2009 S-league Transfer News

2008 transfers – Pre-season and Mid-season

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S-League Registration Window

The first Registration Window for the 2009 Season will be from:
S.LEAGUE: Monday, 5 January 2009 to Friday, 20 March 2009
PRIME LEAGUE: Monday, 5 January 2009 to Friday, 20 March 2009

The second Registration Window will be from:
S.LEAGUE: Monday, 29 June 2009 to Friday, 24 July 2009
PRIME LEAGUE: Monday, 29 June 2009 to Friday, 24 July 2009

All outfield players MUST pass the Beep Test before they are registered and eligible to play in the S-League competition. S-League players need to acquire a minimum level 13:1. The beep test is COMPULSORY for all players (except goalkeepers) registered in the S-League. Goalkeepers who are exempted from the test are not allowed to play in any other position unless they pass the test.

Prime League players need to acquire a minimum level of 12:7. With the exception of goalkeepers, it is COMPULSORY for all Prime League players to PASS the beep test in order to be registered in Prime League, and eligible to play in the Prime League and S-League competitions.

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Woodlands Wellington set for overhaul

The TODAY paper have reported Woodlands Wellington were planning fundamental changes next season and have already informed players whose contracts are coming to an end that they can start looking for new clubs.

“We are working on rebuilding the club and the plan is to introduce young faces into the team next season,” said club chairman, Jayadev Unithan.

“Our target is to have a team comprising these youngsters and some senior players in two or three years, so our rebuilding starts now.”

Coach Jorg Steinebrunner is also a causality of the Rams’ new plans with the German’s contract ending in November and unlikely to be extended.

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Steinebrunner: Park will have no lacked of suitors

In an interview with the S-league website to talk about Park century in the S-league, Rams coach Jorg Steinebrunner admitted Park time could be up at Woodlands as any decision to retain the Korean services would ultimately be made by the club’s management committee.

The German was however confident that there would be no shortage of suitors for the versatile wide man should he indeed leave the Rams, describing him as “an asset for any club”.

“In my opinion, Park is definitely one of the best players in the S-League,” he remarked.

“Unfortunately, whether Woodlands would try to keep him for next year isn’t up to me! Times are uncertain, and if anything happens, players have to look after themselves.

“But if for any reason Woodlands does not keep him, I’m sure he would have no problems finding another club. I think any club who would approach Park should be and will be happy with what they see in him.

“He will be an asset for any club he goes to, and I’m not afraid about him not being able to find someone to play for, because he’s such a quality player.”

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Sivaji keen on second shot with Home

PN Sivaji declared himself generally ‘happy’ with his return to active coaching duty at the end of a gruelling campaign with Home United – and has indicated his wish to carry on with the job.

The 57-year-old gave his self-assessment following his team’s 0-1 defeat to SAFFC, which ended their hopes of adding to two previous titles in 1999 and 2003.

The Protectors had appeared strong contenders for the title following a roaring start to their campaign, which Sivaji acknowledged gave him a great lift as he made his way back to the touchline after four years as FAS Technical Director.

That start was ultimately not enough as the Protectors lost out in the title race to their bitter rivals, SAFFC.

“We’ve had a fantastic kickoff to this season, maybe 14 or 15 games until we lost to Balestier in April,” he commented.

“That was good for me, as a coach coming back into the league with everyone looking. But as we went on, injuries and tiredness took their toll, and that’s the period where we dropped points.

“Overall I’m happy, although of course I’m sure we can do better. Losing it against SAFFC is very painful and difficult to take.

“I would like to stay on and give it another try next season. The club and I have spoken about it, and we’ll go into talks on a new contract once the season finishes.”

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Home United retain P.N.Sivaji

Home United and coach P.N.Sivaji have come to an agreement on a new contract for the former Singapore national coach.

Sivaji have earlier been linked with Maldives club Victory but the Protectors coach has rebut the rumors as baseless and he was committed to the Protectors even as contract talk was not progressing at that time.

The former Singapore coach only took over the Protectors job at the start of last season after leaving his previous post as Technical Director at FAS.

He firmly believed the upcoming 2009 season will be the Protectors year with the Bishan club not having won the S-league title since 2003.

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End of the road for Geylang’s foreigners

Geylang United caretaker coach Lim Tong Hai have admitted the four foreigners brought in by former coach Jozef Herel could be gone.

He believed they have yet to impress with the locals at the club outshining the Brazilian forwards of Rivaldo Costa and Luiz Machado Junior.

Despite Masrezwan Masturi and Fazrul Nawaz being not considered first choice forwards at the start of the season, both have combined to scored 22 goals in the league compared to the 16 goals from the Brazilians and Junior was even benched a number of games as he could not fit in.

Slovakian midfielder Miroslav Latiak was the only one to have impressed but it was in bit and piece and his form only come around after much of the season was gone.

Rastislav Belicak, another Slovakian, is the last of the quartet.

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Ex-Kedah midfielder linked with Geylang

Ex-Kedah midfielder Nelson San Martin has been linked with Geylang for the upcoming 2009 season.

The Chilean was the playmaker and the heart and soul of the Kedah engine room and he has impressed many with his footballing abilities in the Malaysian Super League.

He left the Northern state team at the end of the 07/08 season after FAM ban foreigners from the Malaysian Super League and he has been searching for a new club in the region since.

Eagles defender Noh Rahman have even been quoted as confirming the news.

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Chaiman place with SAFFC in doubt?

Singapore Straits Times have reported seven-time S-league Champions, SAFFC, have not opened negotiation with Thai midfielder Therdask Chaiman yet.

This is causing anxiety to the Thai midfielder because of his age as the Thai is already 35-year-old and feared for the chop as the Thai wished to continue his career with the Warriors.

Not helping are rumors that the Warriors are seeking to hijack Chilean Nelson San Martin from the claws of the Eagles.

The Warriors are believed to have approached the ex-Kedah midfielder about a move to Choa Chu Kang with the lure of the AFC Champions League which the Warriors will be playing in.

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Sviaji roll out 2009 plans

P.N Sivaji is already plotting Home’s success for 2009 as he sign a new contract with the Protectors.

The former national coach has already begun identifying areas for improvement for the club.

Asked what the club’s plans for the upcoming season would be, he stated the need to reinforce the attacking line as a top priority, noting a lack of support to strikers Kengne Ludovick and Indra Sahdan Daud as a concern.

While the presence of such a new signing could be a threat to 34-year-old Peres de Oliveira, whose influence appeared to be on the wane in the second half of this season, Sivaji was however keen to play down suggestions of a diminished role for the Brazilian.

“We’ve already started the rebuilding process,” he stated.

“We know who the players we are releasing are, and what type of players we want to come in next year. One of the points that we lacked is an attacking presence to assist Indra and Ludovick; I think we need a bit more height in our attacking game.

“A lot of teams have realized that that is our weakness, and have planned their tactics based on it. Even against SAFFC, when we were down and wanted to put long balls up, there was no one up there for that plan to work.

“But that doesn’t mean Peres is not in our plans. Peres has got a two-year contract with us when he signed this year.”

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Santi Chaiyaphuak to depart Tampines

It is believed Thai winger Santi Chaiyaphuak will be departing Tampines Rovers as the Thai turned down a new contract from the club.

The Thai is believed to have told club officials he was homesick and wished to return to Thailand to play football.

He has been approached by Thai club Bec Tero Sasana and could be joining them for next season.

Santi has been with the two-time Champions since 2004 and is a crowd favourite for his hard work and brilliant play down the Stags flank.

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Rafi extend his career

Tampines Rovers and ex-international Rafi Ali is not retiring as the veteran decided to stick it out for one more year.

Rafi had earlier in the campaign announced his retirement after the 2008 season but started having second thoughts after the way his season sizzled out as injuries cut short any actions he will see.

Also, with Tampines Rovers enduring it worst season since 2004, the 36-year-old was unwilling to retire on such a sour note.

But the veteran will once again have to face the taunting task of passing the Beep Test, which has seem it standard raise once again to 13-1, and Rafi has been having problems passing the grade in recent years.

The 2008 season nearly started without Rafi as the player failed time and time again before acing it days before Tampines first game.

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Noh set for SAFFC and Aide to retire?

Geylang United could lose half their backline next season with talks spreading that defender Noh Rahman is departing and Aide Iskandar is set to retire.

It is believed Noh Rahman have rejected a contract from Geylang United and could be joining the Champions, SAFFC, next season.

The Singaporean right-back was with the Warriors for three years from 2001 until 2003 and rejoined the Eagles, where he started out, in 2004. 

For Aide, he joined the Eagles in 2007 and before the move; he spend most of his career with Home United where he started his S-league career back in 1996.

Now the ex-Singapore international and former national captain could call time on his career as age and injuries catch up.

His trophy haul from his 13-year career include three ASEAN championship (Tiger Cup 98, 04/05, ASEAN Football Championship 07) with Singapore and two S-league titles (1999, 2003) and five Singapore Cup (2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006) with Home United. He also captained the Protectors to victory in the FAM-FAS Cup Champions Cup in 2005.

At the same time, it is believed Protectors forward and squad man Farhan Farook could join the Eagles for the 2009 season.

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Bartholomeusz: Situation not that dire

Woodlands defender and captain Jerry Bartholomeusz have spoken out on the situation at Woodlands Wellington with the Northern club set for youths next season.

He believed it is not as bad as make out by the media as he told Singapore’s Straits Times the club still have eight players, including himself, who have signed two-year contract and they have the experience and abilities to form the next core at the club.

At the same time, he reminded the media and the fans that Fadzuhasny Juraimi and Hasrin Jailani were ex-internationals with Hasrin Jailani playing a vital part of the 04/05 Tiger Cup championship winning team. (Although one has to remember Fadzu has only return a miserly 7 goals from 57 appearances in the last two campaign with Geylang United and Woodlands Wellington and Jailani have not re-captured such form since moving to Woodlands)

In the same interview, he noted the club’s financial situation is secure with long-time sponsor and partner SembCorp committed to the club in these tough times.  

