Courts extend sponsorship with Cubs

The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) is pleased to announce that leading electrical products, IT and furniture retailer Courts has renewed its sponsorship of the Young Lions team competing in the S.League.

At a press conference earlier today, FAS and Courts also unveiled the new home and away kits for the 2013 Courts Young Lions squad, which comprises several players who are likely to be involved in the South-East Asian (SEA) Games in Myanmar later this year. Keeping with tradition, the Home kit will be red and the Away kit, dark blue

Mr Terry O’Connor, CEO, Courts Asia Limited said: “We are proud to support the Courts Young Lion team for three years running. We have seen the club strengthen and progress over the past two years. In that time, six Courts Young Lions players went on to be a part of the national squad in the Lions’ triumphant 2012 Suzuki Cup campaign. As we extend the sponsorship for another year, we will continue to play an active role in the improvement and development of Singapore football.”

Courts Young Lions 2013

Goalkeeper
Rudy Khairullah
Abdul Qadir
Syazwan Buhari
Zulfairuuz Rudy

Defender
Al-Qaasimy Abdul Rahman
Emmeric Ong
Afiq Yunos
Nurullah Hussein
Abdul Hadi
Syafiq Iderus
Firman Hanif
Tajeli Salamat

Midfielder
Anumanthan Mohan Kumar
Shamil Sharif
Samuel Benjamin
Fazli Ayob
Nur Na'ilm Ishak
Faiz Salleh
Sufianto Salleh
Farhan Rahmat 
Nur Ridho Ahmad Jafri

Striker
Sahil Suhaimi
Stanley Ng
Ignatius Ang
Nicholas Marc Cher 
Fareez Farhan

Hougang foreign signings introduction

For those who want to know more about Hougang foreign signings, there are articles on their site introducing them .

Here are the first 4

• Mamadou Diallo
• Jerome Baker
• Thomas Beattie 
• Liam Shotton

And the final one

• Robert Chinedu Eziakor

Qiu Li will be a success

Balestier Khalsa coach Darren Stewart is expecting big thing from new signing Qiu Li.

The Singapore international had a poor Suzuki Cup outing where he only started one game and was even substituted out the Laos game before half-time as he was clearly unfit.

But it could be a different story now for the upcoming S-league season.

The Australian described the forward as fully fit now and he had a great friendly against Courts Young Lions with 5 shots on target despite not being on the scoreline   

It could be great news for the Toa Poyah club if the 32-year-old remain in such conditions for the S-league season for despite finishing in their best position of 6th since the merger they clearly lacked goals scoring 23 goals in 23 games.

A fully fit Qiu Li can add to that tally.

Tanjong Pagar United 2013 squad

Goalkeeper
Aurelien Herisson 
Shamsudin Hashim

Defender
Anthony Aymard
Hafiz Osman
Zulfadhli Emran
Hanafi Salleh
Walid Lounis
Zahid Ahmad

Midfielder
Azhar Ahmad
Asraf Rashid
Ahmad Latiff Khamarudin
Kamel Ramdani
Hafiz Nor
Sazali Salleh
K Vikraman

Striker
Ismael Benahmed
Monsef Zerka  
Abdul Rahim Latiff
Rizawan Abdullah

Players in bold are foreign signings 

Not a step down

New Tanjong Pagar United signing Ahmad Latiff have denied moving to the Queentown club was a step down from his days with Tampines.

“If you look at my previous clubs SAFFC, Tampines or even Woodlands (Wellington) and Johor FA, people may think it is [a step down] but sometimes it’s between the coach and the player."

"It’s about the communication and what he wants from me as a player, I feel good under him. Basically I come here without much specific targets. Hopefully we can make top half, but most importantly I just want to make the club improve and make progress."

And Jaguars new coach Patrick Vallee agreed lapping praise on the former Singapore international for his performances at SAFFC and Tampines.

Vallee was quoted: “I remember him when I was at Etoile. I like this player. He was great at SAFFC then he went to Tampines and won two championships. He gave a lot and he’s certainly a player with character. Thus when I know he was released, I told chairman I wanted to recruit him.”

SAFFC is now Warriors FC

SAFFC is now Warriors FC as the Choa Chu Kang club rebrand themselves for the upcoming season.

The new name was unveiled when the club held their pre-season community event at Lot One Shopping Mall, known as the Warriors Football Carnival.

BG Lam Shiu Tong, chairman of the club since late 2011, elaborated on the reasons behind the new identity.

“SAFFC’s stood by the S-League since becoming a member 17 years ago, and the name has served us and the S.League very well,” he remarked.

