Peres is staying

S-league website is reporting Home United player Peres de Oliveira has openly expressed his desire to remain at the Bishan club (temporary staying at Clementi) even if it is only going to be for just one more season.

The revelation comes just weeks before his current two-year deal with the Protectors, which he had signed in 2008, is due to run out.

And the midfielder is hopeful about getting a new deal from the Protectors management even though he is turning 35 in November.

“If I get an offer from Home, I will be here to do my best for them, of course,” he told sleague.com.

“I’ve been getting two-year contracts in the past few years, but even if I can only get one year for my new contract, it’s okay with me too. One year is one season of football, and you’ve got a lot of things to compete for and many chances to do something for the team.

“I may be turning 35, but I still feel young in my heart. I still can run, I think my fitness is there, and as long as I am playing, I think I can help the team.

“The other thing is that, after nine years here, I’ve come to like Singapore so much. If I’ve got a chance to stay here again with my family, I will love to stay here and be with everyone.”

Oliveira’s declaration may have marked a U-turn in the player’s thinking, after word of his intention to retire had surfaced earlier this season.

An interview with Brazilian media quoted the Minas Gerais native as saying that 2009 would be his final season in Singapore, after his second spell at Home had been riddled with injuries.

Nonetheless, he has managed 34 appearances in all competitions this season, a number that could rise to 35 if he features in the club’s final league match against the Super Reds.

And despite signs of a gradual decline in his game, the playmaker insisted that he still can be of value to his team, pointing to the example of SAFFC skipper Aleksandar Duric.

“I must have said that when I was injured for one or two weeks!” he said with a laugh, referring to the retirement talk.

“Sometimes when we are injured and we are doing treatment, we talk about things like that and we joke that maybe we are getting old! Sometimes we even say something like ‘I don’t know, I think I might want to stop next year!’

“But when you are not injured, and when you are in the field playing, you feel as if you are ten years younger. I feel like that now; I don’t feel my age, I can still run, and I can help the team with my passing and even scoring.

“If you look at Duric, he is a good example of an old player who can still help his team and be a good example to his teammates. If he is 39 and still scoring goals, then I’ve got at least two or three more years to help my team.”