out of this batch will be drafted into Sembawang United, but we hope to get an answer about our S-League application soon because we need to confirm the appointment of our coach and start scouting for local and foreign players."
Although Sembawang, which has traditionally produced big-name stars like striker V Sundramoorthy and defender S Rajagopal, will ignite fans in the north, there is no guarantee they will end up with a home ground in the area.
The only available facility, Yishun Stadium, has been targeted for use by Malaysia's Harimau Muda, who are set to play in the S-League next season, in exchange for a Singapore team competing in the M-League, FA Cup and Malaysia Cup.
"With our name, it makes sense for us to be in the Sembawang area," said Loi.
"But if this is not possible, then we will accept what is given to us, but we are not going to change our name. Our intention is to have a Sembawang presence again in the S-League and it will not change."
SINGAPORE - The paperwork has been done and they are confident their financial, management and technical structures meet the conditions set by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS).
The team have even signed former Lions striker Fandi Ahmad on a five-year contract, with plans to have him as their technical director.
Also on the payroll for five years is former Tanjong Pagar coach and international Tohari Paijan.
According to their general manager, Alfred Loi (picture), the team are ready to deliver the S$500,000 banker's guarantee to the FAS, if given the green light to play as Sembawang United in the S-League next year.
Should that happen, it will mark the reappearance of the Sembawang name in professional football here.
A previous side, with no connections to the present outfit, played as the Rangers for eight seasons before quitting in 2004.
Loi said their lawyers are in the process of registering Sembawang United as a private limited company but the key to their application to join the S-League is their financial strength.
He said they intend to be self-sufficient and are willing to forego the seed money given to local clubs, which can be close to S$1 million annually if they meet performance standards.
"We won't be asking the FAS for any seed money because we have the funding in place and a long-term strategy to generate funds," said Loi.
"Fandi and Tohari have also strengthened our management team and, hopefully, that goes some way to prove we are serious about our application."
The FAS are only expected to announce details of the 2012 S-League season later this year.
United are backed by the same businessman who is bankrolling a trip to Italy for young footballers, mostly from the Institute of Technical Education, to train under coaches at the Genova International School of Soccer (GISS) and Serie B club Vicenza Calcio.
The training stint is managed by the businessman's Sembawang Soccer Academy and estimated to cost about S$1 million.
A total of 24 trainees have already left for Italy and will be there for up to six months.
Fandi, who is GISS' talent scout for South-east Asia, is there with them but is scheduled to return at the end of the month.
Said Loi: "About 10 out of this batch will be drafted into Sembawang United, but we hope to get an answer about our S-League application soon because we need to confirm the appointment of our coach and start scouting for local and foreign players."
Although Sembawang, which has traditionally produced big-name stars like striker V Sundramoorthy and defender S Rajagopal, will ignite fans in the north, there is no guarantee they will end up with a home ground in the area.
The only available facility, Yishun Stadium, has been targeted for use by Malaysia's Harimau Muda, who are set to play in the S-League next season, in exchange for a Singapore team competing in the M-League, FA Cup and Malaysia Cup.
"With our name, it makes sense for us to be in the Sembawang area," said Loi.
"But if this is not possible, then we will accept what is given to us, but we are not going to change our name. Our intention is to have a Sembawang presence again in the S-League and it will not change."
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
The Early Bird Sale will continue tomorrow(23rdAugust2011)!
Source
Sale of tickets for the Lions's home matches in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ Asian Qualifiers Round Three, started today. It was a pleasent surprise when more than 80 fans formed a queue even before the counter at the South Gate was open for business.
Not even a Monday morning could stop the Lions' die-hard fans from queuing up for hours to secure the opportunity to watch their beloved team play at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
A total of 804 Early Bird Special Bundles were sold, proving that the incentive for Singaporean and Permanent Resident fans did indeed hit a high note.
The total number of tickets sold during the Early Bird Sale (as at 22 Aug, 8pm), is as follow:
Match: Singapore vs Iraq - 1,118 tickets sold
Match: Singapore vs Jordan - 804 tickets sold
Match: Singapore vs China - 804 tickets sold
So it is back to business at the ticketing booth tomorrow, 23rd of August 2011, 12pm to 8pm. The Early Bird Special Sale will end on the 26th of August 2011. So come fast and early to get your tickets to catch the Mighty Lions in action at Jalan Besar.
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2011
Not even a Monday morning could stop the Lions' die-hard fans from queuing up for hours to secure the opportunity to watch their beloved team play at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
A total of 804 Early Bird Special Bundles were sold, proving that the incentive for Singaporean and Permanent Resident fans did indeed hit a high note.
