S-league: Facts & Figures

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Cubs are going to the Asian Games

After an appeal to the SNOC, FAS have won the right to send the Cubs to the Asian Games.

Finally, the action matches the words.

For a while now, various government committees (SSC etc) have promised they will support S'pore football as they look to build S'pore into a sporting City for only football can unite like no other sport (According to their words)

But the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) then went on to say S'pore will not send it football team to Asian Games (Talk about a slap in the face of SSC who is supposed to look after sports in the island)

Now, SNOC have back off and even as it may displeased other sport discipline, the fact is football is the world most popular sport and only with success in this discipline can it raise the Republic sport culture.

Other sports had more success but it has not reach the public like the ASEAN title won by the Lions.

If that the case, then the Cubs need more exposure to catch up with Asia standard and that mean a guarantee to the Asian Games now and for the future.

Transfer - June/July

Pre-season Transfers

Sengkang Punggol U-turn on Mojtaba Tehranizadeh

After claiming to the S-league website that they are not going to sign Mojtaba Tehranizadeh, Sengkang Punggol have make a U-turn on that decision.

The Iranian is now a Dolphins but whether it is to Sengkang Punggol benefit is another matter.

But not that they have much choice as Fadzu name is not yet on Sengkang Punggol list and that could mean the 30-year-old have failed the Final Beep Test before the close of the mid-season transfer window.

If that the case then any striker (And one as 'average' as the Iranian) will do.

Derby Draw see Stags title hopes take a blow

Geylang United gave their Derby rival Tampines Rovers a sleepless night as they held out to force a 0-0 draw at the Bedok Stadium.

For the Stags, it mean they are now five points behind Leaders Etoile FC and their title hopes are fading fast as it was the third time in four games they have failed to score and they have only won twice in the last seven games.

It is a disaster period for the two-time champions to be losing form and they must be worry how Qiu Li goals are drying up with the Lions forward looking to get back to fitness.

It is affecting their title aspiration for at the same time, key players like Aleksandar Duric, due to age, and Khairul Amri, due to injury, are not picking the slack in form as they continue to find it tough to get into goalscoring form this season.

The White Swans defeated Beijing Gouan (S) 1-0 at the Jalan Besar Stadium in the previous night.

Bruno Castanheira scored the winner for the White Swans
Geylang United
Yazid Yasin (GK), Salim Rahim, (Yasir Hanap) Jonathan Xu, Shah Hirul, Rastislav Belicak (C), Adrian Dhanaraj, Vasile Ghindaru, Kim Jae Hong, Syed Fadhil, (Hafiz Rahim) Itimi Dickson, (Masrezwan Masturi) Peter Tomko

Tampines Rovers
Hassan Sunny (GK), Zahid Ahmad, Benoit Croissant, Zulkarnaen Zainal (C), Seiji Kaneko, (Ismadi Mukhtar) Imran Sahib, Park Yo Seb, (Jamil Ali) Aliff Shafaein, Shukor Zailan, Aleksandar Duric, (Khairul Amri) Qiu Li

Leaders pulled away with win over Champions

Leaders Etoile FC, with the happy news that skipper Matthias Verschave is staying, defeated, soon-to-be-dethroned, Champions 3-2 at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
Verschave once again showcased his importance to the French team with his goal in the 63 minutes proving vital as it gave the Leaders the breathing space to hold back a raging Champions; who was threatening to stage a comeback.
League top scorer Frederic Mendy had open the scoring as early as in the third minute before Park Tae Won pulled the Warriors level but once again, they gave it away with Kevin Yann giving Etoile FC a first half lead.

After Verschave goal gave Etoile FC a 3-1 lead, the Warriors try to stage a comeback with a goal from Ahmad Latiff but it was all they could managed and it was not enough.

The next night, Home managed to keep pace with Etoile as the Protectors defeated Balestier Khalsa 1-0 at the Toa Poyah Stadium.

Korean forward Chun Jae Woon got the winner five minutes from time.

Gombak United, who was playing on the same night, had a much more comfortable win against a Woodlands Wellington without their key players.

