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History of the 2000 season
The 2000 season saw the continued dominance of the domestic scene by the two uniform Kingpins - SAFFC and Home United - with the League and Cup once again won by them respectively.
Change was the word for the Tiger Beer
First, the worst kept secret in the S-league with
After that, they go on to strengthen their leaky defence with a new defensive partnership with Croatian Nenad Bacina forming a partnership with his fellow counterpart Veselko Paponja in the centre. Rafi Ali, a key member of the national team in Tiger Cup 98, was recruited from Tampines Rovers to further strengthen the Warriors attacking option.
Meanwhile, at Home United, change was also unavoidable but it was not a choice the coach Roberts Albert wanted.
1999 S-league Player of the Year Zsolt Bucs, who command the Protectors midfield and attack so brilliantly last season to lead them to their first ever S-league crown, left the club to return to his homeland after he could not agree a wage package with the Protectors.
He wanted a higher pay package than the Champion management was willing to justify for the Hungarian ex-international as he was now close to the age of 37 and at his age, the management was worry about the injuries breakdown he may suffered. His loss was to be felt as the S-league season progress.
At Queenstown, the Jaguars were rebuilding for another shot at the S-league crown.
It begun with the arrival of Boubacar Seck and Nicodeme Boucher, two of the tallest strikers you can find anywhere in the world at 1.9m and above to the Jaguars. It was no wonder they were dubbed the "
With the "
At the back, defender and captain Lim Tong Hai commanded the backline while Dragan Talajic was retained as the keeper.
It was a much stronger Jaguars team for 2000 and after 1999 when the Jaguars were outside of the top two for the first time since 1996 Tiger Beer Series, they certainly looked to be back as challengers again.
There was a shock development at Bulls though, with their management replacing coach David O'Connor with Moey Yoke Ham before the start of the season despite the Australian leading the club to fifth position on a tight budget last season and impressing fans and neutrals with their brand of attacking football.
The main obstacle was like most matters and it involved financial details.
The Bulls were unwilling to pay what David O'Connor felt he deserved; considering the brilliant job he done at the club. Moey Yoke Ham was then named his replacement and while the Malaysian have a impressive resume, it must surely be a tough job to match what David O'Connor did.
In the end, the Malaysian not only matched that but surpassed what David O'Connor did in a turmoil season for the Bulls with the club involved in a lawsuit with their main sponsor.
The season begin with everybody expecting the two Uniform kingpins to fight it out for the League title but Home United was suffering without Zsolt Bucs and just could not get their season off the track.
With that, the Warriors-Jaguars rivalry regained their importance in the S-league as the Jaguars became the main challenger to the Warrior charge but one sticking point was that the Jaguars were not consistent enough, playing like champion-elect in one game and like also-run in the next.
The "TWIN TOWER" attack were not clicking and it took Boubacar Seck, one half of the "TWIN TOWER", quite some time to settle in the team as Nicodeme Boucher had play for the Jaguars since 1998.
Nevertheless, whenever the Warriors meet the Jaguars, an epic battle is expected and it was no different for the match on May 19 2000 but the drama was not on the field between both of them but what will happen after the match was over.
It was played at the Queenstown Stadium and the Warriors arrived to take on the Jaguars in another top of the table clash. After 90 minutes, both sides could not find any breakthrough drawing 0-0.
What nobody expected was what will happen in the dressing room after the match ended when by next morning, news will have spread that SAFFC midfielder Tan Kim Leng was assaulted by Tanjong Pagar United striker Nicodeme Boucher in the dressing room.
Nicodeme Boucher had been unhappy with events on the field between Tan Kim Leng and him, and when walking back to the dressing room at the end of the match, both refused to let the matter rest.
Finally, Nicodeme Boucher allowed his feeling to boil over; resulting in him taking matters into his own hand as the Senegalese charged into the Warriors dressing room and threw punches at Tan Kim Leng.
It became a police case with Tan Kim Leng making a police report.
To solve the matter, Nicodeme Boucher wanted an out of court settlement as both clubs management step in to settle the matter but it was not the end for Boucher.
The S-league committee felt Nicodeme Boucher needed to be punished for his assault. It was then decided he will be suspended one year for the assault with immediate effect.