The total number of tickets sold during the Early Bird Sale (as at 22 Aug, 8pm), is as follow:
Match: Singapore vs Iraq - 1,118 tickets sold
Match: Singapore vs Jordan - 804 tickets sold
Match: Singapore vs China - 804 tickets sold
So it is back to business at the ticketing booth tomorrow, 23rd of August 2011, 12pm to 8pm. The Early Bird Special Sale will end on the 26th of August 2011. So come fast and early to get your tickets to catch the Mighty Lions in action at Jalan Besar.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Depleted Lions still wait on Mustafic and Hariss
Source
SINGAPORE - There was a relaxed atmosphere initially as the Lions went through their paces at the Geylang field last night.But at the end of the team's final train session in Singapore ahead of their opening Group A third round World Cup qualifier against China next Friday, the mood changed.
Defender Ismail Yunos sustained a knee injury and has been ruled out, while striker Fazrul Nawaz was omitted from the squad due to personal reasons.
They started off as a 25-man squad, but the national team that will fly to Bangkok this afternoon for a friendly with Thailand on Wednesday will number only 22, with talented midfielder Hariss Harun currently in the midst of his eight-week Basic Police Training.
At least there is some optimism surrounding both Hariss and his midfield partner Mustafic Fahrudin (picture), who is trying to brush off a meniscus injury in his left knee for the date with China.
Speaking to Today, Mustafic said: "I'm still not in full training with the team, but I was running and did a bit of work with weights on Saturday and there is no pain in the knee.
"Hopefully in Thailand I'll recover enough to train with the ball."
Hariss enlisted for National Service with the Singapore Police Force on Aug 10 and while they have sought his release for the game against China, a Football Association of Singapore spokesman said yesterday they are still awaiting "further developments on the matter."
Isa Halim's experience suggests some hope Hariss could receive permission to play.
When Isa was in National Service with the Singapore Police Force in 2007, he was allowed leave to play for the country.
"The officer in charge had confidence that I could pass the law exam that we were due to take, and put his neck on the line for me to go and play in a friendly for the under-23s, something I was very grateful for," Isa recounted yesterday.
With the match against China to be played at Kunming, a city 1,900 metres above sea level, the Lions continued utilising hypoxicators - devices aimed at helping bodies adapt to high altitude.
The team will fly to Kunming from Bangkok on Thursday.
Singapore will play Iraq at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Sept 6 and tickets for the game, as well as the rest of the Lions' World Cup qualifiers, will go on sale today at FAS' Jalan Besar headquarters. For more details log on to www.fas.org.sg.
SINGAPORE - There was a relaxed atmosphere initially as the Lions went through their paces at the Geylang field last night.But at the end of the team's final train session in Singapore ahead of their opening Group A third round World Cup qualifier against China next Friday, the mood changed.
Defender Ismail Yunos sustained a knee injury and has been ruled out, while striker Fazrul Nawaz was omitted from the squad due to personal reasons.
They started off as a 25-man squad, but the national team that will fly to Bangkok this afternoon for a friendly with Thailand on Wednesday will number only 22, with talented midfielder Hariss Harun currently in the midst of his eight-week Basic Police Training.
At least there is some optimism surrounding both Hariss and his midfield partner Mustafic Fahrudin (picture), who is trying to brush off a meniscus injury in his left knee for the date with China.
Speaking to Today, Mustafic said: "I'm still not in full training with the team, but I was running and did a bit of work with weights on Saturday and there is no pain in the knee.
"Hopefully in Thailand I'll recover enough to train with the ball."
Hariss enlisted for National Service with the Singapore Police Force on Aug 10 and while they have sought his release for the game against China, a Football Association of Singapore spokesman said yesterday they are still awaiting "further developments on the matter."
Isa Halim's experience suggests some hope Hariss could receive permission to play.
When Isa was in National Service with the Singapore Police Force in 2007, he was allowed leave to play for the country.
"The officer in charge had confidence that I could pass the law exam that we were due to take, and put his neck on the line for me to go and play in a friendly for the under-23s, something I was very grateful for," Isa recounted yesterday.
With the match against China to be played at Kunming, a city 1,900 metres above sea level, the Lions continued utilising hypoxicators - devices aimed at helping bodies adapt to high altitude.
The team will fly to Kunming from Bangkok on Thursday.
Singapore will play Iraq at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Sept 6 and tickets for the game, as well as the rest of the Lions' World Cup qualifiers, will go on sale today at FAS' Jalan Besar headquarters. For more details log on to www.fas.org.sg.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Singapore National Football Team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, This article is about the Singapore men's senior team.