“Going forward, the Singapore Armed Forces are of the view that we can let the club have a little more autonomy and flexibility. Dropping the SAF name from the club helps in engaging new stakeholders and getting a wider range of sponsors to support the club.

“The organisation structures remain unchanged, though. The fact that I’m still standing here (as club chairman) is testament to the fact that, other than the name change, everything at the club remains unchanged.”

At the same time, the club also unveiled BG (Ret) Eric Tan Huck Gim, Managing Director of Facilities Management, Singapore Sports Hub, UGL Services Premas Operations Ltd., as their new Advisor.

BG (Ret) Tan had served 32 years in the Singapore Armed Fores with distinction, with his leadership role in the United Nations peacekeeping force in Timor Leste often quoted, before moving into sports events organisation and management upon his retirement from the military.

Lastly the Warriors also show off their new blue-and-black striped home jersey designed by Japanese sports apparel brand Svolme, who replace Umbro as the club’s apparel sponsor for the season ahead.

Warriors FC 2013 squad

Warriors FC squad 

Goalkeepers
Hassan Sunny
Hyrulnizam Juma'at

Defenders
Syaiful Iskandar
Zulfadli Zainal
Abdil Qaiyyim
Marin Vidosevic
Ruzaini Zainal
Daniel Bennett

Midfielders
Kazuyuki Toda
Tatsuro Inui
Shimpei Sakurada
Matthew Abraham
Shukor Zailan
Prakash Manikam
Hafsyar Farkhan
Shi Jiayi
Dharham Aziz

Forwards
Mislav Karoglan
Sufian Anuar
Erwan Gunawan

Player in bold are foreigners 

Jaguars marquee player revealed

Tanjong Pagar United marquee player is former Moroccan international Monsef Zerka.

The 31-year-old is a versatile player as he can play in a number of position from a fullback in defence to a winger in midfielder to being a forward as well.

He had played 173 league games for French club Nancy, of which 85 are in Ligue 1, and in that time he won the Ligue 2 title as well as the Coupe de la Ligue (French League Cup).

In 2010, he left to join another French club Nantes in Ligue 2 and during that spell he play 35 times for them.

After that, he travel around the globe as he play for Iraklis in the Greek League, New England Revolution in Major League Soccer and Petrolul Ploieşti in the Romanian League.

Now he is in the S-league with Tanjong Pagar United.

The former international had won 12 caps for his nation Morocca.

Home linked with J2 Japanese forward

As Home United continue to search for a forward to replace top scorer Frederic Mendy, a name is already link to the Bishan club.

He is 24-year-old Japanese forward Fukui Masato.

According to Wikipedia, the forward scored 3 goals in 11 games for his club Gainare Tottori who played in J2.

The club finished 20th, out of 22 teams, in J2 last season.

Albirex 2013 squad revealed

Here is the squad for Albirex Niigata (S) for the upcoming season

Goalkeeper
1. Hiroaki Hara (Switch from coach to player)
22. Kenjiro Ogino (New signing from Cerezo Osaka

Defender
2. Masahiro Ishikawa (New signing from Tokushima Vortis)
3. Yuki Ichikawa
5. Kento Fukuda (New signing from Shonan Bellmare)
6. Itsuki Yamada (New signing from Ritsumeikan University)
15. Tatsuya Sase (New signing from Japan Soccer College)
18. Takaaki Usami (New signing from Japan Soccer College)
20. Yuya Nagae(New signing from Japan Soccer College)
24. Naotoshi Ito (New signing from Japan Soccer College)
25. Yu Takano (New signing from Japan Soccer College)

Midfielder
4. Shuhei Hotta
8. Takeshi Nagasawa (Switch from coach to player)
10. Kento Nagasaki (New signing from Shizuoka Sangyo University)
13. Gentaro Murakami (New signing from Japan Soccer College)
14. Masatake Sato
16. Hiroki Morisaki (New signing from Japan Soccer College)
23. Kazuya Fukuzaki (New signing from Japan Soccer College)

Striker
7. Bruno Castanheira (New signing from Albirex (Japan))
11. Kazuki Sakamoto (New signing from Ritsumeikan University)
17. Ikuma Osaka (New signing from Japan Soccer College)
19. Kazuki Hiroshi (New signing from Japan Soccer College)
21. Yoshinaga Arima (New signing from Japan Soccer College)
26. Katsumi Takahashi (New signing from Japan Soccer College)

Hougang sign Iranian for Prime League

Hougang United have announced on facebook they have signed 20-year old Iranian striker Aydin Zayafatzadeh from Persepolis FC in Iran.

It is an impressive signing as Persepolis is considered one of the biggest club in the Iran football scene thus a footballer from the club will have abilities.