Nigerian forward Eddoh Pascal had a debut to remember as he notch a brace before goals from Agu Casmir, Fazrul Nawaz and Zulkiffli Hassim gave the Bulls an impressive 5-0 victory.
SAFFC
Shahril Jantan (GK) (C), Hafiz Osman, Syaiful Iskandar, Ivan Lovric, Ahmad Latiff, Noh Rahman, John Wilkinson, Ivan Jerkovic, Park Tae Won, (Ruzaini Zainal) Mustaqim Manzur, Taisuke Akiyoshi

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Balestier Khalsa

Ahmadulhaq Che Omar (GK), Sofiyan Abdul Hamid, Paul Cunningham, Daniel Hammond (C), K Sathiaraj, (Syafiq Zainal) K Vikraman, Poh Yi Feng, Han Yiguang, Anantha Rajan, (Andrew Tan) Nurhilmi Jasni, Vitor Borges

Home United
Lionel Lewis (GK), Ismail Yunos, Valery Hiek, (Naufal Omar Ashiblie) Shi Jiayi, Tengku Mushadad, Chun Jae Woon, Shahril Ishak(C), (Shahdan Sulaiman) Firdaus Idros, (Sufian Anuar) Isa Halim, Jun Woo Keun, Choi Chul Woo
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Gombak United
Zaiful Nizam (GK), Jeremy Chiang, Hamqaamal Shah, Goran Subara, (Zulkiffli Hassim) Ruhaizad Ismail, Fabian Tan, Shafuan Sutohmoh, Fazrul Nawaz, Agu Casmir (C), (Armanizam Dolah) Park Kang Jin, (Fazli Jaffar) Eddoh Pascal

Woodlands WellingtonFajar Sarib (GK), Winston Yap, Anaz Hadee, Luis Eduardo Hicks, Nardi Asani, (Ali Shaban) Azlan Alipah, Nigel Vanu, (Andy Ahmad) Noor Ali (C), Sazali Salleh, Rachid Lajane, (Guntur Djafri) Azli Mahmud

Home edge Stags 1-0

Home United edge Tampines Rovers 1-0 at the Clementi Stadium to find themselves back in the title race.

The Protectors are now only seven-point behind leader Etoile FC and in the 3-round format of the S-league, they still have a double header with the French side so closing that gap is not as difficult as foreseen.

The winner came from defender Ismail Yunos and it should bring great joy to the Singapore international who has been recovering for the best part of the last 2 years.

Over the weekend, Balestier Khalsa defeated Woodlands Wellington 2-1 at the Woodlands Stadium.

Shahri Musa had scored first for the Rams before a second half fightback by the Tigers with goals from Paul Cunningham and Rivaldo Costa.

While the next night after the Home-Tampines game, Sengkang Punggol collected their second points in as many games after a 2-2 draw with the Young Lions at the Hougang Stadium.

Khairul Nizam and Fazli Ayob have given the Cubs the lead twice but were pinned back by goals from Farizal Basri and Sobrie Mazelan.

Home United
Lionel Lewis (GK), Ismail Yunos, Valery Hiek, (Jun Woo Keun) Zulfadli Zainal Abidin, (Shahdan Sulaiman) Rosman Sulaiman, Shi Jia Yi, Chun Jae Woon, Shahril Ishak(C), (Firdaus Kasman) Firdaus Idros, Isa Halim, Choi Chul Woo

Tampines Rovers
Hassan Sunny (GK), (Zahid Ahmad) Ismadi Mukhtar, Benoit Croissant, Zulkarnaen Zainal (C), Seiji Kaneko, Imran Sahib, Park Yo Seb, (Khairul Amri) Aliff Shafaein, (Akihiro Nakamura) Shukor Zailan, Aleksandar Duric, Qiu Li

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Woodlands Wellington
Fajar Sarib (GK), Winston Yap, Anaz Hadee, Kazuki Yoshino, Sahairi Ramri, Luis Eduardo Hicks, (Asraf Rashid) Azlan Alipah, (Shahri Musa) Nigel Vanu, Noor Ali (C), Sazali Salleh, (Rizawan Abdullah) Guntur Djafri