The Singapore national football team is the national association football team of Singapore. The team comes under the organization of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS)
To date, the most significant successes of the team have come in the regional AFF Suzuki Cup (formerly known as the 'Tiger Cup'), which Singapore has won three times in 1998, 2005 and 2007. In 1998, Singapore beat Vietnam 1–0 in the final to capture the country's first major international football title. In the 2004-5 competition, Singapore defeated Indonesia in a two-leg final 5–2 on aggregate. Singapore successfully retained the trophy in 2007, beating Thailand 3–2 on aggregate in the final.
In the 2007 Asian Cup qualifiers, Singapore became the only team to beat Iraq en route to their Asian Cup winning campaign. Singapore also drew with China 0–0 and 1–1 at home in 2006 and 2009 respectively. In March 2008, Australia also failed to beat Singapore when the game ended in a goalless draw.
In the FIFA World Rankings, Singapore's highest standing was in the first release of the figures, in August 1993, at 73rd. Singapore was the Asian Football Confederation's 'Mover of the Year' in 2005.
In January 2007, Singapore achieved a national record 11–0 win against Laos in an ASEAN Football Championship match. Mohd Noh Alam Shah scored 7 goals in the match.
Singapore's main rival on the international stage is their geographical neighbour, Malaysia, and past matches between these two teams have produced much drama.
Over the years, Singapore has included several naturalised citizens in its team. Currently, the squad consists of Aleksandar Đurić and Mustafic Fahrudin from Yugoslavia, Daniel Bennett from England, Shi Jiayi and Qiu Li from China.
The most successful football club in Singapore is Singapore Armed Forces FC.
History
1892–1994
In 1892, the Singapore Amateur Football Association applied to become a registered society. The HMS Malaya Cup (which was later known as the Malaysia Cup) was launched in 1921 by officers of a British battleship in Malaya, and Singapore was one of the six teams that took part in the inaugural year, and won the event. While the representative side in the Malaysia Cup and the Malaysian League was not the national team – this team included some foreign players – many Singapore football fans viewed the Malaysia Cup side as being the national team, and the team's exploits in the Malaysian competitions generally drew much more attention than Singapore's participation in other international tournaments. They either won or were runners up in the event every year until 1941, after which it was suspended because of World War II.
In all, Singapore won 24 Malaysia Cup titles and 2 Malaysian League titles. After winning the Malaysia Cup and league double in 1994, the Football Association of Singapore withdrew from the Malaysian competitions following a dispute with the Football Association of Malaysia over gate receipts, and have not been involved since. Singapore subsequently launched its own professional league, the S.League, in 1996, and also began to put much more focus on the performance of its national team in international competitions.
1995–1999
Singapore won the bronze medal in the 1995 Southeast Asian Games, after losing 1–0 in the semi-finals to the hosts and eventual gold medalists, Thailand. Singapore hosted the 1996 Tiger Cup but were eliminated in the group stages.
The national team again reached the semi-finals of the Southeast Asian Games in 1997, losing to Indonesia, and lost to Vietnam 1–0 in the third-place match.
However in the 1998 edition of the Tiger Cup, Singapore's team led by coach Barry Whitbread won the group stage with victories over Malaysia and the Philippines. In the semi-finals, they beat Indonesia and subsequently edged out hosts Vietnam 1–0 in the final. This was the country's first ever international title.
2000–2002
Jan B. Poulsen, who was part of the Danish backroom staff in the 1998 World Cup, was appointed the Technical Director of the Football Association of Singapore in 1999. However, due to poor results by Singapore in the 2000 Tiger Cup, coach Vincent Subramaniam was sacked and Poulsen took over as coach in 2001. Singapore hosted the 2002 Tiger Cup, but lost 4–0 to arch-rivals Malaysia in their first game.
Singapore went on to win 2–1 over Laos, but a 1–1 draw in the final group game against Thailand wasn't enough to reach the knock-out stages and so Poulsen was sacked.
2003–2004 (Tiger Cup)
Radojko Avramovic took over as coach of the flailing and deflated Singapore national football team in 2003. Singapore started the 2004 Tiger Cup as underdogs but a 1–1 draw in their first game against hosts Vietnam, another draw against Indonesia, and wins against Cambodia and Laos saw the qualify for the semi-finals.
Singapore were drawn with Myanmar, in the two-legged semi-finals. Singapore took a 4–3 away lead back home for the second leg. In the ill-tempered second leg, three Myanmar players were sent off and Singapore went on to win 4–2 after extra time to clinch a win 8 -5 on aggregrate.