The club is the most successful football club in Iran with the most number of domestic League titles - 9 titles - as well as 5 domestic cup titles.

Persepolis has also won an Asian Cup Winners' Cup back in 1991.

He will be registered for the Prime League as he is under the age of 21.

Looking to go far

Tampines Rovers new coach Nenad Bacina is looking to take the four-time S-league champions far for the upcoming season.

He is not just looking at the domestic scene but also Asia where Tampines Rovers is competing in the AFC Cup.

“The target is always the same, as this is Tampines. We are playing in three domestic and one regional tournament [and] we will do our best domestically and go further in the AFC Cup,” the Croatian stressed.

“Singapore clubs always lose when they meet Middle-East teams in the knockout stages [so] I want us to show that local clubs are able to [go] a level higher.

"It won't be easy but my job is to make things work and hopefully it will [work] for us."

The 42-year-old, who was the coach of Hougang United last season, is undaunted by the challenge of doing well in four competitions.

“Those who don’t like the challenges can sit in the shade and hide. I am not that kind of person,” Bacina assertively stated.

Tampines squad announced

Tampines Rovers Squad 

Goalkeepers: Sasa Dreven (Croatian), Ridhuan Bahrudin

Defenders: Kaneko Seiji (Japanese), Yamashita Kunihiro (Japanese), Ismadi Mukhtar, Jufri Taha, Shaiful Esah, Anaz Hadee

Midfielders: Martin Wagner (Argentine), Shahdan Sulaiman, Firdaus Kasman, Mustafic Fahrudin, Imran Sahib, Jamil Ali

Forwards: Sead Hadzibulic (Serbian), Aleksandar Duric, Ahmad Fahmie, Khairul Amri, Fazil Zailani

Woodlands drop new logo

Woodlands Wellington have drop it new logo as it had apparently infringed on copyright issues as it looked too much like a design from a school crest in USA.

The school in question is Clarkedale-Jerome School which is based in Arizona.

But the biggest bloopers is that FAS has not approved of the new logo yet or even the club management thus leading to question on who the image got on their own website

Cub chairman Hussainar Abdul Aziz told the media he is investigating the issue.

At the same time, Woodlands Wellington have also announced they will discuss their new logo with their fans first before deciding on which one they will use.

Here are the designs they have put up.
 

A future S-league store?

S-league CEO Lim Chin have indicated there will be a S-league store in future according to axrosstheline.

“The discussion for this (one-stop store) to happen is still in its initial stages but we’re already into negotiations with Singapore Sports Council (SSC) with regards to the lease of space at Jalan Besar Stadium,” Lim said.

“The store will allow all Singapore football fans to purchase merchandises of their favorite teams from the store, and it will only be operational during game days at the Jalan Besar Stadium.”

“The objective is to provide assistance to the clubs to sell their merchandises, and slowly as we progress, we will bring in more merchandises, if the demand is high,” he added.

While the store may act as a one-stop store for all fans, Lim will not stop individual clubs to have their own merchandise booth during their game days.

All this look positive but I expect it to be as long as the wait for the MRT line to be fully completed in 2030 with the first one just 5 years earlier.

Reason is we are talking about negotiation with an organistation I have dubbed $$C.

Just looked at the number times over the years a number of projects have torpedoed because $$C wanted not to talk about whether it is to help the football industry but whether it will filled up their pocket first and the first thing they always raised (you know it) is the rent.

And it must always be market rate even as a number of sites (stadiums or sport facilities) under their charge have no outlets or else they rather it is left empty.

I cannot see them changing anything as long as it called $$C and not Singapore Sport Council (SSC) who should look after Singapore Sports first.  

Starhub League Cup to include NFL

axrosstheline have reported the 2013 Starhub League Cup will include a National Football League club for the first time ever.

The top two teams from the 2012 NFL Division 1 and 2 will have to participate in a qualifying round in May this year, with the winner of the playoffs being granted a spot in the StarHub League Cup proper. On top of gaining qualification, the winning team from the four-team play-off will also stand to gain a cash prize of SGD$2,000.

The FAS have labeled the initiative as the “Progression Plan” as they aim to introduce new initiatives to the NFL.

Come 2014, the winner of the 2013 Singapore Pools FA Cup will also stand a chance to be involved in one of the prestigious knock out competition of Singapore football. The winner of NFL Division 1 will take the second slot available for the play-off.

Should the FA Cup winner be a Prime League team, only the NFL Division 1 Champion qualifies for the League Cup qualification round in 2014.

However there will be a odd number of teams in the Starhub league Cup so the competition will likely see a change in format again from last year when it had a group stage before proceeding to the knockout stage for both the league Cup and Plate Cup (The cup for those who do not make it in the league Cup).