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Martin’s demands scared off SAFFC and Geylang

Ex-Kedah and Chilean midfielder Nelson San Martin will not be joining S-league this year or for the foreseeable future if rumors are to be believed.

It is reported the Chilean have make excessive wage, transport and accommodation demands from both SAFFC and Geylang United, who are both interested in signing the playmaker.

Also in addition, it is believed he wished his wages are  tax-free like in Malaysia where it is no secret state teams usually pay the taxes (or in reality, they do not pay the taxes and get away with it anyway) of their foreigners. 

Both SAFFC and Geylang United are unwilling to meet the Chilean expectation in the current financial climate where every cent count and have moved on to new targets.

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Balestier only keeping Seto

It is believed Balestier Khalsa will be releasing three of their four foreigners from the 2008 campaign.

Only defender Haruki Seto looked set to be retained by the Tigers as they looked to 2009 after a bitter sweet campaign with the club finishing third in the AVAYA-J&J League Cup and yet end up as the League Wooden Spoon.

The defender had impressed in his debut season as a calming influence at the back and he did such a brilliant job as well as led the team so decisive; he was given the captaincy not long after the season started. 

He appeared a total of 37 times in all competitions as well as scoring 3 goals in the 2008 campaign.

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Indonesian blog linked SAFFC duo with PSIS

Indonesian football blog Jakarta Casual have reported he have news that Indonesian club PSIS are interested in signing Singaporean international and SAFFC duo Aleksander Duric and Johnny Wilkinson.

PSIS are playing in the Indonesia top division, the Super Liga, but at the halfway stage of the season they are in danger of dropping to the Premier Liga as they are fourth from last in the table and face a relegation playoff if they do not improved in the second half of the season.

Both players have yet to sign with the Champions for the upcoming season according to reports but both are well-on-track with negotiations with the club.

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Rams exodus set for new homes

With Woodlands Wellington eyeing the youths next season, there are no lacked of talents in the market and despite the economic climate, there are no lacked of suitors either.

Already keeper Yazid Yasin have been linked with both Gombak United and Geylang United while defensive midfielder Akihiro Nakamura is reportedly in talks with Tampines Rovers.

S-league hundred goals centurion Park Tae Won have been approached by the Champions, SAFFC; who are interesting in signing the Korean after talks with Chilean Nelson San Martin broke down.

Fellow forward Abdelhadi Laakkad is linked with Home United, who are searching for a target man, and the Moroccan height and physical build fit the bill as well as his goal-scoring poweress having notched up 57 goals in 99 appearances with Woodlands Wellington.

Even coach Jorg Steinebrunner is reportedly ready to agree a deal with Sengkang Punggol and he could be bringing defender Lucian Dronca along although finances could be a concern.

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Sengkang eye Aide?

Soon-to-be appointed Sengkang coach Jorg Steinebrunner is rumored to be ready to pull off a coup and signed ex-Singapore captain Aide Iskandar.

The 33-year-old left Geylang United at the end of the 2008 season where he has spend the last two years and before this, he spend most of his club career with Home United appearing for the club nearly 300 times from 1996 to 2005.

The ex-Singapore international have won virtually every competition in Singapore and the ASEAN region with his trophy haul from his 13-year career including three ASEAN championship (Tiger Cup 98, 04/05, ASEAN Football Championship 07) with Singapore and two S-league titles (1999, 2003) and five Singapore Cup (2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006) with Home United. He also captained the Protectors to victory in the FAM-FAS Cup Champions Cup in 2005.

It would be unbelievable for the Hougang club if the defender joined as Romanian defender Lucian Dronca have been linked with the club as well and both Aide and Dronca would form an unbreakable partnership in the centre.

However Sengkang have pulled off shock before having signed S-league All-time Top Scorer, at that time, Mirko Grabovac as assistant coach cum player although the ace failed to appear for one single game  for the Hougang team as he failed his Beep Test repeatedly.

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Razif Mahamud seek S-league return with Geylang

Former Sembawang and SAFFC defender Razif Mahamud is seeking a return to the S-league via Geylang United.

The defender could have joined Tampines Rovers last season but did not pass the Beep Test resulting in his contract being annulled before he even kicks a ball for the Eastern giant.

This year, he faced a tougher challenge as the passing grade for S-league 2009 has been raised to 13-1.

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Local S-League clubs get subsidy to hire new foreign players

S-League clubs will get monetary help to recruit foreign talent for the 2009 season; reported MediaCorp CNA.

The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) is giving each local club a S$2,000 subsidy a month to hire fresh foreign players.

Quah Kim Song, chief, Competitions, Football Association of Singapore, said: "To make this attractive to the clubs, we are giving them a subsidy. This is to freshen the league because we have seen a lot of foreign players being recycled from one club to the other. We will subsidise the club with a S$2,000 subsidy for every month."

Only one player from each club will enjoy the new subsidy. And the FAS is not imposing a minimum wage to be paid to such players. But the bad news is that only local clubs will benefit from the new initiative.

FAS will spend a total of S$216,000 if all the nine local clubs take the S$24,000 per annum grant.

FAS is also helping by bringing in talent for clubs to select with a reported 30 players already in Singapore.

Five new players from Canada and France have already been recruited by four S-League clubs.

Two Canadians are with Sengkang Punggol, another is with Geylang United, while Gombak United and Tampines Rovers have a Frenchman each.

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Seed money to see 10% reduction

S-League clubs looked set to be tightening their belts for next season. The funding given to clubs collected from soccer betting revenue is expected to be cut.

Last season, each local club received an estimated $450,000 in seed money from the FAS, but a 10% reduction is on the cards for next year’s campaign.

Among the measures taken to cut costs are releasing players with high wages, salary cuts and drafting Prime League footballers into the senior squad

Teo Hock Seng, chairman, Tampines Rovers, said: "Next season, we will bring in less than the 20 players allocated, meaning we will have 17 or 18 players at the most.”

“I will have to bring in my Prime League players to fill the bench if needed.”

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Ashrin linked with Geylang move

SAFFC forward Ashrin Shariff looked set to depart the champions as reports claimed the forward are in talk with Geylang United.

The former Under-23 international have played for the Warriors since 2002; only having briefly been loaned to the Young Lions in 03 and 05 under the SEA Games Development plans.

He has played a total 144 times in all competition and scoring 58 times for the Warriors.   

But the player have found his place in the first team under increased threat as he make more and more appearances from the bench in the last two campaign as the club recruited Japanese forward Norikazu Murakami.

In the 2008 campaign, Ashrin had to make 24 appearances as a substitute from just 33 first-team appearances and did not even make it to first-team in the RHB Singapore Cup Final despite Norikazu Murakami being suspended.

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Sengkang’s Canadians revealed

It is believed Sengkang Punggol new signings are Canadians forward Murphy Wiredu and midfielder Anthony Bahadur.

According to Wikipedia, Murphy Wiredu is currently 23 year-old and plays as a striker for Italia Shooters in the Canadian Soccer League.

He has played 40 times in various football League - Premier Development League (PDL) and Canadian Soccer League (CSL) - in North America and has scored 18 times since 2006.

Among the awards he has won in his short career included an award from his club Toronto Lynx, where he was able to establish himself as one of the elite strikers in the PDL.

Lynx named Wiredu as Best Offensive Player as he helped Lynx finish the season with a 6-6-4 record, good for fourth place in the division. The following year, Wiredu signed with Italia Shooters for the 2008 CSL season and on October 6, 2008 he scored a hat trick against defending champions Toronto Croatia in a 6-1 victory which clinched the International Division title for the Shooters.

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Yazid ‘leaning’ towards Geylang United

According to reports, ex-Rams keeper Yazid Yasin, who has been linked with both Gombak United and Geylang United, is ready to sign a contract with the Eagles.

Yazid Yasin, who has been with Woodlands Wellington since 2004, departed the Northern club after this year campaign as the club announced it decision to under go a revamp and focused on youths in 2009.

Before this, he was with now-defunct club Sembawang Rangers and he established himself as an international under this period but his lacked of height, he is only 1.69m, meant the National selectors believed he could not challenge then number one Rezal Hassan, who has more experience.

But he has earned as one of the best shot-stopper in the game as his weakness is also his strength as he is agile.

Geylang United current number one Amos Boon is expected to retired from the game as the 36-year-old has a disappointing season and was blamed for a number of goals conceded by the Eagles and he was even dropped as the season progress.

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Isa to be a Warrior?

According to rumors, Young Lions captain and midfielder Isa Halim is set to join the Champions, SAFFC, for 2009.

It is believed FAS is interested in proposals by the Champion to recruit the Singapore international as the club is in the AFC Champions League and the Asian experience could aid the midfielder progress further.

This will aid the Singapore Under-23 team when it competes in the SEA Games in Laos at the end of 2009 season as Isa Halim is expected to lead the team then.

But there could be stumbling blocks as Woodlands Wellington had loaned the player to FAS’s Young Lions under the Players Development plans and could demand that the player return to the club where he started his S-league career in 2005.

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Singapore trio linked with Albirex Niigata (Japan)

As a result of a new rule in J-league which will allow a fourth foreign player from an Asian federation to join J1 or J2 clubs next season, it is believed Albirex Niigata (J) (which runs a club in Singapore as well) are interested in three local talents: Lionel Lewis (GK), Khairul Amri (FW) and Hariss Harun (MF).

Lionel Lewis is Singapore No.1 Keeper and has played for Home United since 2005 where he has kept 27 clean in 114 appearances in S-league competition.

He was named Tiger Cup 04/05 MVP award for his performance in the competition; where he played a major role as his impeccable performances between the sticks helped Singapore to a memorable triumph.

Lewis also has the honour of being nominated for the prestigious 2006 Asian Footballer of the Year award, making him the only ASEAN player and only goalkeeper among the nominees and the first Singapore nominee in the Award’s 13-year history.

Khairul Amri is Singapore up and coming forward with the youngster talent spotted early in his career with the National Football Academy and he was recruited into the Young Lions as soon as he hit 18 year of age (The age allowed to play in S-league competition) and he went on to fulfilled that promise as he ended as the Cubs all-time top scorer with 65 goals in 130 games before joining Tampines Rovers in June 2008.