Singapore then won the first leg of the two-legged final against Indonesia 3–1 in Jakarta, before winning 2–1 (5–2 on aggregrate) in the second leg in front of a 55,000 home crowd.
The first leg saw a 1–1 draw in Shah Alam, while in the second leg at Singapore's National Stadium, following another 1–1 draw, Singapore beat Malaysia in a penalty shoot-out 5–4, goalkeeper Lionel Lewis saving the final Malaysian spot kick from Mohd Khyril Muhymeen Zambri. In the final against Thailand, Singapore won a controversial first leg at home 2–1, and then secured a 1–1 draw in Bangkok thanks to a late strike from Khairul Amri to retain the ASEAN Football Championship trophy.
Singapore was drawn with Tajikistan in the second round: Singapore won the home match 2–0 and drew the return leg 1–1 on 18 November to progress to the group stage of the FIFA World Cup 2010 Asian Qualifying for the first time, where they were drawn against Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Uzbekistan.
Singapore's group stage campaign began with a loss to Saudi Arabia, but the Lions then beat Lebanon 2–0 at home. Successive losses to Uzbekistan, 3–7 and 0–1, left Singapore with little chance of getting into the next round. Singapore were finally eliminated when they lost 2–0 to the Saudis at home. Singapore finished third in the group with six points from six games after defeating Lebanon 2–1 in Beirut in their final game.
Few days after releasing the provisional 33-men squad, national team training started in preparation of the match against Maldives. Avramovic led the new-look Lions in a game where Singapore won Maldives 4–0 at the Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore in a friendly match. (Note. The match was not an 'A' international because unlimited substitutions were allowed) After the 4–0 win against Maldives, a closed-door friendly match against Etoile FC (of the S.League) was played at the Jalan Besar Stadium, in which the Lions were triumphant, with goals from Aleksandar Duric and Qiu Li sealing the 2–1 win. Less than a week later before the World Cup qualifier, a last preparation friendly match was played against Chinese Taipei. Eventually, Singapore won the match 3-2 with goals from Aleksandar Duric, Shi Jiayi and Fazrul Nawaz.
This is the procedure/match report of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (Asian Qualifier) Round 2 :
Singapore won 6–4 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.
In the preliminary draw in Brazil on 30 July 2011 by the football governing body FIFA, Singapore was drawn into Group A for their Round 3 of the Asian qualifier. Group A includes Jordan, Iraq and China.
Singapore Under-23's team
After being drawn with Yemen for the Olympic football qualifiers, Coach Raddy Avramovic drew up a provisional squad and they played a friendly with the Malaysian U-23's at the Jalan Besar stadium, with the score ending 2–0 to Malaysia. They then faced Yemen, where they lost 3–0 in two legs. After the loss, The Singapore national under-23's team needed to focus on the upcoming 2011 SEA Games in November 2011. Thus, Coach Raddy Avramovic led the under-23 team to Sydney, Australia for a training stint.
The Singapore under-23's team lost to the Australia Olympic Team 6–0 on 14 June 2011. Singapore under-23 team were due to play another friendly against Australian club Central Coast Lightning, but the match was cancelled due to bad weather. On 27 July 2011, Singapore Under-23 team secured a 1–0 win over Myanmar Under-23 in an International Friendly match.
Singapore U15 and U16 team
Singapore has an U15 and U16 team, merged to form the Singapore national youth football team, and the team has won the bronze for the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics football event, and got runners-up and second-runners up for the 2011 Lion City Cup.
Following that, the U15 team went to the ASEAN Football Federation U16 Tournament Champions 2011 and got fourth placing after a 2–0 defeat by Thailand U16 side in the semi-final.
2011 Singapore Home JerseyThere have been different suppliers for the jerseys, from Admiral, Puma, Umbro, Grand Sport to Tiger. In November 2006, Nike signed a year's deal of kit sponsorship worth SGD$1,000,000.
Singapore had initially worn blue shirts and shorts as their home kit. However, in the late 1980s, The Lions adopted the national colours of red and white for their home kit while they kept blue as the colour for the away kit. This tradition stayed on through the 1990s. For the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship, the national team's colours reverted back to blue as its home kit and white as the other kit.
Before 2006, Singapore had been using the same kit for nearly 5 years, supplied by Tiger who had a tie-in with Diadora. The kit used during the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship made its final appearance on 4 February 2007 against Thailand. The next kit was first used on 24 June 2007 against DPR Korea. The jersey has white trims at the edge of the sleeves and around the neck. Unlike most national teams which use the country's footballing association as a logo on the kit, the national flag of Singapore takes up the spot on the left chest instead while a white Nike logo is on the right chest and. This symmetry also applies to the away jersey. The numbering and lettering font and colour is the same as the previous two home jerseys.