Balestier Khalsa

Ahmadulhaq Che Omar (GK), Sofiyan Abdul Hamid, Daniel Hammond (C), K Sathiaraj, (Kamal Nasir) Han Yiguang, (Syafiq Zainal) Anantha Rajan, (Andrew Tan) K Vikraman, Poh Yi Feng, Nurhilmi Jasni, Vitor Borges, Rivaldo Costa

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Sengkang Punggol
Fadhil Salim (GK), Kenji Arai (C), Shahir Hamzah,

(Ratna Suffian) Sim Li Ming, Azfar Zainal Abidin, (Zul Nor Farahin) Jasper Seet, An Jae Cheul,

(Jalal) Farizal Basri, Duncan Elias, Sobrie Mazelan, Mamadou Diallo

Young Lions
Izwan Mahbud (GK), (Shakir Hamzah) Madhu Mohana, Safuwan Baharudin, Faritz Abdul Hameed, Fazli Ayob, (Luka Savic) Izzdin Shafiq, Hariss Harun (C), (Hafiz Abu Sujad) Nazrul Ahmad Nazari, Seo Su Jong, (Afiq Yunos) Fairoz Hasan, Khairul Nizam

Friday, July 2, 2010

Noh And Ridhuan recieved 'rewards'

Noh Alam Shah and Ridhuan Muhammad have received their 'rewards' for helping Arema Malang to their first Indonesian Super Liga title.

They have been given a short-term contract until the end of Copa Indonesia.

Not surprising, the club players (Not just them) are not pleased as they want their future assured as the new Liga season start in October and they do not want to be searching for a new club in September.

It seem their coach Robert Alberts is not wasting time with a sinking ship and his name is already mentioned with PSM and Noh and Ridhuan, especially the latter, should be thinking about that as well as the reception back home will be 'spicy' if they return to the S-league

Hariss depart for Shanghai trial

It has been confirmed, the Shanghai Shenhua trial for Hariss Harun have only been postponed and the player is departing for the Chinese club today.

The trial in China was arranged by national coach Radojko Avramovic, who is a personal friend of Shanghai head coach Miroslav Blazevic. It was the Lions boss' strong recommendation that paved the way for the midfielder.

He will have a 10-day trial to impress the Chinese Super League (CSL) leaders.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Former Rams striker a traget for Dolphins

Former Woodlands Wellington striker Mojtaba Tehranizadeh is reportedly a target for the Dolphins for the departed Abdoulaye Diallo.

However he is unlikely to make much of an impact even if this move plan out considering his performances last season at Woodlands Wellington.

But not that the Hougang club have much option especially if the other rumor that they are aiming for Peres is not a joke for it is unlikely they can afford the Brazilian.

Fadzu set for Dolphins return

Former Lions Fadzuhasny Juraimi is set for a return to Sengkang Punggol.

He is expected to put pen to paper once he pass his Beep Test which coach Aide Iskandar is confident he will achieve within this week.

Aide claim Fadzuhasny had already 'pass' his test once; achieving a 12-11 thus allowing the forward to qualify under a special concession rule, which allows each club to sign one player above the age of 30 who meet a minimum score of Level 12-10 and not the regular passing requirement of Level 13-1.

However, it seem the testers thought that he didn’t step on the boundary line when he hit 12-10, so his score was only recorded as 12-9.

If Fadzu cannot do it this week then club will have no striker until the end of the season as Iranian forward Mojtaba Tehranizadeh is reportedly a long way from making the passing mark in the Beep Test thus the club will not be signing him.

The Hougang club have signed Ratna Suffian on a part-time basis and a goalkeeper Al-Aminnur from the NFL to replace the injured Amos Boon.

Singapore Asian Games Team to play two games against Myanmar in Yangon

The Singapore Asian Games team will be leaving on Wednesday 30 June for Yangon to play two friendly games against the Myanmar Senior Team on 2 and 4 July.

From 22 players named in the squad, 18 are from the Young Lions team who are currently fifth in the Great Eastern - YEO’S S.League and have been unbeaten for the past eight matches.