He scored the crucial winner in the second leg of the final against Thailand, allowing Singapore to clinch their third ASEAN Crown.

Hariss Harun hold the record of being the youngest ever player to play in the S-league (FAS allowed him to overstep the 18- year-old rule) and National Team.

He was only 16 years and 217 days old when he dons the national jersey as he came on in the second half in a friendly against North Korea.

Hariss Harun’s also became the youngest goal scorer in the S-League, scoring in the Young Lions’s 3-1 loss to SAFFC on 12 May 2007.

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Ashrin set for Bedok

Singapore ex-Under-23 forward Ashrin Shariff have signed for Geylang United.

The 26-year-old departs the Champions where he have played since 2002; only having briefly been loaned to the Young Lions in 03 and 05 under the SEA Games Development plans.

He has played a total 144 times in all competition, scoring 58 times, for the Warriors and won three league title (2006, 2007, 2008), two Singapore Cup (2007, 2008) and the 2008 Charity Shield during that period.   

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Home released players

Home United website have announced the departure of Farhan Farook, Walid Yunos, Kamarulariffin Abd Karim and Ram Shanker.

They are all reported to have left the club for greener pastures while Naufal Omar Ashibilie is serving his National Service.

Thai import Kornprom Jaroonpong has also returned to his home land as the 20-year-old Thai failed to cement his foreign slot in the 2008 campaign scoring only 2 goals and playing minimal part in the campaign overall

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Peres’s last year

In an interview with a website back (In Portuguese but translate into English using goggle) in Brazil, Home United player Peres de Oliveira admitted it will be his last year with the club and in the S-league.

The player will be returning to Brazil after the 2009 season end.

He had wanted to return to his homeland this year but he still has one year to go on his contract with Home so he has to finish that first.

The 36-year-old midfielder wished to go back to play in Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro butCom a estrutura que temos em Cingapura, ter que encarar a realidade dos times daqui é meio complicado. believed aMas acho que jogar um Campeonato Carioca seria ótimo pra mim. Carioca championship would be good enough.

In the same interview, he also regretted not going to Europe but admitted Singapore was a great place to bring up his family and he acknowledged ex-Home United coach Steve Darby as the best ever to have coached him.

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Kenji linked with a move away from Warriors

Rumors from the Warriors camp are spreading that SAFFC could lose Japanese defender Kenji Arai for the 2009 season.

It is believed his former club Albirex Niigata (S), 2-time S-league Champion Tampines Rovers and Gombak United are all interested in signing the defender and the Champions may not match the offer.

The Japanese has been with the club since 2006 where he has formed a brilliant defensive partnership with Daniel Bennett and won three league title (2006, 2007, 2008), two Singapore Cup (2007, 2008) and the 2008 Charity Shield in that period. 

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Albirex Niigata (S) departures’

Albirex Niigata (S) website announced defender Takashi Mochizuki contract has ended.

He will not receive a new contract and the Japanese club wished him well for his future.

In return, the Japanese defender thanks the club and its supporters for their support.

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Ismail Yunos signs for Home

Home United website report Singapore international Ismail Yunos has signs for the Bishan club.

The Singaporean had featured in the recently concluded Suzuki Cup where he was widely blamed for the goal conceded by Singapore against Vietnam in the semi-final thus ending the Lions defence of it ASEAN Crown.

He was too easily pushed off in a challenge with Vietnam forward Cong Vinh thus allowing the striker to square the ball to Quang Hai, who had the easiest task of slipping the ball in.

A year earlier, he was also then pinpointed for Singapore Under-23 defeat in the SEA Games XIII semi-final; he lost the ball in defence as he sat on the ball too long and it lead to a crucial second goal by Thailand Under-23 team.  

It is hoped the defender will learn to cut out such mistakes and gained much needed concentration playing alongside experienced defender and Home captain S.Subramani, who has turned out for the Lions on a 103 occasions before his retirement.

Ismail Yunos has played for the Young Lions since 2005 where he has appears104 times for the team in all competition including the foray in the Malaysian FA Cup in 2006.

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Swee Swee to be a Stags?

The Young Lions team which will be preparing for the SEA Games in Laos for next season campaign could well see another player depart.

It is rumored forward turn midfielder Goh Swee Swee may turn out for Tampines Rovers in 2009.

Goh started out with Gombak United Prime League but was never given a full contract with it S-league team and only ever featured once for the Jurong West side.

But his performances in the Prime League were enough to convince Home to give him a full contract for the first team and Goh chose to join the Protectors in 2007.

The 22 year-old player had an excellent start to the season in the SingTel League Cup where he make an impression as he scored to secure a third-place finish for the Bishan team.

Two weeks later as the League got on the way, the forward score another to lead Home United to a 2-1 win against Liaoning Guangyuan but he found his chances limited after that as the established trio of Qiu Li, Indra Shahdan and Kengne Ludovick kept him out.

Therefore he had to be shifted into defence, where Home United needed help on the full back positions, to get his chances but he failed to spark in unfamiliar territory.

He then moved to Young Lions at the beginning of 2008 where it was hoped he could get back his front line role as the Young Lions were set to lose Farazl Nawaz and Khariul Amri but he never did.

He was converted into a midfielder under Sundram reign.

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Farzul Nawaz reject Geylang contract

Singapore international Farzul Nawaz has rejected an offer from Geylang United for 2009.

It is believed the forward has already attracted offers from Gombak United, Woodlands Wellington, Home United and SAFFC.

Farzul Nawaz had started out his S-league career with the Eagles back in 2004 and has scored 22 times in the league with the Bedok club since.

He had also turned out for the Young Lions for two years under the SEA Games Development plans and scored 15 times for the Jalan Besar team.

Geylang United is reportedly ready to sign a Canadian striker to replace the departing Farzul.

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Indra set to go from S to V

The TODAY Paper report Lions international and captain Indra Sahdan is set for a move to V-league in 2009.

The skipper is missing national training to attend trials with V-League clubs but will return by this weekend.

Indra Sahdan has always desired to ply his trade in foreign lands, and at 29, that fire has not diminished one bit.

 “I don’t want to stagnate just playing in Singapore, in my comfort zone, and I’m just looking for a bigger, different challenge,” said Indra who declined to reveal which club he is on trial at.

“My agent Dave Roberts fixed this up for me, and Home United have been very supportive of my desire to play overseas.”

The S-League’s first local-born 100-goal forward has yet to sign the contract at Home, the club he has spent seven years at, but the Protectors remain supportive of his desire to play overseas.

“We have offered him a contract, but we think he may not be too happy and may not take our offer,” said Home’s team manager Foo Seck Lye.

“He has always indicated that he would like to play overseas, and if it doesn’t work out and he decides to come back to us, then we will consider.”

Indra’s contract with Home runs till tomorrow and he is currently on leave. The Bishan-based club have given him till that date to decide if he will re-sign with the club.

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It’s Hoa Phat Hanoi

While Singapore forward Indra Sahdan is not willing to reveal the Vietnamese club he is heading for, words have already spread that it is Vietnam Division 1 club Hoa Phat Hanoi.

The club based in Vietnam capital, Hanoi, was in the V-league last season but was relegated as they finished bottom of V-league.

But it will not be easy for Indra to secure a contract as Hoa Phat Hanoi is also looking at Nigerian Amaobi, who was top-scorer in the V-League three years ago.

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V-league contract worth double of Home

It is believed the contract Indra Sahdan is vying for along with others at the trials at Hoa Phat Hanoi is worth double what Home United are offering

The drawback though is it is just a 10-month contract meaning a lacked of long-term financial security.

However it is unlikely Indra will resign from the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and may choose to take one year unpaid leave as allowed under the Government innovate for civil servants to branch out into other sectors or their interests.

This way he can fulfilled his dream of playing overseas without hurting his long-term financial security

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S-league start Feb 16

Words are out. S-league is starting early this year in 2009.

The season will start on February 16 and players wanting to play in the S-league opening games must pass the Beep Test first or latest, one month later by March 20.

S-league is starting early so as to give Raddy time to assembled his squad for the Double Home & Away Asian Cup Qualifiers in November against Thailand which is set for the 14th and 18th.

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Precious still without a club

Singapore defender Precious Emuejeraye admitted he is without a club going into the 2009 S-league season.

The club, he has been with since leaving the Young Lions, Gombak United have allowed him to leave.

While the 25-year-old would prefer to ply his trade in the S-League, but he may have to consider playing abroad now.

“Gombak United is like my family, but they don’t want to re-sign me,” he said.

“It’s going to be tough to find a club now, especially since most clubs have already drawn up their budgets, but an Indonesian club has shown interest in me and I hope something can be worked out.

“I’ve got a family to feed and bills to pay.”

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Fazrul admit difficulties in securing contract

Singapore international forward Fazrul Nawaz faces a race against time to secure a new contract with S-league clubs.

His contract with Geylang United ran out on Dec 31, but with him still recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, he’s not in a good position to negotiate with a new club.

It is believed he had earlier rejected a new contract with Geylang United because the terms were unfavourable to the 23-year-old.

At the same time, Gombak United, Woodlands Wellington, Home United and SAFFC all had a look at the forward but none make a firm move because of his injury as it may take as long as up to June for him to recover fully.

“I’m just working hard on my physiotherapy now, and I hope Raddy and the Football Association of Singapore can find some way to help me out,” said the 23-year-old. “Otherwise I’ll have to wait till the transfer window opens to do anything.”

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Sengkang Punggol sign Persiraja Banda Aceh captain

Indonesian football blog Jakarta Casual has revealed Sengkang Punggol newest signing.

Indonesian Divisi Utama (Second Division) Persiraja Banda Aceh midfielder and captain Abdoulaye Djibirl is leaving the shore of Indonesia and moving to the S-League to join the Dolphins.

The Guinean player has vast experience in Indonesian and Asian football playing played for Indonesian clubs PSIS Semarang and Semen Padang as well.

He is expected to be an asset in the upcoming season for new coach Jorg Steinebrunner.

