Avramovic: Interim squad of 31 will also feature clutch of youngsters
by Shamir Osman
Apr 09, 2011
SINGAPORE - The Singapore Lions entered the tournament as one of two nations to have lifted ASEAN football's biggest prize three times, besides Thailand.
But Radojko Avramovic's (picture) men were dumped out of the AFF Suzuki Cup in the first round in Vietnam last December.
Soon after the side returned home, Football Association of Singapore (FAS) president Zainudin Nordin promised wholesale changes to the national team.
Following the debacle, the Lions will soon gather for the first time - and Avramovic revealed that at least 14 players from the old guard will feature in his interim squad.
Speaking to MediaCorp on Friday, Avramovic, who refused to divulge any names, said: "Ninety per cent of the selection is done. There is a new list of 31 players who we will consider, but having said that, the door is still open to others who prove themselves.
"There are 14 from the old list, with five or six I'm still looking at. All the others are young players, with the oldest born in 1985."
Avramovic had drawn up a list of 35 players before he selected the ill-fated 22-man squad for last year's Suzuki Cup.
This time, the 61-year-old is looking for the Lions to match their performance of 2009, when they became the first Singapore team to qualify for the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup Finals.
In the draw for the Asian qualifiers of the 2014 World Cup Finals two weeks ago, Singapore was ranked as one of the 15 top nations on the continent and received a first-round bye. The team will play the winner of the first-round clash between Malaysia and Chinese Taipei on a home-and-away basis on July 23 and July 28.
Eight Singaporeans are plying their trade in the two troubled Indonesian football leagues and they are still in Avramovic's plans. But they will only be called up if the competition they are in is recognised by FIFA, and they are in good form.
Avramovic has his eye on a series of international friendlies for his new-look team, with Kuwait, Oman and Qatar on the radar. The matches are set to be played in June and July.
At the height of the discontent in December, the Serb faced a barrage of criticism, but he insists he is up to the task of leading the Lions.
"We deserved to qualify for the semi-finals and finals of the Suzuki Cup the last time, and it makes me angry that we didn't. I want to show that we're better than that," he said.
"Things are not ideal, but I'm the kind of person who faces the problems, and the FAS have been very supportive and we're finding solutions and drawing up programmes together."
The Lions boss took over the reins here in November 2003 and he recently signed a contract extension that will keep him here till end-2012.
"I was offered a four-year contract, but I wanted three, because that marks the end of our planning cycle and maybe by then I may not be able to take the team further. We'll see what happens then," he said.
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