On 13 February 2008, a leaked photo from a photo shoot surfaced on the internet showing the unreleased kit showing national captain, Indra Sahdan Daud modelling the kit with Hariss Harun. The new kit was officially announced on 20 March 2008, featuring tight-fit jerseys in the two traditional team colours: red for the home games and blue for the away matches. The kit was worn for the first time by the national team in the international friendly against Australia in preparation for the World Cup 2010 qualifier home game against Lebanon on 26 March 2008.
In November 2010, Nike Singapore launched a new football kit for Singapore, specially made for the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup. The home kit's design was of half dark red and light red. The away kit features half navy blue and light blue that was once worn by Singapore football team in 1970's era.
Home stadium
From 1932, until the Kallang National Stadium was opened in 1973, Jalan Besar Stadium hosted all home games of Singapore's representative sides which participated in the Malaysia Cup. Since then, all of Singapore's home games in the Malaysia Cup and the national team home matches were played at the Kallang National Stadium.
However, the National Stadium was slated for demolishment in early 2007 to make way for the new Singapore Sports Hub which was to be completed in 2011. Singapore played Australia in what was supposedly the last game ever to be played at that stadium. However, due to some delays caused by the addition of new plans for the Singapore Sports Hub, the National Stadium continued to host more of the Singapore's matches. Since the supposed 'last game', the stadium has hosted 5 more matches, and it was also be the venue for 2 more World Cup 2010 qualifier matches which was played in June 2008 and a friendly match against the Brazilian Under-23 team who were preparing for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The stadium is currently under works for the new Sports Hub, and the current home base for the Singapore National Team will be the Jalan Besar Stadium, sharing it with The Cubs, their youth counterparts, the U15 and 16s.
Since the start of 2004, Singapore has played its home matches in 5 different stadiums all over Singapore.
FIFA World Cup
Asian Cup record
This competition was formerly known as the Tiger Cup / AFF Suzuki Cup
The Singapore national football team is the national association football team of Singapore. The team comes under the organization of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS)
To date, the most significant successes of the team have come in the regional AFF Suzuki Cup (formerly known as the 'Tiger Cup'), which Singapore has won three times in 1998, 2005 and 2007. In 1998, Singapore beat Vietnam 1–0 in the final to capture the country's first major international football title. In the 2004-5 competition, Singapore defeated Indonesia in a two-leg final 5–2 on aggregate. Singapore successfully retained the trophy in 2007, beating Thailand 3–2 on aggregate in the final.
In the 2007 Asian Cup qualifiers, Singapore became the only team to beat Iraq en route to their Asian Cup winning campaign. Singapore also drew with China 0–0 and 1–1 at home in 2006 and 2009 respectively. In March 2008, Australia also failed to beat Singapore when the game ended in a goalless draw.
In the FIFA World Rankings, Singapore's highest standing was in the first release of the figures, in August 1993, at 73rd. Singapore was the Asian Football Confederation's 'Mover of the Year' in 2005.
In January 2007, Singapore achieved a national record 11–0 win against Laos in an ASEAN Football Championship match. Mohd Noh Alam Shah scored 7 goals in the match.
Singapore's main rival on the international stage is their geographical neighbour, Malaysia, and past matches between these two teams have produced much drama.
Over the years, Singapore has included several naturalised citizens in its team. Currently, the squad consists of Aleksandar Đurić and Mustafic Fahrudin from Yugoslavia, Daniel Bennett from England, Shi Jiayi and Qiu Li from China.
The most successful football club in Singapore is Singapore Armed Forces FC.
History
1892–1994
In 1892, the Singapore Amateur Football Association applied to become a registered society. The HMS Malaya Cup (which was later known as the Malaysia Cup) was launched in 1921 by officers of a British battleship in Malaya, and Singapore was one of the six teams that took part in the inaugural year, and won the event. While the representative side in the Malaysia Cup and the Malaysian League was not the national team – this team included some foreign players – many Singapore football fans viewed the Malaysia Cup side as being the national team, and the team's exploits in the Malaysian competitions generally drew much more attention than Singapore's participation in other international tournaments. They either won or were runners up in the event every year until 1941, after which it was suspended because of World War II.
In all, Singapore won 24 Malaysia Cup titles and 2 Malaysian League titles. After winning the Malaysia Cup and league double in 1994, the Football Association of Singapore withdrew from the Malaysian competitions following a dispute with the Football Association of Malaysia over gate receipts, and have not been involved since. Singapore subsequently launched its own professional league, the S.League, in 1996, and also began to put much more focus on the performance of its national team in international competitions.