The Hougang club is looking to improve vastly in the new season with the Guinean experience much needed as the club have struggled in the S-league since it merger – Sengkang Marine and Paya Lebar Punggol – back in 2006.

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Indra admit he may not sign with Hoa Phat Hanoi

Indra Sahdan who have returned to Singapore, and is currently back in training with the Lions for the Asian Cup Qualifiers against Iran and Jordan, have revealed he may not signed a contract with Vietnamese club Hoa Phat Hanoi to play in Vietnam.

“Things did not go that well in Vietnam,” said Indra. “I played in two friendlies, scored a goal even, but I probably will not get a contract.”

But the nation’s latest 100-cap player revealed that even if he was offered one, he would not take it up.

“I expected some hardship in Vietnam, but not to this extent,” said Indra of the army barrack-style accommodation that players had to put up with throughout the course of the V-League season, and the problem of availability of halal food for a Muslim.

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Noh Rahman to choose between two clubs

Singapore international defender Noh Rahman has revealed he is looking forward to signing a contract with a new S-league club before Singapore depart for Dubai, UAE next Monday to prepare for the Asian Cup Qualifiers against Iran and Jordan.

The 28-year-old left Geylang United, a club he had been with most of his career, at the end of the 2008 season.

It did not take him long to attract offers, once the news spread about his departure, with two S-League sides already having met the player to discuss terms and he has decided he will make up his mind before he departs for Dubai with the Lions.

“I’ve been at Geylang for 11 years, through thick and thin, I just think it’s time for me to find a new challenge, but I haven’t decided where I’ll go yet,” he said.

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Balestier released list of departing players

Balestier Khalsa website have announced the list of players leaving the club at the end of the 2008 season.

They are local players Zakaria Normat, Nawfal Shahib, Lenan s/o Govindaraju, Yusri Waris and Ang Bang Heng as well as three foreigners Mba Vitus Onyekachi, Saruta Hironori and Bekombo Ekollo Ntonye Paul.

Balestier Khalsa is retaining only one foreigner Japanese defender Haruki Seto for the 2009 campaign.

The Toa Poyah club had finished the 2008 season as the League Wooden Spoon despite finishing third in the AVAYA-J&J League Cup.

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Indra to sit out until June?

29-year-old Indra Sahdan, who’s been with Home United since 2001, took a chance to fulfill his dream of playing football away from Singapore soil, but it appears that the risk he took may keep him out of football for six months.

With his contract at Home expiring on Dec 31, the Lions’ skipper flew to Vietnam on Dec 28 for a trial at two clubs — V-League club Song Lam Nghe An, and Vietnamese First Division side Hoa Phat Ha Noi — hoping to finally fulfill his dream of plying his trade abroad.

But things seemed to have gone awry, and Indra might have to wait for the S-league’s mid-season transfer window (Jun 29-Jul 4) before he can don club colours again.

“Home said they are probably not going to re-sign me, and that was something I didn’t expect,” he said.

“I’m a police officer, and to play for a club other than Home, I might have to resign.

“I really need to speak with those in charge — I hope I don’t have to resign just because of this,” said Indra who bagged 10 goals last season.

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Balestier to lose captain?

Balestier Khalsa could well lose their captain Haruki Seto for the 2009 campaign   .

The defender have not signed a contract with the Toa Poyah as of now and he has been linked with Bedok-based Geylang United.

The Eastern club has been impressed by the Japanese in his debut with Balestier Khalsa and has reportedly approached him on a move to the East.

It is believed the defender is interested in the move and considering his future thus the refusal to put pen to his contract with the Tigers.

He had appeared a total of 37 times in all competitions for the Tigers as well as scoring 3 goals in the 2008 campaign

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Former Sheffield United defender linked with Tampines

It is believed the French defender who has just signed with Tampines Rovers is former Sheffield United defender Maxime Chanot.

Since joining Sheffield United he has been a regular in the academy and reserves sides, but has yet to make a first team appearance for the Blades.

Chanot joined Sheffield United in 2007 from French Ligue side Stade de Reims. He has also been with AS Nancy-Lorraine in France.

He then joined Mansfield Town on loan in 2008.

He made his debut for Mansfield in the 3-2 defeat against Stevenage Borough at Broadhall Way football ground on October 7 2008. He was sent off in the second half of the match for a second bookable offence.

Mansfield did not extend his loan spell after the period was over. He returned to Bramall Lane having played five games for the club.

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Geylang United sign Walid Lounis

Geylang United have signed former Home United defender Walid Lounis.

The 25-year-old Singaporean defender, who was born in Tunis, capital of Tunisia, has an impressive resume as he had began playing at the tender age of six and lists Tunisia giant AS Marsa as one of his former clubs.

He played 6 times for Home United in the league after joining the Bishan club in the mid-season transfer window.

Fellow Home United defender Kamarulariffin Abdul Karim is joining the Eagles as well after he left Home United.

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Itimi linked with Home again

Former Singapore international Itimi Dickson is seeking a return to the S-league again via Home United once more.

The Singapore midfielder had tried to seek a return to the S-league via Home United during last year mid-season transfer window.

The midfielder had been earlier playing in the now-defunct Indonesia Liga since June 2007 and had tryouts for the then reformed Indonesia Super Liga but failed to notch a contract with any clubs there.

However any chance of him appearing in a Protectors shirt vanished as the midfielder failed his Beep test meaning he could not played in the S-league thus Home United could not sign him.

Now he has to face the same obstacle once more and pass the Beep Test, which has raised it standard to 13-1, if he wishes to play in the S-league.

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Seto signs with Geylang

Japanese defender Haruki Seto is signing for Geylang United.

The 30-year-old had been one of the players Balestier Khalsa has been actively seeking to retain for 2009 but had been unable to persuade him to remain with the club.

He has been impressed with the terms offered by Geylang United and the fact he could be with a team that could challenge for honours, in the Cup competition as least, as it was unlikely the Tigers could build a team strong enough to mount any challenges as the Toa Poyah club continue to cut back in the face of the economic times ahead . 

With the earlier signing of former Home defenders Walid Lounis and Kamarulariffin Abdul Karim, Geylang United has nearly reconstructed it defence for 2009 with only Baihakki Khaizan and Jonathan Xu left over as Lau Meng Meng, Fabian Tan, Noh Rahman and Aide all depart the club. 

Fellow Tigers Lenan s/o Govindaraju is joning Seto at Geylang as well.

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Indra Home return slim

Home United team manager Foo Seck Lye has spoken out on Singapore skipper Indra Sahdan as concerns grow about the player stature.

The 29-year-old can only play for Home United as he is a policeman and the national striker is currently without a contract from Home United as he missed the deadline to sign on the dotted line.

It means Singapore 100-cap striker and captain could miss out on the 2009 season totally and it may affect the Lions preparation for the Asian Cup.  

Foo claimed the chances of Indra donning a Protectors shirt were slim.

He said: “The club offered Indra a new contract in November but he decided to venture overseas and the deadline passed.

“We have since secured a replacement striker and have used up most of our salary budget.”

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Indra remain hopeful

Despite United team manager Foo Seck Lye comments to the media which nearly killed off any chances Indra Sahdan has of returning to Home United this year, the forward remains optimistic.

The 29-year-old can only play for Home United as he is a sergeant with the Singapore Traffic Police.

He said: “It’s worrying to go into a new year without a club. Also, I can’t sign for another S-league club unless I resign from the Police Force.

“I can only focus on my training with the national team now and make an impression during the Asian Cup Qualifiers.”

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Aide signs for Sengkang

Sengkang Punggol have signed Lions former captain Aide Iskandar for the 2009 season.

The 33-year-old left Geylang United at the end of the 2008 season and it was rumored he was considering retirement from football.

It was before Sengkang Punggol came in for the defender as Dolphins new coach Jorg Steinebrunner seeks to build up the regular S-league strugglers for the coming season.

It now seems Aide is impressed enough by what the Hougang club is offering to continue carry on.

He will bring in much needed experience for the club especially if rumors that Hougang club is eyeing ex-Woodlands Wellington Romanian defender Lucian Dronca are true as both Aide and Dronca would form an unbreakable partnership in the centre.

Fellow Geylang United defender Lau Meng Meng is also joining the Dolphins.

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Geylang retain Belicak and Latiak

Geylang United will retain the Slovakian pair of Rastislav Belicak and Miroslav Latiak.

Miroslav Latiak was widely expected as he had impressed once he settled down in the second half of last season but Rastislav Belicak will have much to prove as he seldom proved a factor in matches.

The Eagles have also completed their foreign signing with the capture of Canadian striker Rickey Marvin Harris.

The Canadian hailed from GS United in the Ontario Soccer League (A Provincial League but considered the best in Canada)

He had finished as top scorer of the club in the club championship winning run last season and was subsequently named as rookie of the year.

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Indra linked with Sengkang Punggol

A surprise rumor that is spreading throughout the net claimed Sengkang Punggol have approached Singapore skipper Indra Sahdan about joining the Hougang club.

The 29-year-old can is currently without a contract from Home United as he missed the deadline to sign on the dotted line when he went for trial in the V-league with Hoa Phat Hanoi.

But Indra then decided he did not want to sign a contract with Vietnamese club Hoa Phat Hanoi to play in Vietnam because of the barrack-style accommodation and Non-Muslim food.

It will be much a surprise if the Hougang club could offer Indra a deal which will see the forward resign from the Police Force.

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Young Lions helmed by new coach

There will be changes at the top in the Young Lions team

The Cubs will now be helmed by new coach Terry Pathnmanthan, the former national Under-21 coach, who has swopped roles with the last two season coach, V.Sundramoorthy.

This is a result of FAS adopting a format used with Serbia youth teams with the new Technical Director Slobodan Pavkovic.

Example: coach of the Under-21 team will follow with the same batch of players till they go to the U-23 and graduate to national team. Then, the cycle continues and he goes back to U-21 coach.

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Park is a Warrior

South Korean winger Park Tae Won has swapped for the blue of the Warriors in the upcoming 2009 season.

