Singapore Vs Iran review (part 1)

When I knew I was going to be late for the match because I missed a bus, I got irritated as I was plain unlucky.

Checked the electroinic next bus monitor at the bus stop, and then i saw nxt bus arriving in 21 min. C'mon, how can there be a 21 min interval ??? Btw, i was trying to catch Service 14 from Dhoby Ghaut.

Once alighted, rushed to the stadium, just as I chiong up the stairs to the Gallery, i heard boos. Bloody hell, penalty awarded when I haven even got to my seat. Good.

As usual took my seat near the centre of the field. To my disgust, I found a large grp of Iranian supporters there. Had expected the Lions die-hard to be there at first.

So it will be in this position where my review will come from ( to be continued..)

Iran - Possibly the last Lions' opponent @ Kallang

After being criticised by many for giving up the hosting of the 2013 SEA Games, I supposed the SSC will now get their act together and that the Sports Hub construction will get underway in early 2010.

With no real football matchups scheduled for the early half of 2010, traditional Asian powerhouse Iran could well be the last opponent to grace the Grand Old Lady that is Kallang.

With its European players like Masoud Shojaei, Javad Nekounam, Ali Karimi apparently still suspended due to political reasons, we would definitely miss some star appeal but i guessed we probably would not mind.

But we still cant discount the locally-based Iranians as they are still far ahead of us in many aspects like technique, etc.

However, my own perspective is that the current Iranian is no kingpins of Asia and definitely not among its best team in recent times.

After recent friendlies with Oman, where performances have been poor and disunity among the Lions, I seriously hope the Lions can conjure up a good performance on Wednesday to edge Singapore a step closer to the Asian Cup next year.

Any form of housekeeping or bucking up could be taken care by Raddy after our place is secured.

So now, I am hoping for a big upset and something humongous for local fans to cheer about on Wednesday evening.

Let's draw positives from the 2006 qualifying matchup against Iraq where I was at Kallang to witness it first hand.

This Wednesday, I will be there once again, carrying a big hope inside which I wouldn't show...

There is only ONE Ronaldo, and he is Brazilian

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima

The BEST striker ever to be seen since the day I started watching football.

Sir Bobby's protege is the biggest reason why I am a Barca fan.

The then 20 year old produced 34 league goals in 37 appearances, 8 Copa Del Rey goals in 5 appearances, 5 European goals in 8 appearances during the 1996/1997 season @ the Camp Nou.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYVqmMzEaZ4

Dec 17 - Blast from the past!

Today is D-day for the SEA Games soccer medals.

Vietnam are already kings of SEA at senior level. And after defeating Singapore twice in the past 2 years (i.e the SEA Games semis & '08 Suzuki Cup @ Kallang), indeed they are on a rise. Its time to keep them in check.

But I have always fancied Malaysian soccer, probably influenced by the strong link previously in Sgp's participation in the Malaysian soccer scene as that was the time i started watching football.

K Rajagopal is a seasoned coach around Malayisa and he used to be assistant at Selangor around the 90s. I think the current team is pretty decent enough to win gold.

Surprisingly, I was doing some research on the Harimau Malaya yesterday and found that Dec 18 was the anniversary of one of their and Asia's greatest player - R. ARUMUGAM a.k.a SPIDERMAN (http://worldrec.info/2006/05/03/malaysias-soccer-heydays) as I have heard of this guy from my dad.

Can the team give this icon a fitting anniversary by going against the odds and beat the Viets? And in doing so, they will be able to end their long 20 year wait of a SEA Games soccer gold. Their last was in 1989 when I believed a team comprising of Lim Teong Kim, Dollah Salleh Sheeby Singh!!! and gang won it.

Coincidentally, Dec 17 is also when Singapore clinched the 1994 Malaysia Cup by trouncing the Zainal Abidin Hassan-led Pahang at Shah Alam.

Hope the Cubs will put up a credible performance later. If what Coach Terry promises what he said, we can finally see the Cubs open up and play some attacking football. Im sure many die-hard have been wanting to see more attacking play deep down inside throught the tournament.


I really hope that the Harimau Malaya can help the Lions avenge the two recent defeats and end thier gold drought.I want Negaraku to be played at the ceremony can?

So c'mon, Tigers & Lions!

Live or Delayed? - El Fenómeno's take

I understand most of the soccer die-hards are upset over the decision to delay the telecast of the Laos-Sgp game.

But on Mediacorp’s part, probably it’s the correct thing to do since the Swimming finals this evening had medals on the line whereas the Cubs/Young lions basically could achieve qualification with a draw. There is also a chance the match may turn out to be drab game, especially towards the end when the 2 teams may hold on for a draw.

Would that be good for local audiences? Especially those who are already critical of the Cubs’ standard of play? So perhaps it is not a bad thing for the delayed telecast tonight.

But be sure, any delay for the matches in the semi-finals on will not be tolerated. Haha.

sidenote:
The only way these clashes can be avoided is to have a dedicated channel for the SEA Games. Something similar to a SportsCity will be welcomed with open arms. Not sure if its that hard a thing to do since Starhub Cable TV can do it from time to time. Plus I think Mediacorp do have a lot of artistes who are available to do the hosting watever right? Or how about showing it on Okto (i.e. the free-to-air cartoon/documentary channel)?

Local clubs – Buck up on your marketing efforts!

Fish out of Water blog (http://fishoutofwaterspfc.wordpress.com/)recently did a piece on the websites of local clubs and the findings are plainly frank. The overall standard is atrocious. Outdated/lack of information, sites of a primary school boy standard, blah... basically its poor upkeep and site management.

Similarly as to football standards, clubs must do their own part in branding & marketing. While you sought to improve things on the field, clubs must be aware of things off it too.

A source told me that the FAS/S League actually sets aside $ for clubs who operate fan clubs/websites (any idea on this?). If so, then something is really wrong. Is budget the problem??

I hope that clubs don’t take things for granted and simply rely on the League to drum up publicity for them.

Similarly, once their club roster is confirmed and pre-season begins. Clubs should not hold back on revealing players’ details & news to the media and public. Hold press conferences, release news on club websites! That’s the way it should be!
(by the way, SAFFC’s confidential info has finally been released in today's ST)

Currently, what you see now is where soccer enthusiasts have to scour forum websites for rumours and uncredible information. Should they be leave guessing? If players have not pen to paper, then maybe. But once all is well, information must be released and broadcasted.

If not, you will be leaving in a mouse hole by yourself…

Sunday's Special Delivery from Ibracadabra & Klaas

The 2 main signings of Barca & Milan of the close season showed the reason why they were being hunted by my teams in the summer.

Both came on in the second period & made a decisive impact within 6 mins of their introduction.

Ibra's entrance created a new dimension as he provided a KEY to unlock RM's defence (actually, most of the time, you wont need one ) and he netted with a stupendous volley.

Huntelaar's first was an equally well-struck volley and he followed up with an amazing lob from the edge of the box. Both came on the 90th min mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0bvd-quFJc&feature=related . They were his first goals for the Rossoneri and hope he can build on it.

The Guardian's Sid Lowe did an amazing post-Classico write-up which i strongly recommend @ http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/nov/30/ronaldo-ibrahimovic-real-madrid-barcelona

On a sidenote, I also found also an interesting quote from Andres Iniesta post-Classico regarding CR on his alleged tumble inside the box:

AI was quoted on Onda Cero radio station : "It annoyed me that Cristiano told me not to dive because he is not exactly the best person to tell anyone that. He should not be telling anyone whether they dived or not."