Woodlands Wellington new logo

Geylang International new logo

SAFFC aiming for double

SAFFC is aiming for the double this season as they looked to overcome the disappointment of the past 3 seasons.

The Warriors, despite being the most successful side in S-league history, have not won the league since 2010 and last season they even finish in their worst ever position of seventh.

Since the S-league started, SAFFC had never finished below fourth yet last season they achieved that unwanted record. 

Even though they won the Singapore Cup, the Warriors have always aim high and that is not enough thus this season the management is aiming for the Double.

Toda is final piece of puzzle

SAFFC coach V. Selveraj has expressed his confidence former Japanese international Kazuyuki Toda is the final piece of  the puzzle for SAFFC rebuilding.

With the Choa Chu Kang club only winning the Singapore Cup for the last 3 years, it is one of the leanest period in term of trophies for S-league most successful club.

Thus V. Selveraj is looking to being back more trophies in his time in charge and he believed the Japanese midfielder can aid the club in achieving that goal.

He noted the Warriors have been conceding too many goals for the past few seasons so with Toda protecting the back four, that record will surely improve for the upcoming season.

At the same time, he believed Toda will be a good guide on how to be a professional as the 34-year-old was ready to train the moment he touch down in Singapore and needed no rest as he wanted to familiarize himself with the squad and conditions in the Republic.

With such a willingness to win, SAFFC will surely benefit from it whether in the domestic scene or Asia where they are competing in the AFC Cup.

Another Croatian international for DPMM

The Brunei Times have reported DPMM might make its biggest signing this season.

Croatian striker Ivan Bosnjak, 33, is the latest in a string of players who are trying out for Brunei's only professional club — though the rest can't boast of ever playing at a World Cup.

Bosnjak, an 87th minute substitute for captain Darijo Srna during Croatia's 0-0 draw with Japan in their second Group F match of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, is probably the most experienced footballer to step onto the team's grounds at the Jerudong Mini Stadium.

Bosnjak — who has 14 caps and one international goal to his name — also laced up in six of Croatia's 2006 World Cup qualifying matches against Sweden, Hungary, Malta and Iceland, playing in both the home and away legs against Malta and Iceland.

He heard about the opportunity to play for Brunei's biggest club from compatriot Dino Drpic who has joined the club earlier.

The duo played together in Croatia for Dinamo Zagreb from 2004 to 2006, ending the 2005/06 season as league champions and Bosnjak with the competition's top-scorer award after netting 22 goals. The pair met again at another Prva HNL side, NK Reijka, where they played the whole of last season.
 
Bosnjak had also played for Belgian side Racing Genk, Libyan team Al Ittihad and Croatia's Cibalia — where he started his career under the guidance of current DPMM FC coach Vjeran Simunic.

Aide is Cubs coach

Aide Iskandar will be Courts Young Lions coach for the upcoming season.

He has beaten off competition from Terry Pathmanathan and Richard Bok who have also expressed interest to be Cubs coach.

Aide has expressed delight to be chosen for the job to guide the next generation of Singaporean footballers

Rezal Hassan set to be a Cheetah

Hougang United Hools facebook has pasted a photo of Rezal Hassan at the club.

It has sparked rumors the former Singapore international will be a player-cum-coach at the club - the same role he had at his previous club SAFFC.

The Cheetahs already has two keepers on their book - Ridzuan Fatah Hassan and Fadhil Salim - but will want an experienced head on the bench if needed.

Rams secured former Dutch international

Woodlands Wellington have snap up former Dutch international Khalid Hamdaoui.

The 31-year-old have played 4 times for his national side for the 11-a-side version and is also a national player for futsal side with 31 goals in 29 appearances.

The Dutchman previous clubs has some impressive names having played for Dutch Eredivisie sides AZ Alkmaar and NAC Breda, one-time giant J-league Tokyo Verdy 1969 and Moroccan giant Raja Casablanca.

He has won two Moroccan championships with Raja Casablanca.

Other than that, the Rams also snapped up Jang Jo-Yoon from Balestier Khalsa.

Hougang foreign signings

Here are Hougang United foreign signings for 2013 

• Thomas Beattie (Midifelder)
• Jerome Baker (Midifelder)
• Liam Shotton (Midifelder)
• Jordan White (Forward)
• Mamadou Diallo (Forward)

Rams signed up host of former U23 internationals and ex-internationals

Woodlands Wellington have signed up a host of former Under-23 internationals and ex-internationals for the upcoming season.

They are Hidhir Hasbiallah, who was in the 2010 Asian Games squad, Fadhil Noh, who was in the 2009 SEA Games bronze team, Rosman Sulaiman who have won 10 caps and Shahril Alias who won 2 caps.