The Choa Chu Kang-based team will be his fourth S-League club in Singapore after previous stints with Jurong, Balestier Khalsa and Woodlands in the last eight years. He replaces Japanese Norikazu Murakami, who was released by the club on year end, in the quartet line-up of foreigners.

The other three, Thai veteran Therdsak Chaiman and Japanese duo Kenji Arai and Masahiro Fukusawa, complete the Warriors foreign players roster for 2009. 

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Akihiro Nakamura signs for Tampines

Japanese midfielder Akihiro Nakamura has signed for Tampines Rovers.

This is the sixth S-league club the Japanese had played for since his debut in the league back in 2001.

His previous clubs are now-defunct Sembawang Rangers (2001-2003), SAFFC (2003), Albirex Niigata (S) (2004), Balestier Khalsa (2005-2006) and Woodlands Wellington (2007-2008).

He had won a League Cup with Woodlands Wellington in 2007.

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Sengkang Punggol sign Noh and Fazrul

Sengkang Punggol have shown it ambitions for the 2009 season with the capture of two Singapore internationals.

The TODAY Paper reported that the Dolphins, who are helmed by former Woodlands Wellington coach Jorg Steinebrunner, have come in for Geylang United’s Noh Rahman and Farzul Nawaz.

“I have been with Geylang for 11 long years, and I just need a new challenge,” said Noh Rahman after the Lions’ friendly match with the Young Lions.

“I have agreed to terms verbally, but will put pen to paper today, and I look forward to a good year with Sengkang.”

The defender was convinced by the sincerity and long-term vision of Sengkang chairman Ben Lim, with the presence of former national skipper Aide Iskandar in the squad also helping to win him over.

Aide and Noh Rahman will line-up with their former Geylang team-mate Fazrul once he is fit enough to kick a ball and pass the S-League’s mandatory Beep Test.

The Dolphins had only approached Farzul Nawaz after news from TODAY claimed the forward had difficulties getting a new club because of his injury which will take up to June to recover.

Before that, Farzul Nawaz had been linked with many clubs after he rejected Geylang offer of a new contract as they were deem ‘unsatisfactory’.

“Sengkang are helping me out, and it’s good to be able to play with my former team-mates,” said 23-year-old Fazrul.

“When I get fit and pass the Beep Test, I will sign on full terms, and by the looks of it the earliest that will happen is June.”

Fazrul will sign on reduced terms until he gets fit and passes the Beep Test.

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Indra ‘tempted’ by Sengkang offer

National skipper Indra Sahdan have confirmed the rumors that Sengkang Punggol have approached the striker about a move to Hougang.

He is believed to be ‘temped’ by what Sengkang Punggol is offering but has makes no firm move thus far.

“Home United cannot sign me as they have reached the salary cap with the players that they have right now,” said Indra. “But I have been in touch with Sengkang.”

Indra is a police officer, and for him to turn out for another club in the S-League, he might have to resign. “I hope to sort things out by the time I get back from Iran,” said the 29-year-old.

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Fadzu the ‘replacement’ striker

Former international striker Fadzuhasny Juraimi is believed to be the forward that was signed by Home United to replace Indra Sahdan.

The 29-year-old had played for Home United previously under Steve Darby reign where he was used commonly from the bench but the forward still kept a decent goal ratio with 13 goals from 44 games in the domestic scene.

However his form dropped since his departure from Home, with only 7 goals in 60 games for Geylang United and Woodlands Wellington in the last two years. That nearly 9 games for every goal.

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Precious: Nothing happening

International defender Precious Emuejeraye faced new difficulties with news that the interested Indonesian club has not got back to him with an offer.

The 25-year-old had been with Gombak United since leaving the Young Lions but this season the Bulls decide to let the Singapore international leave the club.

With no S-league other clubs making their move as well, Precious could faced six months out of the game until the June transfer window.

“Nothing is happening yet,” he said. “Right now I just want to focus on the Iran game.”

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Winston Yap retain by Sengkang

Sengkang Punggol 2008 captain and defender Winston Yap have been retained by the club.

The 32-year-old had been with the club since June 2007 when he transferred from Gombak to Sengkang.

He is expected to lose his captaincy to former Lions skipper Aide Iskandar in the upcoming season.

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Lim appointed as new Geylang coach

Former Singapore international Lim Tong Hai has been appointed as Geylang United coach for the season.

The 39-year-old had previously been coach of the Eagles in 2007 before Jozef Herel was appointed back in October 2007 and he took over as caretaker in the absence of a coach with the departure of the Slovakian in October 2008.

Now Lim has taken back that position as the Eagles board decided once more to put their faith in the former Lions skipper.

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Geylang squad for the 2009 season

GOALKEEPERS:
1. Fajar Sarib
20. Yazid Yasin

DEFENDERS:
2. Faizal Senin
4. Kamarulariffin Abdul Karim
5. Walid Lounis
6. Baihakki Khaizan
13. Jonathan Xu
19. Haruki Seto

MIDFIELDERS:
3. Rastislav Belicak
8. Mohd Noor Ali
11. Syed Thaha
12. Izzudin Rajabally
14. Farhan Farook
15. Shah Hirul
16. G Lenan

FORWARDS:
7. Masrezwan Masturi
9. Miroslav Latiak
10. Rickey Marvin Harris
17. Hafiz Rahim
18. Ashrin Shariff

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Major overhaul at Young Lions

The Young Lions who will be helmed by new coach Terry Pathnmanthan, the former national Under-21 coach, will undergo a major overhaul.

Terry Pathnmanthan admitted only 10 players will be retained from last season’s squad of 30.

With the SEA Games to be played in Laos in December, the former Lions captain faced a mission against time to weld them up as a unit by then.

He said: “Most of this year’s new players were recuirted from the Prime League.

“It will be a test of their confidence in the S-league. They are the best young players in the country and we’ll see if they can live up to expectations.”

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‘Promising’ Khairul Nizam promoted to Cubs

Khairul Nizam who has impressed many in FAS ranks has been called up to the Young Lions

The player is currently 17 year old but will be 18 next year thus eligible to play in the S-league.

Nizam is excited about his new adventure with the Young Lions.

He said: “The training has been very tough. Fitness coach Aleksandar Bozenko really pushed me to my limits.

“But I’m enjoying myself. I want to learn and I’m happy to make new friends.”

Others who could be brought in may well include several under-18 players like midfielders Rabbani Sudalman and Rahim As’ari and defender Azfar Zainal Abidin who were are training with the Young Lions.

Sivalingam, coach of Under-18 Prime League team, also highlighted a couple of players spotted by national coach Radojko Avramovic.

“Haniff Sadique is only 18, but he is a big, strong target man and he was spotted by Raddy, along with midfielder Faritz Abdul Hameed,” said Sivalingam

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Indra and Precious determined not to get distracted

With just over five weeks to go until the NTUC Income-Yeo’s S-League 2009 season kicks off, Indra Sahdan and Precious Emuejeraye are still without clubs after their contracts with Home United and Gombak United, respectively, ended last month.

But for the next week, the two national stars won’t be distracted from the Lions’ crucial Middle East mission: Singapore’s opening Group E qualifier for the 2011 Asian Cup against Asian powerhouse Iran next Wednesday.

“I can only sort out the matter after I return,” said Indra, 29, from the national squad’s training camp in Dubai. “Hopefully there will be good news, but whatever it is, it won’t affect my focus against Iran.”

Defender Precious, 25, added: “It is important I find a club soon, but the match against Iran is more pressing and I am focused on that now.”

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Park targets team glory

In an interview with the S-league website, new Warriors recruit Park Tae Won stated his delights as he relishes being part of a title-chasing team and playing in Asia for the first time.

The Korean had spends the previous 8 seasons with modest outfits and only won the League Cup (considered a minor Cup) during that period.

“In my eight years in Singapore, I have not won a single team title,” says the 100-goals attacker.

“Even though I have been to three cup finals (one with Jurong and the other two with Woodlands), I have never even come close to winning the league title.”

He also reveals previous circumstances prevented him from joining his new employers recently until now.

“Previously SAFFC had tried to sign me a few times, but I had agreed personal terms and put pen to paper with my then-employers just when their offers came.

“But after I was released by Woodlands at the end of last year, there is only one club I wanted to join and that is SAFFC. There were other offers but I chose to wait for the Warriors this time.”

The lure of continental football is another factor behind Park’s move westwards, after missing out on three previous occasions.

Unlike Murakami who was sacrificed under the previous three-foreigner rule in the second-tier AFC Cup, Park is eligible in the top-level AFC Champions League as the competition allows four foreigners per team, where one of them must be an Asian.

He is delighted at the prospects of playing elite continental football and hopes to stay injury-free for the upcoming season.

“Playing in the ACL is the highest level of club football in Asia and I am eagerly looking forward to it,” he says.

“With quality teammates around me, I personally want to help the team do well and challenge for titles.

“Personally I want to be more consistent in my play and hopefully stay injury-free throughout the season.

“I have suffered many knocks in the past as defenders keep aiming their tackles at me in my single-handed efforts to carry the team in attack.”

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Bok: Park will provide different dimension to attack

SAFFC coach Richard Bok believes his latest foreign recruit will provide a different dimension in their attack as they chase glory in S-league and Asia.

“Park is a quality player who has a sweet left foot. He is also versatile as he can provide many options on the pitch, either in central midfield, as a forward or on the wings.

He draws the comparison between Park with his predecessor Murakami to illustrate his point.

“Although Norikazu can play on the left, he is more of an out-and-out striker and has a more aggressive and direct style of play.

“Park is the more technically accomplished of the two and his versatility brings out the best of him in different positions.”

He reveals Park’s likely position in the Warriors’ line-up is on the left wing and believes he can bring out the best in his new signing physically.

“Right now I am working to get him in much fitter shape than he was in the last few years so that he will be able to withstand physical challenges better.

“Hopefully he is also able to contribute goals for us as how he did with his previous clubs towards 100 goals.”

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Precious latest name connected to Sengkang

National defender Precious Emuejeraye is the latest name from the national team to be connected with S-League side Sengkang Punggol as the Hougang side continued to flex it muscle in the transfer window.

