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Clutch of young Balestier players tipped to make national team
04:46 AM Apr 16, 2011
SINGAPORE - Talk to coaches in the S-League and other members of the football fraternity and they will all say Courts Young Lions skipper Hariss Harun will be a shoo-in for Radojko Avramovic's 31-member national team. Last week, Avramovic told MediaCorp that when he does unveil the squad next month for test runs ahead of July's second round of Asian World Cup qualifiers, 14 of the old guard will return, with another 17 places up for grabs.
He already has a few names in mind, and there will be some youngsters who have never even been close to a call-up who will get the chance of a spot in the national team.
Singapore's shock exit at the group stage at December's AFF Suzuki Cup stunned the nation, and Football Association of Singapore (FAS) president Zainudin Nordin promised wholesale changes to the national team.
Avramovic is just weeks away from assembling his first provisional squad since that debacle, and unfancied S-League side Balestier Khalsa could throw up a few new faces.
Speaking to MediaCorp earlier this week, SAFFC coach Richard Bok said: "Balestier striker Andrew Tan has proven to be quite a nuisance to a lot of his opponents, and his team-mate Armanizam Dolah, a midfielder, has also done well."
The duo, both 23, as well as 28-year-old Tigers midfielder K Vikraman were touted by a number of coaches and observers.
Another new name highlighted by three-time S-League coach of the year Bok was Emmeric Ong, who has made the step up from the Prime League to Hougang United's senior side. The 20-year-old has featured in all but two of Hougang's nine games so far in this season's S-League, making the right-back position in Aide Iskandar's team his own.
SAFFC midfielder Rhysh Roshan Rai, 25, has done enough to impress Geylang United coach Mike Wong. Said Wong: "Rai's got height, is very comfortable with the ball at his feet and he's done well for SAFFC this year."
The Courts Young Lions are the team most responsible for giving young footballers opportunities in the S-League, and it is no surprise that a number of players from the team are expected to feature in Avramovic's provisional squad.
Goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud, defenders Afiq Yunos and Shakir Hamzah, midfielders Izzdin Shafiq and Zulfahmi Arifin and attackers Nazrul Ahmad Nazari and Fazli Ayob are all jostling for spots, along with midfield star Hariss and defender Safuwan Baharudin.
Said Etoile coach Guglielmo Arena: "A lot of the players may be small in stature, but I really like the (Courts Young Lions) squad, and I don't understand why they are not higher up the S-League standings."
But it may not be time yet for the youngsters to make Avramovic's first XI for the World Cup qualifier at home on July 23 against either reigning ASEAN champions Malaysia or Chinese Taipei,
Home United coach Lee Lim Saeng said: "From what I've seen of their performance, Hariss and Izzdin are two players who can contribute to the national team because they've already shown what they can do."
Added Geylang's Wong: "A lot of these boys have played in the youth ranks, so they should do fine if they play Malaysia, but whether they play or not will depend on whether Avramovic is looking to win the game or start building for the future."
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