Three of the players had came from uniform sides linked with Home United. 

Hidhir was playing in the National Football League (NFL) with Police SA as he was serving his NS while Fadhil was register for Home United Prime League side since coming back from Young Lions.

As for Rosman, he was with Home United since 2006 and before that he served with Home in 2005 (first half before Young Lions took him) while for 2004 he shared that year with both Home and Police SA thus most of his career he has been with the Bishan club.

Shahril Alias came from Geylang United but the defender cum midfielder had spend 5 years playing for Home United until 2010.

After that, the 28-year-old joined Hougang for 2011 after which he joined Geylang.

Other players who joined the Rams are Ang Zhiwei and Taufiq Rahmat.

Possible names for Jaguars player

iansee has done a search of the players who fit the description as announced by Tanjong Pagar United on the player they are in talks with.

1) Fodé Mansaré (Guinean, played for Montpellier & Toulouse)
2) Monsef Zerka (France born Moroccan, played for Nancy and Nantes in the past)
3) Bertin Tomou (Cameroonian, played for Brest)
4) Henri Camara (Senegal, played for Strasbourg and most importantly, Wigan)
5) Joseph-Désiré Job (France born Cameroonian, played for Lyon, Lens, Metz, Sedan and most importantly, Middlesbrough)

Indonesian league star on trial with DPMM

Brazilian forward Hilton Mauro Moreira is on trial with DPMM.

The 31-year-old has an impressive resume in the Indonesia league having notched 46 goals in 94 games according to Wikipedia.

He has also won last season Indonesian league with Sriwijaya and back in Brazil he won a Serie B title with Palmeiras.

Yet he come with baggage as well having been charged with sexual harassment last year as well as being involvement in an assault case the year before that.

It is clear he is as good a footballer as he is bad news.

New website for Eagles

Geylang International will be moving to www.gifc.com.sg as a result of their name change.

Their former site site was www.gufc.com.sg  and it does not fit in with the new name (Or should I say their former name as they did go back to their old name) now 

Argentine is Tampines marquee player

Axtraline have tweeted Tampines Rovers marquee player is Martin Wagner.

The midfielder, currently with Argentinian second division side Defensa y Justicia, is in Singapore for talks with the reigning S-League champions.

The 27-year-old is seen as a replacement for Macedonian Gligor Gligorov, whose contract has not been renewed by the Stags.

Wagner comes highly recommended and his wage demands are reasonable.

The Argentine has played for Argentinian first division side Racing Club, who count World Cup winners Ricardo Villa and Julio Olarticoechea, as well as Inter Milan's Diego Milito, among their alumni.

Jaguars search for their own marquee player

Tanjong Pagar United have announce on their facebook they are looking for a marquee player.

And the player will come with an impressive resume as the Jaguars are currently in advanced stages of negotiations with a striker who had plied his trade in the French Ligue 1 and had featured in the 2008 African Cup of Nations.

This is an impressive signing for the Queentown club as since their return in 2011 the club have struggled in the bottom 3 of the S-league finishing both times second from last.

But with a new coach this season Partick Vallee as well as new cast of foreigners and local signing Ahmad Latiff the club look to have a reasonable starting eleven to finish beyond that.

Especially if they get their marquee player and he perform reasonably.

Obadin Aikena is Balestier

Obadin Aikena have signed for Balestier Khalsa according to Pohui.

The Toa Poyah club have beaten off competition from established clubs like Tampines, SAFFC and Home United.

The former Gombak skipper was a sought after player for his impressive performance in defence and midfield for the Bulls for the last two seasons.

Joining him will be Bulls teammate keeper Zaiful Nizam.

Jagaurs retain Anthony Aymard as fourth foreigner

Tanjong Pagar United have announced they have retained French defender Anthony Aymard as their foruth foreigner.

Thus they have one spot left for their foreigners.

The other foreigners are keeper Aurelien Herisson, Midfielder Kamel Ramdan and forward Ismael Benahmed.

All four are holding French citizenship.  

Two more names for Young Lions post

The post of head coach of Courts Young Lions have attracted two more names.

They are Terry Pathmanathan and Richard Bok.

Both are currently looking for new employers as Terry Pathmanathan have left Tanjong Pagar United and Richard Bok have left SAFFC.

Terry have coached the Cubs before for the 2009 season as well as the U23 squad for the SEA Games. He finished with bronze for the SEA Games.

As for Richard Bok, his resume is well-known winning fourth league titles and two Singapore Cup as well being the first coach to win a ACL game for beating a CSL for the first time ever.