Defenders Hidhir Hasbiallah from Gombak United and Sengkang Punggol’s Shahir Hamzah have been included to bolster the team’s defence, with Woodlands Wellington’s forward, Rizawan Abdullah, making up the remaining players from the other S.League clubs.

Of the 22 named, three players namely, Zulfahmi Arifin, Hidhir and Rizawan have been called up to the Under -23 team for the first time.

The tour will provide the Asian Games team with valuable international experience, having played their last game against SEA Games Gold medallist, Malaysia in a 1-0 win back in April.

National Coach Radojko Avramovic believes that the experience will give the players excellent exposure.

“At this age, players need to play more international games to help them grow. We believe that Myanmar will provide our young players with a good test. This is a good learning experience and they will have adjust and adapt to international opponents.

“Looking forward, we need to expose these players for more such games, in order to prepare them for future international tournaments like the Olympic Games qualifiers and SEA Games.”

The Asian Games team leaves for Yangon on 30 June and are due back on 5 July.

Name	Club	Position	DOB
Jasper Chan	Young Lions	GK	7-Nov-1988
Izwan Mahbud	Young Lions	GK	14-Jul-1990
Hidhir Hasbiallah	Gombak United	DF	25-Mar-1989
Shahir Hamzah	Sengkang Punggol	DF	17-Mar-1992
Eddie Affendy Chang	Young Lions	DF	10-May-1990
Madhu Mohana	Young Lions	DF	6-Mar-1991
Afiq Yunos	Young Lions	DF	10-Dec-1990
Safuwan Baharudin	Young Lions	DF	22-Sep-1991
Shahfiq Ghani	NFA U18	MF	17-Mar-1992
Faritz Abdul Hameed	Young Lions	MF	16-Jan-1990
Hafiz Abu Sujad	Young Lions	MF	1-Nov-1990
Izzdin Shafiq	Young Lions	MF	14-Dec-1990
Nazrul Ahmad Nazari	Young Lions	MF	11-Feb-1991
Zulfahmi Arifin	Young Lions	MF	5-Oct-1991
Gabriel Quak	Young Lions	MF	22-Dec-1990
Rizawan Abdullah	Woodlands Wellington	FW	4-Aug-1987
Eugene Luo	Young Lions	FW	20-Jan-1991
Fadhil Noh	Young Lions	FW	4-Mar-1989
Shakir Hamzah	NFA U18	DF	20 Oct 1992
Fazli Ayob	Young Lions	FW	24-Jan-1990
Khairul Nizam	Young Lions	FW	25-Jun-1991
Khalili D'cruz	Young Lions	FW	14-Aug-1991

Matthias Verschave is staying

Good news have emerged for Etoile FC with the French club announcing skipper Matthias Verschave is staying at the club until the end of the season.

While it is great news for Etoile FC, it is bad news for the chasing pack of Tampines Rovers and Home United as the French player could be the difference between a league title or nothing at the end of the season.

Verschave is not just the skipper of the team but an integral makeup of it with his influence in midfield and contribution to Etoile attack.

He has fired in 5 goals in the league and in the League Cup successful run, the skipper was the spark in the quarter-final when he fired in the first goal to stage a two-goal comeback to beat Geylang United 3-2 at Bedok and in the Final, he scored two of the three goal to kill off Woodlands Wellington 3-1.

That why Tampines Rovers and Home United will not be part of the cheerleading group welcoming Verschave return

Bulls signed a Prime League foreigner

Gombak United have strengthen their attack by signing Eddoh Pascal, a Nigerian forward, for their Prime League.

It is a further sign the club have clearly decided Korean forward Chang Jo Yoon is not the man to lead the club attack.