Today Paper claimed Sengkang Punggol, who have already signed national full-back Noh Rahman and national winger Fazrul Nawaz and are also keen on national skipper Indra Sahdan, are now focusing their attention on Precious.

But Dolphins chairman Ben Lim admitted they have not spoken to Precious yet and although they have filled their player quota and budget for the new season they are still looking to see if they can fit others into their plans. 

Goalkeeper Amos Boon and utility man Farizal Basri, who were with Geylang United, along with midfielders Sazali Salleh and Zahid Ahmad, who were with Woodlands Wellington, have reportedly signed for Sengkang Punggol.

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Sengkang set to ‘soar’ for 2009

Four year after a merger – between Sengkang Marine and Payar lebar Punggol – give birth to Sengkang Punggol, the club finally looked set to soar in 2009.

The Hougang club had been struggling for the past three seasons in the S-league; not having finished above a bottom three finishes ever.

Now, the club under new Dolphins chairman Ben Lim have flex it muscle having signed national defender Noh Rahman and national striker Farzul Nawaz as well as former national skipper Aide Iskandar.

The club also appeared to have captured decent foreigners this year round with Canadian forward Murphy Wiredu coming with a reputation as an up and coming player; having won an award from his previous club Toronto Lynx, where he was able to establish himself as one of the elite strikers in the PDL and a decent strike rates coring 18 times in 40 games in various football League - Premier Development League (PDL) and Canadian Soccer League (CSL) - in North America since 2006.

The other Canadian in Sengkang rank also has a good resume as Bahadur Anthony Christopher, a midfielder, had been team Captain for Canada in the Under-20 World Cup.

Guinean player Abdoulaye Djibirl is another one who looked promising as the midfielder have vast experiences playing for Indonesian clubs like PSIS Semarang and Semen Padang and was captain of his previous club Persiraja Banda Aceh.

Jorg Steinebrunner was also persuaded to come to Hougang where in the past the club struggle to get a coach for their team.

Even now, among the names linked to it like national skipper Indra Sahdan, national defender Precious Emuejeraye and ex-Woodlands Wellington Romanian defender Lucian Dronca does not surprise many anymore and while all may not be true or possible, it show how far Sengkang have come that nobody is dismissing it when a month ago people will laugh their head off at such rumors.

After all, Sengakng now got four captains – Aide, Noh, Bahadur Anthony Christopher and Abdoulaye Djibirl – in their ranks alongside a national striker Fazrul Nawaz as well as a former captain - Jorg Steinebrunner – coaching them where a year, their biggest name was a player who could not passed the Beep test, Mirko Graboavc.

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Eagles want their elite place back

At the Geylang United's pre-season seminar, held in their clubhouse, on the first sunday of 2009, both "BoLASEPaKO" (Singapore football blog) and Kallangroar football blog reported that the Eagles are looking at reestablishing themselves back among the elites.

Mr Patrick Ang, the chairman of the club was even quoted by "BoLASEPaKO".

(It's) time to get back to the elite group, as the team is not in the rightful position in the recent years" said Mr Patrick Ang in his closing speech to his players and officials.

Geylang United and Lotto also forged a new apparel sponsorship for the upcoming 2009 S-League season. Under the contract, Lotto will be Geylang’s apparel sponsor for three years from 2009 to 2011.

At the same ceremony, Geylang also renewed ties with its main sponsor Five Stars Tours, which was represented by General Manager Mr Johnny Lim, with the contract worth S$300,000.

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SAFFC ACL campaign

SAFFC will need to go through the Playoff to reach ACL group stage

The Warriors fixtures can be found here

They start off against Thai Champions PEA  at Thammasat University Rangsit Stadium on 18 February.

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Bok relishing Warriors’ Champions League adventure

S-League champions SAFFC are potentially two games away from joining the elite in Asian club football after the draw for the play-offs to the revamped AFC Champions League (ACL) was made.

The Warriors have to overcome Thailand league champions Provincial Electrical Authority (PEA) in the first one-off East Zone qualifier match-up away at Thammasat University Rangsit Stadium on 18 February.

Should they succeed in overcoming the initial hurdle, they will take on Indonesian club PSMS Medan at Jalan Besar Stadium a week later for a berth in the tournament proper, where J Shanghai Shenhua (CHN)Kashima Antlers (JPN)Suwon Bluewings (KOR) await.

Quarter-finalists of the AFC Cup, the second tier of Asian club competition, in the last two seasons, SAFFC have set themselves the target of reaching the first round group stage.

Warriors coach Richard Bok is relishing the challenge of leading the team to a higher level in continental football.

“The ACL is a good yardstick to measure ourselves against the best clubs in Asia,” he said. “Not only is the money attractive, it is also a great experience that my players and I are eagerly looking forward to.”

He believes the previous experience gained in the AFC Cup, particularly in the quarter-finals where SAFFC eventually succumbed to Arab opposition, will put the team in good stead for their next Asian club adventure.

“Even in the AFC Cup, we showed the desire and hunger to compete among Asia’s best at the level and the quarter-final matches against the Middle East teams proved that we are not far behind,” he added.

“I believe this team have what it takes to compete in the ACL and it will be a great achievement for us to be part of the best Asian clubs when we qualify.”

Two Warriors, Thai playmaker Therdsak Chaiman and Japanese midfielder Masahiro Fukasawa, have prior experience playing at the highest level of Asian club football.

The former was named Most Valuable Player of the inaugural edition in 2003 when he masterminded Thai club BEC Tero Sasana’s fairy-tale run to the final, while the latter featured for another Thai team Bangkok University at the group stage in 2006.

Bok encourages the duo to provide the guiding hand to the domestic double winners with the knowledge gathered from previous runs in the ACL as they walk into unchartered territory.

“Because of their previous experiences, Therdsak and Masa (Fukasawa) will provide a lot of input on how we are going to approach this competition,” he explained.

“Pointers such as how their previous journeys in the ACL and the lessons learnt, and the type of opponents and their style of play to be anticipated at this level will be beneficial to us as we prepare for our biggest games yet.”

The last time SAFFC faced major continental competition was more than a decade ago when they took on Korean champions Suwon Bluewings in the second round of the now-defunct Asian Cup Winners Cup in 1997.

Suwon, whom the Warriors could face again the group stage should they overcome the play-offs, proved to be too strong for the Warriors then as the gulf in class showed over both legs.

Bok, who was then assistant coach at the club, attributed end-of-season woes to the defeats and hailed the present format in further enhancing the club’s competitiveness at Asian level.

“Although it was a good experience back then, the games came at a poor time. We were then in the off-season and the foreign players wanted to go home. Thus the focus was not there when we took on Suwon,” he explained.

“The format has changed over the years. It is now more in-season to many clubs including ours, which can only provide greater competitiveness in the tournament.”

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Hammond linked with Rams

Young Lions English defender Daniel Hammond is linked with a move up north to Woodlands Wellington.

The 23-year-old joined the Cubs last season and has impressed at the back for the Jalan Besar side where the towering defender, standing at 1.93m, was a strong physical presence.

However the Englishman will be overage for the Cubs this coming campaign and the fact he cannot play for Singapore before January 2013 meant the Young Lions have to release him.

The Englishman has played 36 times for the Young Lions in 2008.   

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Team captain secured another skipper?

Sengkang Punggol, now dubbed Team Captain, is linked with yet another skipper.

This time, it is Woodlands Wellington captain and defender Jerry Bartholomeusz who was mentioned.

It will be a surprise (or not considering the Rams situation) as the 34-year-old had a two-year contract with the Northern club and he had come out, just two months ago, and stated his intention to stick with the Rams for 2009.

It seems Sengkang Punggol has yet again pulled another rabbit out of the hat.

Sengkang defender Ratna Suffian is retiring from the game according to SPH Malay paper Berita Harian.

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No backing down on youth for Tigers

In an interview given with S-league website, Balestier Khalsa defended and stated it intention to stick with youth for 2009 despite finishing bottom of the table in 2008.

The Tigers had been promptly tipped to finish last in the league last year (and this year) as they jettisoned most of their experienced campaigners in the lead-up to the 2008 season, replacing them with a collection of youths - many of whom were playing a full top-tier campaign for only the first time - a prediction ultimately fulfilled as the team garnered 17 points from 33 games.

Despite the seemingly negative results, however, Balestier are remaining committed towards their youth policy as they prepare themselves for the 2009 season, which will kick off on 16 February.

Nasaruddin has even gone so far as to state that the Tigers’ performance this term will be a measure of whether the Centre of Excellence programme, which was started in 2000, has achieved its goal of producing talents who can establish themselves in the league.

“We’ve stuck to 70% or 80% of our local players, and none of them, including the ones who have just joined, are above the age of 27,” he told sleague.com.

“Most of them are about 23 or 24, and almost all of them had come into the game through the COE system since it was started almost ten years ago. To me, this is the time for everyone to see whether the COE programme is successful or not.

“I was among the first batch of coaches to be involved in the COE programme, and I’ve seen many of these players grow up. They’ve done well as they progressed up the age groups – Balestier were third at Under-16 level, and again at Under-18 level.

“Now we need to give them opportunities at the top level, and that’s why we will not back down on our youth policy. To this club, testing the success of the COE system is more important than anything else, including climbing up the table.”

Players who are staying with the Tigers are Jufri Taha, Faizal Amir, Mushthafa Kamal, Sofiyan Abdul Hamid, Han Yiguang, Anantha Rajan, Poh Yi Feng, Taufiq Rahmat and Rhysh Roshan Rai

Joining from elsewhere are Home United’s Ram Shanker, and Sengkang Punggol duo Hafez Mawasi and Mahmod Hashim.

Goalkeeper Abdul Rasyid Hamid makes his return from SAFFC (after his NS) along with 22-year-old K. Sathiaraj, who had left for a stint with the Young Lions last season.

Midfielder Yusri Waris, who had an extensive career in the S-league playing for a number of clubs including SAFFC, has retired according to the Tigers website.