They will now be in competition for the job along with Aide Iskandar.

Albirex appoint new coach

Albirex Niigata (S) have announced 3 more players are being released from the club.


1) 2012 Top Scorer, Yasuhiro Yamakoshi who scored 15 goals in 28 matches
2) Midfielder, Keisuke Matsui
3) Defender, Takeshi Ito

Along with that they have announced Tatsuyuki Okuyama who is from Albirex Niigata Ladies (J) for 2013 season will be contracted with them for the upcoming season.

His CV：
1999-2004 Albirex NiigataSoccer School (Japan), Coach
2005 Albirex Niigata Junior Youth (Japan) U-13 Head Coach
2006 Albirex Niigata Junior Youth (Japan) U-14 Head Coach
2007 Albirex Niigata Junior Youth (Japan) U-15 Head Coach
2008-2012 Albirex Niigata Ladies (Japan), Head Coach

Qualification:
JFA 'A' License

International Caps - 100 caps and beyond

Starting from this year, I will be putting up the record of Singaporeans with 100 caps or more on the site whenever a new player get in or the player in the list retire but take note, as with the rule I set up on international matches, FIFA as the authority of international football, must accept them or I cannot accept it thus Fandi Ahamd and David Lee are not in the list.

The reason is they have only 97 (Fandi Ahmad) and 95 (David Lee) despite what FAS claim as FIFA have chopped off caps from their respective records and will not accept them.

Nazir Nasir, who is in the list, barely got in as well as FIFA chopped off 4 caps to reduce his number to just 100.

The best reason for accepting FIFA view and not others is if FAS did not want FIFA approval they will never have handed over the list to FIFA to assess if the players are admitted thus if FAS want FIFA approval themselves, they should have no complain if FIFA refused to admit them in the end.

No right no wrong.

122 caps
Dainel Bennett (2002-present)

121 caps
Aide Iskandar (1995-2007)

118 caps
Malek  Awab (1980-1996)

113 caps
S.Subramani (1996-2007)

107 caps
Indra Sahdan (1997-2008)

104 caps
Shahril Ishak (2003-present)

102 caps
Samad Allapitchay (1968-1983) 

100 caps
Nazri Nasir (1988-2004)

Eagles aim for top half finish with new squad

Geylang International, who has got back their old name and is looking at a new logo, is aiming for a top half finish for the upcoming season.

They are confident as they have bolstered the squad this season with striker Shotaro Ihata, who has scored 32 goals in the past two campaigns with Albirex Niigata and Home United, and is regarded as one of the most-lethal hitmen in the competition.

In addition Geylang have also two other Japanese imports with goalkeeper Takuma Ito and centre-back Norihiro Kawakami, who were both key members of the Albirex side that finished third last year, signing on.

Finally they also retain tefan Milojevic and Jozef Kaplan.

At the same time Amy Recha, Fabian Kwok, Nurhazwan Norasikin, Khairulnizam Jumahat and Taufiq Ghani were all promoted to the senior squad while 3 Singapore international Yasir Hanapi, Delwinder Singh and goalkeeper Joey Sim signed on with the club.

Thus the Eagles are confident they have the squad to finish within the range of their target.

Also at the press conference, Geylang International announced a mentor-ship for 36 school children.

Obadin Aikena set to choose Balestier over Big 3

Gombak United former skipper Obadin Aikena is set to choose Balestier Khalsa over the other clubs he was linked with.

And they are no minor clubs as they are defending champions Tampines Rovers, eight-time champions SAFFC and fellow uniform giant and two-time champions Home United.

Yet Darren Stewart have managed to convince the Nigerian to sign on with the Toa Poyah club.

And in time as well as the club have lost Goran Subara for the season as the Aussie depart for the Thai league.

Ahmad Latiff is a Jaguars

Tanjong Pagar United have announce Ahmad Latiff is their man through facebook.

The former Singapore international have been a hot property since he was released by Tampines Rovers at the end of the season with several clubs linked with him.

However it seem the Jaguars have won the battle for his signature and he will be a Jagaurs for the 2013 season.

Geylang International squad for 2013

The infos on Geylang International squad

Geylang International S.League squad for 2013
1. Takuma Ito(GK)
2. Khairulnizam Jumahat
3. Khayrulhayat Jumat
4. Delwinder Singh
5. Duncan Elias
7. Norihiro Kawakami
8. Jalal
9. Shotaro Ihata
10. Yasir Hanapi
11. Stefan Milojevic
12. Fabian Kwok
14. Wahyudi Wahid
15. Shah Hirul
16. Amy Recha
17. Jozef Kaplan
18. Nurhazwan Norasikin
19. Joey Sim (GK)
20. Taufiq Ghani

Players in bold are foreign signings

One slot left as Santos get the nod

DPMM website have announced Brazilian forward Tales dos Santos have got the nod for the fourth spot for foreigners in the upcoming season.