1995–1999
Singapore won the bronze medal in the 1995 Southeast Asian Games, after losing 1–0 in the semi-finals to the hosts and eventual gold medalists, Thailand. Singapore hosted the 1996 Tiger Cup but were eliminated in the group stages.
The national team again reached the semi-finals of the Southeast Asian Games in 1997, losing to Indonesia, and lost to Vietnam 1–0 in the third-place match.
However in the 1998 edition of the Tiger Cup, Singapore's team led by coach Barry Whitbread won the group stage with victories over Malaysia and the Philippines. In the semi-finals, they beat Indonesia and subsequently edged out hosts Vietnam 1–0 in the final. This was the country's first ever international title.
2000–2002
Jan B. Poulsen, who was part of the Danish backroom staff in the 1998 World Cup, was appointed the Technical Director of the Football Association of Singapore in 1999. However, due to poor results by Singapore in the 2000 Tiger Cup, coach Vincent Subramaniam was sacked and Poulsen took over as coach in 2001. Singapore hosted the 2002 Tiger Cup, but lost 4–0 to arch-rivals Malaysia in their first game.
Singapore went on to win 2–1 over Laos, but a 1–1 draw in the final group game against Thailand wasn't enough to reach the knock-out stages and so Poulsen was sacked.
2003–2004 (Tiger Cup)
Radojko Avramovic took over as coach of the flailing and deflated Singapore national football team in 2003. Singapore started the 2004 Tiger Cup as underdogs but a 1–1 draw in their first game against hosts Vietnam, another draw against Indonesia, and wins against Cambodia and Laos saw the qualify for the semi-finals.
Singapore were drawn with Myanmar, in the two-legged semi-finals. Singapore took a 4–3 away lead back home for the second leg. In the ill-tempered second leg, three Myanmar players were sent off and Singapore went on to win 4–2 after extra time to clinch a win 8 -5 on aggregrate.
Singapore then won the first leg of the two-legged final against Indonesia 3–1 in Jakarta, before winning 2–1 (5–2 on aggregrate) in the second leg in front of a 55,000 home crowd.
2007 Asian Cup Qualifiers
In 2006, Avramovic then led Singapore into the 2007 Asian Cup qualifiers with a 2–0 victory at home over Iraq, but Singapore failed to build on this victory and then lost away to Palestine. The Singapore team then took on China away in Tianjin and lost to an injury time penalty. China travelled to Singapore for the second meeting and the Singapore defence held out for a 0–0 draw. A subsequent 4–2 loss to Iraq dashed Singapore's hopes of qualifying for the Asian Cup. The Asian Cup qualifying campaign ended with a default 3–0 victory over Palestine, who were unable to fulfill the fixture.2007 AFF Suzuki Cup
In 2007, For the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship, Singapore hosted the group stage. After a 0–0 draw with Vietnam, Singapore then trashed Laos 11–0 to record their largest-ever win. In the final group match, Singapore knocked Indonesia out of the tournament in a 2–2 draw. Singapore met Malaysia in the semi-final.The first leg saw a 1–1 draw in Shah Alam, while in the second leg at Singapore's National Stadium, following another 1–1 draw, Singapore beat Malaysia in a penalty shoot-out 5–4, goalkeeper Lionel Lewis saving the final Malaysian spot kick from Mohd Khyril Muhymeen Zambri. In the final against Thailand, Singapore won a controversial first leg at home 2–1, and then secured a 1–1 draw in Bangkok thanks to a late strike from Khairul Amri to retain the ASEAN Football Championship trophy.
2008 AFF Suzuki Cup
In 2008, For the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup held in Indonesia and Thailand, Singapore was drawn in Group A to meet co-hosts Indonesia, Myanmar and Cambodia. Singapore progressed from the group, topping the table. However, they lost out to eventual winners Vietnam, 1–0 on aggregate.2010 World Cup Qualifiers
Singapore met Palestine in first round of the FIFA World Cup 2010 Asian Qualifying. Singapore won the first leg 4–0 away in Doha, and the Palestinians again failed to fulfill the away fixture, so FIFA awarded Singapore a 3–0 win.Singapore was drawn with Tajikistan in the second round: Singapore won the home match 2–0 and drew the return leg 1–1 on 18 November to progress to the group stage of the FIFA World Cup 2010 Asian Qualifying for the first time, where they were drawn against Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Uzbekistan.