After all, the Korean have not started regularly in the Bulls attack since the return of Agu Casmir to full fitness and now with the entry of Eddoh Pascal, he is expected to be pushed further down the pack and as a foreigner, he cannot expect to be employed next season under such a situation.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

S-league Preview

Last week Preview- Got 1 right and 5 wrong

Home United vs Tampines Rovers
The Protectors first real test after 3 win on the trot. That run will end as the Stags are a different kettle from the strugglers that the Protectors have met recently. I do not believe the Protectors can match up to a championship winning team this season under Assistant Lee. 3-1 to the Stags

Sengkang Punggol vs Young Lions
It is Sengkang Punggol so that enough reason to back the Young Lions even if they are playing away from the Cubs Den. The Dolphins is unlikely to score and if they do not score they cannot hope to get anything from a football match. 2-0 to the Cubs

SAFFC vs Etoile FC
The Warriors defence has been a disappointment this campaign. One looked at it and it tell us the story. Razaleigh Khalik and Syaiful Iskandar are a disappointment. Hafiz Osman is plagued by inconsistent performances. Ivan Lovric is decent but exposed by a lacked of pace. Daniel Bennett (have shown he still got it but) is alone. Shaiful Esah is out injured. Shahril Jantan has make many saves but this season, he has make a number of high profile mistakes at curial moments like the Singapore Cup defeat when he let a ball slip out to hand the Thai side a 4-3 lead with 10 minutes to go. So the question is what defence when compared with Etoile FC. (Next week is attack) 1-0 to Etoile FC

Balestier Khalsa vs Home United
This is a match that is more to Home United strength. They can defeat the Tigers but this season the Tigers have shown more bite to add to their determination. I am not sure the Tigers will go down in this match so a repeat of the Clementi result is a possibility. 2-2 draw

Gombak United vs Woodlands Wellington
There is 2 reasons to back the Bulls this week and it is Abdelhadi Laakkad and Kazuki Yoshino. The Moroccan forward is still out while the Japanese defender is suspended. This is a big blow to any team especially one as weak as the Rams. One cannot see how they can cope with the loss of these 2 key players and they can only hope the Bulls loser mentality triumphed. 2-0 to the Bulls

Albirex Niigata (S) vs Beijing Gouan (S)
It has a draw written all over it. The White Swans and Beijing are neither in a rut nor a flash of form. They are equally matched and neither of the side have that extra-special player to tear them apart. 1-1 draw

Geylang United vs Tampines Rovers
Revenge for the Stags in the Eastern Derby. The Eagles are now on a downward slide down the table and the high of third place is a memory. The Bedok side will be lucky to be in the top half of the table after this week. The Stags is chasing the championship and they will not be in a generous mood. 3-0 to the Stags

Friday, June 25, 2010

Polar signs for five more years

Polar, the official drinking water of the S.League, announced a five-year extension to its existing partnership with S.League, taking the long standing relationship to 13 years.

As part of the announcement, 10 S.League players along with Polar Water Managing Director, Mr. Chew Thye Chuan, were present at the Amara Hotel swimming pool for a photoshoot, to commemorate the sponsorship renewal.

Speaking at the renewal, Mr. Chew said, “We have enjoyed a fruitful partnership with the S.League. Over the years, people have come to associate the Polar brand with Singapore Football. With the recent launch of the Strategic Plan, we are impressed and encouraged with the direction of the S.League over the next five years.”

In a lighthearted affair, 10 S.League players, including Home United defender Ismail Yunos, Geylang United’s Yasir Hanapi, and Albirex Niigata (Singapore) captain Mitsuki Ichihara, joined together in an hour-long photoshoot event to commemorate Polar’s sponsorship.

“Polar’s renewal shows that sponsors have faith it the S.League. It speaks volume for the growth of the S.League when a sponsor stays on for 13 years. We (the players) are very honoured to be here in support of the Polar brand,” said Home defender Ismail.

The new five-year sponsorship will see a 35% increase from the current deal, with a value of $400,000 worth of bottled water distributed in the S.League annually.

Burnely friendly games in Singapore

Burnley Football Club is set to play three matches in Singapore with one of the game - against the Cubs - to be known as the Freight Investor Solutions (FIS) Asian Cup.

Home United and Gombak United are the other two sides chosen as Burnely opponents as warm up for the FIS Asian Cup.

Schedule
Tue 20 Jul - Home United (S League) 7:30 p.m.
Thu 22 Jul - Gombak United (S League) 7:30 p.m.
Sat 24 Jul - Singapore U23 Asian Games Team - 7:30 p.m. (FIS Asian Cup)