This is a result of the doctor at Sao Paulo who is seeing the Brazilian expecting the forward to recover in time by February.

Thus he can play in the S-league and therefore the club will give him the slot.

Albirex retain list & new signings

Here are the players Albirex Niigata (S) have retained for the season.

• Forward, Sho Kamimura (#10) 
• Midfielder, Shuhei Hotta (#4)
• Midfielder, Masatake Sato (#14)
• Defender, Yuki Ichikawa (#3) 
• Goalkeeper, Hiroaki Hara (From coach to coach cum player)

 Here are those they have signed for the upcoming one

• 22-year-old midfielder Kento Nagasaki from Shizuoka Sangyo University
• 22-year-old defender Itsuki Yamada from Ritsumeikan University
• 22-year-old defender Masahiro Ishikawa from Tokushima Vortis 
• 22-year-old defender Kento Fukuda from Shonan Bellmare
• 21-year-old keeper Kenjiro Ogino from Cerezo OSaka.
  

Two bids for 2014 Suzuki Cup Co-hosts

Here are the two bids for 2014 Suzuki Cup co-hosts.

• Singapore-Vietnam joint bid 
• Malaysia-Philippines joint bid

Jagaurs linked with Ahmad Latiff

Rumors are spreading Tanjong Pagar United have signed former international Ahmad Latiff.

The 34-year-old have been without a club since he was released by Tampines Rovers at the end of the season.

He will be a valuable asset to the Queenstown club having aided Tampines Rovers to it last two championship in consecutive years and before that he was at SAFFC where also won two consecutive league title.

It also help he has calm down much since his younger days so he will be more able to lead a team now.

He was chased by a number of clubs as well but it seem he choose Tanjong Pagar as he can commute to that area better as he live nearby. 

Still looking for a forward

Home United coach Paul Lee have revealed he is still looking for a foreign forward for the upcoming season.

However he admit it is not easy as he is unwilling to break the bank for a quality forward thus making the job of finding such a player tough.

At the moment, Home United attack have Indra and Aliff as well as Jordan and Masrezwan who can play as forwards but none of them are deadly in front of goals with Jordan the most prolific but even then his best season in 2011 saw him notch 17 goals in all competition.

Home United need forwards to notch more goals than that to maintain a title challenge.

DPMM sign former Croatian international

DPMM Brunei continue to strengthen their team for the upcoming season even with rumors of them chasing Harry Kewell.

And the player they are getting are no small feet as well as they have captured former Croatian international Dino Drpic.

The defender has had 20 caps as a youth international and got his only call-up to represent his country in 2007 in a friendly match against Slovakia.

The 31-year-old spent nine seasons playing for Dinamo Zagreb from 2000-2009.

He then moved to Germany to play for Karlsruher SC and had a brief spells for AEK Athens in Greece and Volyn Lutsk in Ukraine before moving back to Croatia to lace up for HNK Rijeka last year.

However he is most famous for been kicked out of Dinamo after his wife revealed that both of had sex on the Dinamo pitch after the Croatia-England Euro 2008 qualifier match.

Shi and Sufian Anwar join Warriors

Shi JiaYi and Sufian Anuar have join SAFFC for the upcoming season.

The duo having been searching for new employers since the end of the season and they were both snatched up by the Warriors who are looking to strengthen as they are facing Asia and S-league challenge for the upcoming season.

Both are quality players and replace the players who left the club with Shi taking over from Tatsuro Inui in midfield and Sufian from Farzul Nawaz in attack.

Other than that, keeper Hyrulnizam Jumaat and defender Abdil Qaiyyimhave joined the Choa Chu Kang club as well.

Bruno Castenheira return for second stint

Parent club Albirex Niigata (Japan) have loan Bruno Castenheira back to their feeder S-league side Albirex Niigata (S) for the upcoming season.

The Brazilian-Japanese forward last played in the S-league in 2011 when he joined the team during the mid-2010 season.

He played a 60 combined games and scoring 30 goals for the club during that period.

S-League 2013 Calendar of Events

Here are the dates as reported by Balestier Khalsa's facebook

Great Eastern Charity Shield = Friday, 15 February 2013
Commencement of Great Eastern-Yeo's S-League = Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Conclusion of Great Eastern-Yeo's S-League = Friday, 1 November 2013
Commencement of Prime League = Saturday, 2 March 2013
Commencement of RHB Singapore Cup = Saturday, 25 May 2013
Starhub League Cup period = Monday, 3 June 2013 to Sunday, 23 June 2013
RHB Singapore Cup Final = Friday, 8 November 2013

Note: Dates of events may be subjected to changes

Mido for Tampines

Tampines Rovers has reportedly chosen their marquee player and he is none other than Egyptian international Mido.