With the ban, the "
With all their main title challengers dealing with their own problems and unable to mount a challenge, the Warriors had an easy ride to the S-league title in 2000. It was won with three matches to spare and Fandi Ahmad celebrated his first title win as a player-coach.
For the 2000 season, Gombak United and Jurong continued to impress in the S-league.
The Bulls showed further improvement despite finishing in fifth position again and they had at one point even threaten to challenge for the runner-up spot. It was a great result for Gombak United in a season which they had to deal with a court case with their sponsor that ended in an out of court settlement. Meanwhile, sponsorless Jurong, with their limited resources, kept their mid-table position above the like of Tampines Rovers and Clementi Khalsa who has better resources at their disposal.
Nevertheless, there were controversies when Eagles keeper Lutz Pfannenstiel and Cobras striker Mirko Jurilj were arrested by the CPIB and charged with match-fixing towards the tail-end of the league season.
Both were convicted and jailed for their offence. It was a sad scene that after five years of S-league, the first two wrongdoers were caught but it was also a relief that the league was keeping up the fight against match-fixing.
Into the Tiger Beer
The Warriors, having secured the league, now aimed for the League and Cup double, that no other team had done since the Warriors themselves did it back in 1997 with the Treble of S-league, Tiger Beer Singapore Cup and
Their uniform rival, the Protectors would not stand for it as they were determined to keep the Warriors hand off the Tiger Beer
After all, there is nothing like the first ever Uniform Final to bring out the best from both teams.
Indeed so as a great match evolved between the league’s two Kingpins as both fought out a fiercely tight battle. There was nothing to separate both teams and in the end, a spot-kick was the only difference as Egmar Gonclaves dispatched it.
Just like last season, but in revere this year, the Warriors won the league title while Home United capture the Tiger beer
The 2000 season more or less confirmed the establishment of the uniform dominance as it looked to have no end in sight.
Already, several S-league clubs are suffering cash flow problems and their on the field results are suffering as a result of that. It is not the case for the Warriors and Protectors with both well-funded; having a budget any S-league clubs would envied.
Therefore, the conclusion for the near future is the beginning of the uniform era in the S-league with the rest picking up any scrap the two uniform teams would spare.
2000 S-league Table
| Teams | W | D | L | GF | GA | Points |
| SAFFC | 16 | 4 | 2 | 53 | 15 | 52 |
| Tanjong Pagar United | 12 | 7 | 3 | 50 | 23 | 43 |
| Geylang United | 13 | 2 | 7 | 42 | 29 | 41 |
| Home United | 11 | 7 | 4 | 38 | 21 | 40 |
| Gombak United | 11 | 4 | 7 | 33 | 26 | 37 |
| Jurong FC | 8 | 5 | 9 | 30 | 37 | 29 |
| Tampines Rovers | 7 | 6 | 9 | 30 | 27 | 27 |
| Clementi Khlasa | 5 | 10 | 7 | 33 | 46 | 25 |
| Sembawang Rangers | 5 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 37 | 22 |
| Woodlands | 4 | 5 | 13 | 19 | 31 | 17 |
| | 4 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 45 | 16 |
| Balestier Central | 3 | 5 | 14 | 16 | 42 | 14 |
Home United route to Cup Final
| Stage | Home Team | | | Away Team |
| First Round | Home United | 2 | 0 | |
| Quarter-final, first leg | Gombak United | 2 | 2 | Home United |
| Quarter-final, second leg | Home United | 4 | 0 | Gombak United |
| Semi-final, first leg | Home United | 4 | 2 | Woodlands |
| Semi-final, second leg | Woodlands | 2 | 2 | Home United |
SAFFC route to Cup Final
| Stage | Home Team | | | Away Team |
| First Round | SAFFC | 3 | 0 | |
| Quarter-final, first leg | Tanjong Pagar United | 1 | 1 | SAFFC |
| Quarter-final, second leg | SAFFC | 3 | 1 | Tanjong Pagar United |
| Semi-final, first leg | Geylang United | 0 | 1 | SAFFC |
| Semi-final, second leg | SAFFC | 1 | 1 | Geylang United |
2000 Singapore Cup Final
| Home United | 1-0 | SAFFC |
| - Egmar Gonclaves | ||
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