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Home AFC Cup campaign

Home United have been drawn against Maldives Dhivehi league champions Valencia and V-league champions Becamex Binh Duong in Group H.

The fourth team in the group will come from the AFC Champions League Playoff.

The Protectors fixtures can be found here.

Home United will start off on March 10 against Bin Duong in the AFC Cup.

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Home ready for stronger run

Singapore’s Home United are hoping to improve upon their quarter-final appearance in last year’s tournament at the 2009 AFC Cup according to the AFC website.

Home have been drawn against Maldives side Valencia, Vietnam’s Becamex Bin Duong and a team from the AFC Champions League play-offs in Group H of this year’s competition.

The Singaporeans were narrowly beaten by India’s Dempo in last year’s competition and team manager Lan Yuen Fatt is confident of a better showing this time round.

“We have got a good draw,” said Lan. “We have experience playing against Maldivian teams and have been successful against them.

“We are also confident against the Vietnamese side. As for the other team, whoever it is, they will be tough but we hope to do well and make it to the round of 16.”

Home, who finished third in the 2008 S-League, open their campaign against Bin Duong on March 10 at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

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S-league 2008 Mikasa coach of the Year retires

Albirex Niigata (S) website have announced head coach Hiroaki Hiraoka have decided to retire as at the end of the 2008 season.

The Japanese was the winner of the Mikasa coach of the Year last season as he led a youthful Albirex Niigata (S) side to finish just outside the top half of the table.

He had been an assistant coach as well as head coach of Albirex Niigata (J) in Japan from 2000 up to 2006 before being appointed the head coach of Albirex Niigata (S) in 2007. 

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Lions skipper will be a Dolphin

Sengkang Punggol have announced to the media Lions skipper Indra Sahdan has verbally agreed on personal terms and will put pen to paper on a one-year contract.

Sengkang chairman Ben Lim said: “We met up with Indra before he left with the Lions for an overseas assignment. He listen to what we have to offer, and is agreeable to sign.

“Now we’ll wait for his return to sort out the move. He is a quality player who has expressed his wish to join a competitive side.

“So far, he is happy with the direction Sengkang are taking. Financially we can work out something for him.”  

Indra has scored 153 times in 251 appearances since joining Home in 2001.

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Indra will face a Home hurdle

Despite a promise to join Sengkang Punggol for 2009, Lions skipper Indra Sahdan faced a bug hurdle to join the Hougang club.

 As a police officer, the 29-year-old can only play for Home United in the S-league.

With Indra Sahdan still wishing to be a police officer with the Singapore Police force (SPF), Indra has indicated he will be applying a year of no-pay leave.

He said: “I will write to my superiors tonight and apply for no-pay leave for one year to enable me to play in the S-league. I hope my request will be approved.”

The forward is expected to be paid around $5000 at Sengkang Punggol; around half what he earned for Home United in 2008 where he got $10000.

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Sengkang have sign a ’dud’ from Indonesian Liga?

It has been discovered by Sengkang Punggol fans that the club may have signed a ‘dud from Indonesia Liga.

Despite being a club captain with Indonesian Divisi Utama (Second Division) Persiraja Banda Aceh, midfielder Abdoulaye Djibirl is in the list of players PSSI deemed ‘sub-standard’ and they do not recommended Indonesian Super Liga clubs sign such players.

It is especially worrying as Sengkang Punggol two previous players - Reginaldo Aparecido Estevao (recommend by Fandi) and Luis Eduardo Hicks Castillo – from last season campaign were also in the list and they were ‘eager’ to prove PSSI right with their sub-standard performances.

The Brazilian forward, Reginaldo, only scored 1 goal with Sengkang while Hicks may as well not be playing on the pitch as he was ‘invisible’.

There are now concerns from the fans if Abdoulaye Djibirl can enforce his presence in midfield – the most important part in the team.

If he failed, it may hurt Sengkang Punggol ambitions this coming season despite their massive rebuilding during the off-season.

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S-league ‘get’ second spot in AFC Cup table

An AFC Cup coefficient ranking done by a fan in Bigsoccer forum have Singapore in second spot in the AFC Cup.

S-league clubs have consistently done well in the AFC Cup having send 9 out of 10 representatives into the knockout stage and two even make into the semi-final.

The ranking is made by greenlion under the method of UEFA League coefficient ranking system.

This coefficient is determined by the results of the clubs of the leagues in AFC Champions League and AFC Cups games over the past five seasons. During that period each team gets two points for a win (1 for Qualifying rounds) and one point for a draw (0.5 for qualifying rounds). For games decided by penalty kicks the score after extra time is used.

One bonus point is allocated for reaching the quarter final, the semi final and the final.

Country      2004 2005 2006 2007  2008 04/08  2008 ACL2009 AFC Cup 2009

                                              Rank  Spots   Spots

Lebanon      10.5 14    8.5 11.5  12.5  57     1     0       3

Singapore    15.5  9.5  7.5 11.5  12    56     2     0.25    1.75

Jordan        -   16   13   18.67  6    53.67  3     0       2

Bahrain       -    -   19    8    13.5  40.5   4     0       2

India         7    2.5  5    9     8.5  32     5     0.5     1.5

Malaysia      7.5  5    6.5  3    10    32     6     0       2

Hong Kong     2    7    7.5  8.5   3    28     7     0       2

Oman          3    -    5.5  5     8    21.5   8     0       2

Maldives      2    8.5  2    2.5   2.5  17.5   9     0       2

Syria        17    -    -    -     -    17    10     0       2

Turkmenistan  3    4    1.5  3     -    11.5  11     0       0

Yemen         2.5  -    -    2     5     9.5  12     0       2

Thailand      -    -    -    7     -     7    13     0.25    1.75

Bangladesh    0.5  2.5  1    -     -     4    14     0       0

Vietnam       -    -    -    3     -     3    15     0       2

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Albirex Niigata (S) appoint new coach

With the retirement of head coach Hiroaki Hiraoka, Albirex Niigata (S) website announced the promotion of assistant coach Naoki Naruo to head coach of Albirex Niigata (S)

He had been an assistant coach with Albirex Niigata (J) in Japan in 2005 and was the head coach of Albirex Niigata Ladies from 2006 and 2007.

He was then appointed assistant coach to Hiroaki Hiraoka in 2008 and this year he will take over the retired coach’s position.

Koji Kaneko has been recruited from Japan Soccer College to be the new assistant coach of Albirex Niigata (S).

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Albirex Niigata (S) squad for 2009

9 players have been recruited from the Japan Soccer College - Junichi Watanabe, Shinya Yamagishi, Shota Matsuoka, Ryuta Hayashi, Atsushi Shimono, Park Myung Eun, Yuki Kozuki, Hiroto Takahashi and Shohei Doi.

9 players have been retained - Yoshito Matsushita, Takatoshi Uchida, Keisuke Ogawa, Akira Takase, Shunsuke Sunaga, Shohei Doi, Yoshitaka Komori, Taisuke Akiyoshi and Ryota Kobayashi.

Kenta Shinto will be the goalkeeper coach cum Player.

GOALKEEPERS:
Yoshito Matsushita
Junichi Watanabe
Kenta Shinto

DEFENDERS:
Takatoshi Uchida
Shunsuke Sunaga
Keisuke Ogawa
Shinya Yamagishi
Shota Matsuoka
Ryuta Hayashi

MIDFIELDERS:
Yoshitaka Komori
Taisuke Akiyoshi
Atsushi Shimono
Park Myung Eun
Yuki Kozuki
Hiroto Takahashi

FORWARDS:
Akira Takase
Hiroto Takahashi
Shohei Doi
Ryota Kobayashi

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Gombak retain top scorer

Gombak United have retained it 2008 top scorer Gabriel Obatola for the new campaign.

The Nigerian have been with the club since it return to the S-league in 2006 and have scored 50 times for the club in 90 appearances.

The 22-year-old was especially inspirational in last year AVAYA-J&J League Cup where he scored 6 goals in 4 appearances and led the Jurong West side to it first ever trophy.

The Bulls have done exceptionally well in the past two seasons where they had finished as the ‘unofficial winner’ of the rest of the league, with the S-league Big Three too far ahead, despite a smaller budget than a number of established clubs like Woodlands Wellington and Geylang United.

Former Under-23 internationals like Fadhil Salim (keeper), Jaslee Hatta (defender), Fazli Jaffar (midfielder), Ruhaizad Ismail (midfielder) and Ridhwan Jamaludin (midfielder) have all opted to stay with the Bulls. Defender and skipper Sevki Sha'ban have also signed on the dotted line.

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Steinebrunner: We are not buying instant success

With a squad now certain to contain at least four players – Indra Sahdan, Noh Rahman, Aide Iskandar and Fazrul Nawaz– of international caliber in their ranks along with quality foreigners (At least with good resume) like Canadian duo Murphy Wiredu and Anthony Christopher as well as a reserves rank that have Winston Yap, Razali Johari, Farizal Basri, Sazali Salleh and Zahid Ahmad, Sengkang Punggol is looking at a bright 2009.

But with such buying powers come talks that the Hougang club are ‘buying’ instant success and looking at the top already as Dolphins chairman Ben Lim managed to get CNMC Goldmine Limited to come on board as their main sponsor.

The Hougang team had been on a massive recruiting operation during the pre-season transfer window and has already ‘plunder’ the middle-tier ranks of Woodlands Wellington and Geylang United of a number of their quality players to boasted the regular S-league strugglers.  

Sengkang Punggol coach Jorg Steinebrunner has dismissed such ‘buying’ ideas as he affirm that the club and it sponsor CNMC Goldmine are committed for the long term and not seeking instant success.

The German said: “We are not buying instant success. We are building a team for the long-term target of becoming a top-five S-league club.”

“When I left my last job, I thought for a while about leaving the S.League scene,” he revealed as he explained his switch to Sengkang.

“But after speaking with Ben, I felt Sengkang has in him a very enthusiastic and very ambitious chairman. Seeing that the club wants to move things forward and not be in the same low position every year, I’d say it’s a challenge, and I like challenges.

“Professional football is about facing challenges, so we sat down and came to the conclusion that we want to work together and build something. That’s why I made the decision to be here.”