The 29-year-old has an impressive resume in the past having played for a number of big name European teams like Ajax, Roma, Marseille and Tottehham Hotspurs.

At the same time, it also show his problem as he moved clubs virtually every year and since 2008, the clubs looking for him are like his current employer Barnsley, currently in the Championship, who are taking a gamble on him to prove himself once more.

And usually they failed as this season he has only played 1 competitive game for Barnsley and they are looking to let him go since he is not performing.

He is reportedly earning GBP 4,000 a week (SGD 32,000 for a month pay range).

Mido has scored 20 goals in 51 appearances for the Egypt national team but he has not been called up since 2009.

Former Korean international for Home

Former Korean international  Lee Kwan Woo has reportedly come out of retirement to play for Home United this season.

The 34-year-old was reportedly a fan favourite during his time with his first Korean club Daejeon Citizen with his accurate passing and long shots.

He was also as good in his time with second and final K-league club, Suwon Samsung Bluewings, as he came back from a career-ending car accident to be called up to the national team.

During that period, he was noted for his keen passing and ball distribution.

Considering last season Home United was constantly criticized by Sport pundit Paul Masefield for their negative style of play as they rarely advert forward and instead resort to long ball for their attacks, the Korean may be a welcome addition to the team.

Especially as their attack this season will lacked the height of  top scorer Mendy who have move to Portugal.

The only negative about Lee is that he has not played for over two years so one wonder if he is still match-fit for the full 90 minutes for the entire season.

But with the experience of having played over 280 games in the K-league and scoring over 30 goals, do not bet against the Korean that he will come good.

Toda is a Warriors

Former Japanese international Kazuyuki Toda have sign for SAFFC for the upcoming season.

The 34-year-old will be signed as a marquee player according to the TNP as he fit the bill.

The defensive midfielder have European experience as he played for English side Tottenhman Hotsupr and Dutch team ADO Den Haag.

Other than that, he was also in the Japanese squad for the 2002 World Cup Finals.

SAFFC other foreign signings are Marin Vidošević (Croatia), Shimpei Sakurada (Japan), Tatsuro Inui (Japan) and Mislav Karoglan (Bosnia-Herzegovina) who have all been retained.

Bennett set for life with Warriors

Singapore national team record cap holder Daniel Bennett has pledged his remaining career to the Warriors.

The defender who has been with the Warriors for three stints; of which two of them were in between his time with Welsh club Wrexham.

Since 2007, the defender has been with Choa Chu Kang club and during that period he won 3 S-league title as well as 2 Singapore Cup to add to the S-league crown he won, also with SAFFC, in 2002.

The 34-year-old is seeking to rebuild the Warriors glory days again after a barren 3 years.

At the same time, Courts Young Lions midfielder Fazli Ayob will be joining the Warriors for the upcoming season.

Jaguars announce their foreigners

Tanjong Pagar United have announce their foreign signings on facebook.

Here are their infos

• 31-year-old midfielder, Ramdani Kamel, who last played for Paris FC
• Striker, Ismael Benahmed, who last played for Le Poire-Sur-Vie 
• 23-year-old Brazilian born keeper, Herisson Aurelien, who last played for Valle's ex-club, AFC Compiègne. He was a former youth international goalkeeper for the French

DPMM fans divided on Harry deal

The Brunei Times are reporting DPMM fans are divided whether the deal to to sign Harry Kewell is to their benefits.

At $1.2m per year for his salary, some believed the former Australian international is overpriced as the money can be spent getting a better and younger player than him.

Also the club can spend that money in other areas such as youth development and stadium improvement as the stadium the club is playing in is in need of a roof to protect the fans from nature aliments.

However on the other side, they believe that $1.2m will be well spend if it helps them clinch the 2013 title and at that price tag, he may be even cheaper than other big-name players

Regardless of where one stand, it is clear Harry already got DPMM fans talking and maybe S-league one as well if he is signed.

Seji set to return to Tampines

Axrosstheline have twitted that Japan defender Seji Kankeo is set to return to Tampines Rovers for the upcoming season.

With French defender Benoit Croissant returning back to France as he wish to be near his family, the four-time champions are looking for his replacement at the centre of defence.

Seji had done well at Tampines when he played from 2009 to 2011 winning the league title as well as two Charity Shield

The 32-year-old make a combined 112 appearances in his last stint with Tampines.