Singapore's group stage campaign began with a loss to Saudi Arabia, but the Lions then beat Lebanon 2–0 at home. Successive losses to Uzbekistan, 3–7 and 0–1, left Singapore with little chance of getting into the next round. Singapore were finally eliminated when they lost 2–0 to the Saudis at home. Singapore finished third in the group with six points from six games after defeating Lebanon 2–1 in Beirut in their final game.
2011 Asian Cup Qualification
For the 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Singapore was drawn in Group E, together with Iran, Thailand and Jordan. Singapore were beaten 6–0 by Iran in the first match, and then defeated Jordan 2–1. In November 2009, Singapore hosted Thailand at the National Stadium and lost 3–1, but won the return fixture 1–0 a few days later, earning Singapore their first victory on Thai soil in 48 years. Singapore next hosted Iran, losing 3–1, and a 2–1 defeat against Jordan ended their hopes of Asian Cup football in 2011.2010 AFF Suzuki Cup
In 2010, Singapore drew with the Philippines 1–1, defeated Myanmar 2–1, then duly lost to Vietnam 1–0 in the knockout stage decider. As a result, the Singapore national footbal team was knocked out in group stage in Hanoi. The lions were criticised for their dismal performance in the Suzuki Cup, which they won in 1998, 2004, and 2007.2011 – present
In Jan 2011, The Football Association of Singapore decided to disband & revamp the national team. 6 months later, The Lions were back in action after the dismal performances in 2010 (in which The Lions was knocked out of the group stage in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup). In May 2011, National team coach Raddy Avramovic announced the new 33-strong (men) national provisional squad for the upcoming international friendlies and 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The Lions were scheduled to play international friendies against Maldives on 7 June 2011 and Laos on 18 July 2011.Few days after releasing the provisional 33-men squad, national team training started in preparation of the match against Maldives. Avramovic led the new-look Lions in a game where Singapore won Maldives 4–0 at the Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore in a friendly match. (Note. The match was not an 'A' international because unlimited substitutions were allowed) After the 4–0 win against Maldives, a closed-door friendly match against Etoile FC (of the S.League) was played at the Jalan Besar Stadium, in which the Lions were triumphant, with goals from Aleksandar Duric and Qiu Li sealing the 2–1 win. Less than a week later before the World Cup qualifier, a last preparation friendly match was played against Chinese Taipei. Eventually, Singapore won the match 3-2 with goals from Aleksandar Duric, Shi Jiayi and Fazrul Nawaz.
2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifier (Asian Qualifier)
Singapore received a bye to the second round by the football governing body due to them reaching the third round of the qualification process in 2007 (for the World Cup in South Africa). A causeway clash as Singapore met Malaysia national football team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification second round in the first leg. Singapore won Malaysia national football team 5–3 in the first leg of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (Asian Zone) second round goals from Singapore Aleksandar Duric, Qiu Li, Mustafic Fahrudin and Shi Jiayi . The 2nd leg was held at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil on 28 July 2011. The match ended 1–1 as Shi Jiayi scored the important goal in the second half to send Singapore through to the 3rd Round of Asian Zone World Cup 2014 Qualifying for the 2nd time in succession.This is the procedure/match report of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (Asian Qualifier) Round 2 :
| 23 July 2011 19:30 UTC+8 | Singapore  | 5 – 3 |  Malaysia | Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Đurić  7', 81'Qiu Li 22'Fahrudin 44'Shi Jiayi 45+1' | Report | Safee 1', 71' Abdul Hadi 70' |
| 28 July 2011 20:45 UTC+8 | Malaysia | 1 – 1 | Singapore | National Stadium, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur Attendance: 80,000 Referee: Hiroyoshi Takayama (Japan) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Safee 58' | Report | Shi Jiayi 73' |
In the preliminary draw in Brazil on 30 July 2011 by the football governing body FIFA, Singapore was drawn into Group A for their Round 3 of the Asian qualifier. Group A includes Jordan, Iraq and China.
Singapore Under-23's team
After being drawn with Yemen for the Olympic football qualifiers, Coach Raddy Avramovic drew up a provisional squad and they played a friendly with the Malaysian U-23's at the Jalan Besar stadium, with the score ending 2–0 to Malaysia. They then faced Yemen, where they lost 3–0 in two legs. After the loss, The Singapore national under-23's team needed to focus on the upcoming 2011 SEA Games in November 2011. Thus, Coach Raddy Avramovic led the under-23 team to Sydney, Australia for a training stint.
