This time, Calisto aims to hurt S-League club Tampines

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by Shamir Osman
04:46 AM Mar 16, 2011 SINGAPORE - He has piled the hurt on Singapore in two editions of the ASEAN Football Championship.

His Vietnam side knocked the Lions out of the region's biggest international competition in the semi-finals in 2008, en route to their first ASEAN trophy.

In the following tournament, he guided Vietnam into the last four at the expense of Singapore.

Now, Henrique Calisto is looking to bump out a Singapore club side in the AFC Cup, Asia's second-tier club competition.

The Portuguese coach parted ways with the Vietnam Football Federation earlier this month to join Thai Premier League champions Muang Thong United.

His team take on Tampines Rovers tonight in a Group G clash of the AFC Cup at Jalan Besar Stadium (7.30pm).

Both clubs already have three points, the Stags beating Maldives Victory SC 3-1 and the Thais thumping Vietnam's Hanoi T&T 4-0.

Speaking at a pre-match press conference yesterday, a confident Calisto said: "We came here to play attacking football, give the fans a good spectacle and win.

"Of course I don't know (Muang Thong) well enough, I've only worked with this team for one week. To be honest it's difficult to know all about my players, their attitude, their strengths. But I know enough to prepare for this game."

Muang Thong have quality in their ranks, with Thai internationals Datsakorn Thonglao and Teerasil Dangda the obvious dangermen.

Pakistan skipper and former Fulham player Zeshan Rehman and ex-Tampines midfielder Santi Chaiyaphuak, who won two S-League and two Singapore Cup titles with the Stags, also have bags of experience.

"I know your ... national team ... better than Tampines. We just don't have enough information about them," said Calisto, who then referred to Tampines forward Aleksandar Duric, someone he knew well from his meetings with the Lions.

"Yes, yes, we want to kill him," said the visiting coach in jest, drawing laughter from all present, including the 40-year-old Stags hitman. "He is a very good professional, a dangerous player in the team and I respect his football career. We must be careful of him, very careful."

Tampines coach Steven Tan knows what's at stake. "Like us, Muang Thong play an attacking brand of football and we are wary of the quality players they have. We need to attack and be disciplined in defence, because whoever wins this game has a good chance of qualifying for the next phase," he said.