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3rd round FIFA World Cup qualifiers Group A
China vs Singapore, Tuodong Stadium, Kunming (8pm)
SINGAPORE - His face adorned a flag draped behind the block of Singapore fans at the Bukit Jalil Stadium, with the words: "In Raddy we trust".
Having led the Lions to two ASEAN titles, a history-making run into the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in 2008, and repeating the feat in the current campaign, there is little doubt Radojko Avramovic (picture) has a cult following here.
Indeed, after masterminding a famous 6-4 aggregate victory over old rivals Malaysia in the second round qualifiers in late July, a sizable faction believes Avramovic can get the Lions' third round campaign off to a glorious start with victory over China in their Group A opening game tonight.
His charges will face a fiery battle on the Tuodong Stadium green, with a mouth-watering faceoff on the sidelines already in the offing.
Avramovic will pit his wits against China coach Jose Antonio Camacho, the man who led a star-studded Spain to the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup.
And that clash has already kicked off with an exchange of words between the coaches at the pre-match press conference yesterday.
But Avramovic brushed off talk of a need to prove a point against a world-renowned opponent. "This is not a personal challenge for me, and I'm not obsessed with that side of things. For me it's more a matter of the team on the field and how they perform," Avramovic told Today.
Accused by Camacho of employing a one-dimensional tactic of hoofing the ball to central striker Aleksandar Duric, Avramovic played it cool and, indeed, turned the tables on the Spaniard, with a wily move. The Serb said that if the Spaniard's assumption formed the basis of China's preparations, then "let's keep it that way", as a rare smile broke across his face.
If the last few fixtures are anything to go by, the Lions are equally adept at moving the ball along the ground in the attacking third, and utilising the 1.92m Duric inside the box.
Despite the Lions missing regulars Hariss Harun (National Service), Ismail Yunos (knee injury) and Fazrul Nawaz (personal commitments), Avramovic has vowed to keep his charges playing the way they did against Malaysia in the earlier qualifiers, and the Aug 24 friendly against Thailand. "I just want the team to continue playing as we have in the last few games, to concentrate and give more on the pitch to make up for the players that we are missing. We must show that will to succeed," said the 61-year-old.
Despite playing away at high altitude - Kunming is 1,900m above sea level - against a team comprising players with European experience, Avramovic asserts China are facing more heat than his Lions.
"I see this as an opportunity for this generation of Singapore players to make a name for themselves, and despite everything, I think China are under more pressure than we are," said Avramovic.
China coach Camacho's decisions are reportedly being influenced by the bigwigs in the Chinese Football Association, and his instructions, given in Spanish, have been lost in translation as they make their way to his players via an interpreter, a situation that is not helping the Spaniard tasked with awakening the sleeping giant.
The Avramovic motif on that flag in Bukit Jalil has already been printed on T-shirts, for sale to believers, and those numbers will surely rise if the Serb could take advantage of the situation in Kunming, and negotiate his charges past China.
The Lions will return on Saturday to prepare for a Sept 6 battle with Iraq, and yet another big name coach in Zico.
He said, with nonchalance: "I don't know why people keep talking about big name coaches and their teams - the players are still the same, we already have details of the team and how they play. We have done our homework, and will prepare ourselves accordingly."
Probable Singapore first XI
Lionel Lewis, Juma'at Jantan, Daniel Bennett, Safuwan Baharudin, Shaiful Esah, Mustafic Fahrudin, Isa Halim, Shi Jiayi, Shahril Ishak, Qiu Li, Aleksandar Duric
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