The Singapore under-23's team lost to the Australia Olympic Team 6–0 on 14 June 2011. Singapore under-23 team were due to play another friendly against Australian club Central Coast Lightning, but the match was cancelled due to bad weather. On 27 July 2011, Singapore Under-23 team secured a 1–0 win over Myanmar Under-23 in an International Friendly match.
Singapore U15 and U16 team
Singapore has an U15 and U16 team, merged to form the Singapore national youth football team, and the team has won the bronze for the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics football event, and got runners-up and second-runners up for the 2011 Lion City Cup.
Following that, the U15 team went to the ASEAN Football Federation U16 Tournament Champions 2011 and got fourth placing after a 2–0 defeat by Thailand U16 side in the semi-final.
Kits
2011 Singapore Home Jersey
Singapore had initially worn blue shirts and shorts as their home kit. However, in the late 1980s, The Lions adopted the national colours of red and white for their home kit while they kept blue as the colour for the away kit. This tradition stayed on through the 1990s. For the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship, the national team's colours reverted back to blue as its home kit and white as the other kit.
Singapore Away Kit 2011–2012
Before 2006, Singapore had been using the same kit for nearly 5 years, supplied by Tiger who had a tie-in with Diadora. The kit used during the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship made its final appearance on 4 February 2007 against Thailand. The next kit was first used on 24 June 2007 against DPR Korea. The jersey has white trims at the edge of the sleeves and around the neck. Unlike most national teams which use the country's footballing association as a logo on the kit, the national flag of Singapore takes up the spot on the left chest instead while a white Nike logo is on the right chest and. This symmetry also applies to the away jersey. The numbering and lettering font and colour is the same as the previous two home jerseys.
On 13 February 2008, a leaked photo from a photo shoot surfaced on the internet showing the unreleased kit showing national captain, Indra Sahdan Daud modelling the kit with Hariss Harun. The new kit was officially announced on 20 March 2008, featuring tight-fit jerseys in the two traditional team colours: red for the home games and blue for the away matches. The kit was worn for the first time by the national team in the international friendly against Australia in preparation for the World Cup 2010 qualifier home game against Lebanon on 26 March 2008.
In November 2010, Nike Singapore launched a new football kit for Singapore, specially made for the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup. The home kit's design was of half dark red and light red. The away kit features half navy blue and light blue that was once worn by Singapore football team in 1970's era.
Home stadium
From 1932, until the Kallang National Stadium was opened in 1973, Jalan Besar Stadium hosted all home games of Singapore's representative sides which participated in the Malaysia Cup. Since then, all of Singapore's home games in the Malaysia Cup and the national team home matches were played at the Kallang National Stadium.
View from The Float at Marina Bay Grandstand
Since the start of 2004, Singapore has played its home matches in 5 different stadiums all over Singapore.
- Kallang National Stadium
- Jalan Besar Stadium
- Choa Chu Kang Stadium
- Jurong West Stadium
- Jurong East Stadium
FIFA World Cup
| Year | Round | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1930 –  1974 | Did not enter | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 1978 –  2010 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 2014 | [To be determined] | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 2018 | [To be determined] | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 2022 | [To be determined] | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Asian Cup record
- 1956 – Did not enter
- 1960 – Did not qualify
- 1964 – Did not enter
- 1968 – Did not qualify
- 1972 – Did Not qualify
- 1976 to 1980 – Did not qualify
- 1984 – Round 1
- 1988 – Did not enter
- 1992 to 2011 – Did not qualify
This competition was formerly known as the Tiger Cup / AFF Suzuki Cup
- 1996 – Group Stage
- 1998 – Champions
- 2000 – Group Stage
- 2002 – Group Stage
- 2004 – Champions
- 2007 – Champions
- 2008 – Semi Final
- 2010 – Group Stage
- 1951 – Did not enter
- 1954 – Group stage
- 1958 – Group stage
- 1962 – Did not enter
- 1966 – 4th
- 1970 to 1986 – Did not enter
- 1990 – Group stage
- 1994 to 1998 – Did not enter
- *Under-23 tournament since 2002
- 1959 to 1961 – Did not enter
- 1963 – Cancelled
- 1965 – Preliminary round
- 1967 to 1969 – Did not enter
- 1971 – Group stage
- 1973 – 4th
- 1975 – 3rd
- 1977 – Group Stage
- 1979 – Preliminary Round
- 1981 – 1st
- 1983 – 1st
- 1985 – 2nd
- 1987 – Group Stage
- 1989 – 2nd
- 1991 – 3rd
- 1993 – 3rd
- 1995 – 3rd
- 1997 – 1st
- 1999 – 1st
- *Under-23 tournament since 2001
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