Also for Steinebrunner, he gave little more than a quiet chuckle when told of the title talk as the unprecedented buzz about Sengkang has even led to the club being labelled a potential dark horse for the title.

“That’s what a lot of other people outside say, and I leave it up to others whether to call us title contenders or not,” he remarked.

“But for us, it’s important that we play a good season and build a team for the future, and from there we go on. We want to be successful, and at this moment, it means getting into a good position in the league and then stabilizing things for many years to come.

“At the end of the day, the players who have come in did so because they see that this is a club with long-term plans to move forward. We don’t want to be in a situation where we move into the top half for one year, and then drop right back into the bottom two.

“So unlike what some people may think, we are not buying a team for a one-off. We are working very hard to build something that will last.”

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Bacina appointed as Woodlands coach

Former SAFFC and Croatian defender Nenad Bacina have been appointed as Woodlands Wellington coach for the 2009 season.

The Croatian had played in the S-league from 2000 until 2004 with SAFFC and won two S-league championships with the club.

He left the shore of Singapore at the end of the 2004 season when he could not secure a new contract with any S-league club.

After that, the former SAFFC skipper continue to play in ASEAN and served as a coaching adviser to M-League side, PDRM and earned himself a UEFA "A" license coaching badge while back in Croatia.

He is now back in Singapore and looking at a new career in coaching.

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Coach of the Year did not retire

In a twist to the earlier announcement by Albirex Niigata (S) website that Mikasa coach of the Year Hiroaki Hiraoka have retire, it now seem either the club or the coach, Hiroaki Hiraoka, have send out the wrong message or the club website lost the message in its translation.

The reason being that the White Swans have overturned it own announcement in an interview with the S-league site.

According to White Swans club chairman Daisuke Korenaga, coach Hiraoka Hiroaki had left on his own accord and he is currently looking at offers from a few clubs who are interested in his services.

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Hammond signs for Woodlands

English defender Daniel Hammond has signed a contract with Woodlands Wellington.

The 23-year-old played for the Young Lions last season and impressed at the back for the Jalan Besar side where the towering defender, standing at 1.93m, was a strong physical presence.

However the Englishman will be overage for the Cubs this coming campaign and the fact he cannot play for Singapore before January 2013 meant the Young Lions have to release him.

Woodlands have taken advantage by snatching up the Englishman for 2009.

The club have also signed Sengkang Punggol Chilean defender Luis Eduardo Hicks (They are doomed) and retained Anaz Hadee, Kamal Nasir, Hasrin Jailani, Azlan Alipah, Ismadi Mukhtar, Shahri Musa, Ahmadulhaq Che Omar and Syaiful Iskandar for the upcoming season.

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Gombak retain core

Gombak United have move to secure the services of Nigerian striker Emmanuel Emuejeraye and, now Singaporean, defender Bah Mamadou for 2009.

The Western club had already secured the services of their 2008 top scorer Gabriel Obatola as well as former Under-23 internationals like Fadhil Salim (keeper), Jaslee Hatta (defender), Fazli Jaffar (midfielder), Ruhaizad Ismail (midfielder) and Ridhwan Jamaludin (midfielder) and skipper Sevki Sha'ban.

Thai midfielder Theerawesin Seehawong and defender Jeremy Chiang are also staying with the club while the club have let go of Nigerian striker Kingsley Njoku

It meant the club have now been able to retain their most valuable assets once again as they looked towards the upcoming campaign and are well-shaped once again to ‘win’ the ‘unofficial of the rest of the league’ even with the expected challenge from surprise package Sengkang Punggol.

The Bulls have done exceptionally well in the past two seasons where they had finished as the ‘unofficial winner’ of the rest of the league, with the S-league Big Three too far ahead, despite a smaller budget than a number of established clubs like Woodlands Wellington and Geylang United.

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SAFFC let Jamil Ali leave

S-league Double Champions have decided to release midfielder Jamil Ali as they looked to trim their squad.

The former Under-23 have found his chances at SAFFC diminishing in 2008, even with the released of his brother Noor Ali, as Singapore international Mustaqim Manzur was the preferred choice ahead of him and he could only make 16 starts in all competition.

Both had been in direct competition for the flank job at the start the 2008 season but the 25-year-old then found himself increasing having to come off the bench as the season progress with Mustaqim Manzur making his case ahead of Jamil.

Jamil Ali has won two league championship and two Singapore Cup in his two years with SAFFC.

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Rezal Hassan depart Tampines

Former Singapore international keeper Rezal Hassan has chosen to leave Tampines Rovers as his number one slot within the club looked to have been taken over by Singapore international keeper Hassan Sunny.

Rezal Hassan, who has been with the Stags since 2004, has found his chances limited at the club last season as he only played 19 games, less than half the 39 domestic games he played in 2007, and it was the lowest figure ever he has chalked up at the club. 

The 34-year-old has played 170 times for the Stags; keeping 58 clean sheets in the process.

He has won a combined 6 league championship with both SAFFC and Tampines Rovers as well as picked up 4 cup trophies – 3 Singapore Cup and 1 FA Cup.

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Indra looking at a terrible 2009

It could be Indra Sahdan’s horoscope clashes with the ox in 2009 or as the Chinese called, ‘Fan Tai shui’ but the Lions skipper is looking at a uncertain 2009.

First, his decision to gamble on a move to V-league failed terribly as he failed to acclimatise there and then he found out the price for that decision as he returned to Singapore.

His club and employer, Home United, refused to extend him a contract as the deadline for him to sign on the dotted line was overdue and the club had found a replacement.

Then, it was discovered his replacement was former Lions Fadzuhasny Juraimi whom Indra, with his current form - a pale shadow of his glory days before the terrible injury in 2006 - is still at least twice what Fadzuhasny Juraimi can ever hoped to be.

After that, Sengkang Punggol offered a lifeline for the 29-year-old but the price is his police career so Indra could only hoped his superiors at the Police Forces allowed him to go on one-year unpaid leave to play at Hougang.

But up to now, with the league to start in a month time, there is still no news and even Sengkang Punggol coach Jorg Steinebrunner have admitted nothing are confirmed yet.

If the problems plaguing his club career is not bad enough, his national team career also appear in doubt as Raddy looked to shake up the National Team after the Iran defeat.

His name have appeared on the rumors page as his form, since taking the captaincy, can only be described as terrible.

Indra has build his entire career with the Lions as a predator in the box but now with only 1 goal in the last 18 months with the Lions, questions are asked if his place in the squad is merited.

It looked like a terrible 2009 is in store for Indra and a visit to a great fengshui master could be recommended to see why Indra‘s horoscope clashes with the ox in the upcoming year.

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‘Team Captain’ squad for 2009

Keeper
Joey Sim
Amos Boon

Defender
Winston Yap (Former Sengkang Captain)
Nor Azli Yusoff
Hiroyuki Yamamoto
Aide Iskandar (Former Lions Captain)
Noh Rahman (Captain)
Jerry Bartholomeusz (Should be captain of Woodlands Wellington 2009)

Midfielder
Sobrei Mazelan
Anthony Bahadur (Captain of Canada Under-20)
Abdoulaye Djibril (Captain of Persiraja Banda Aceh but may be a ‘dud’)
Sazali Salleh
Zahid Ahmad
Farizal Basri
Lau Meng Meng

Forward
Fazrul Nawaz
Murphy Wiredu
Razali Johari
Indra Sahdan (Captain but not confirmed going to Sengkang)

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Woodlands get Jamil and Rezal

Woodlands Wellington has moved to sign both former Under-23 midfielder Jamil Ali and former international keeper Rezal Hasan.

Jamil Ali had been released by SAFFC as they trim their squad while Rezal Hasan lost his number one spot at Tampines Rovers to Hassan Sunny.

The Rams has also got Prime League players, Mohamad Khairul Aidil Bin Rosli and Asraf Abdul Rashid, from Balestier Khalsa Prime League and SAFFC Prime League respectively.

J. Kalaiselvan, a midfielder, had also been persuaded to come out of retirement to play for Woodlands Wellington.

The 34-year-old last played for Balestier Khalsa in the 2007 season

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Home announce Fadzu arrival

Home United website, which had down for a while, have finally announced Fadzu arrival.

Maybe it was the ‘shock’ that the person deem capable of replacing Lions skipper and forward Indra Sahdan is former international striker Fadzuhasny Juraimi that it caused their website breakdown.

The 29-year-old had played for Home United previously, under Steve Darby reign, where he was used commonly from the bench but his form have dropped tremendously since his departure from Home; with only 7 goals in 60 games for Geylang United and Woodlands Wellington in the last two years. That nearly 9 games for every goal scored.

Indra Sahdan has scored 153 goals with Home United while Fadzu have not hit a century of goals in his career yet.

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Champions sign Prime League topscorer

The Champions, SAFFC, has gone on to capture Geylang United Prime League player Guntur Djafril.

The 23-year-old Singaporean was the Prime League top scorer last year with 13 goals and have clearly done enough to impress the S-league Champions.

The Champions have now both the S-league top scorer, Aleksandar Duric, and the Prime League top scorer, Guntur Djafril, in their ranks for the upcoming campaign.

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S-league to start with 11 stadiums?

The TODAY paper have reported that the S-League season which is due to kick off on Feb 16b yet giants Home United are still homeless.

The Protectors, who finished third last season, have called Bishan Stadium home since 1998, but have been forced to move because the facility is one of the venues for the 1st Asian Youth Games, which will held here from June 29 to July 7.

The ground has been closed since Nov 18 for upgrading works in preparation for the Games.

Football Association of Singapore (FAS) spokesman Eric Ong revealed that Clementi Stadium has been identified as an alternative venue for the club and that work to get the stadium ready will be completed before the start of the season.

When queried about the delay in naming a venue for Home, Ong said: “An alternative venue has been identified, but the club had asked to co-share the Jalan Besar Stadium with the Young Lions instead.

“That is being considered, and a decision will be made in the next few days.”

Home officials have visited Clementi Stadium and are apprehensive as they feel the pitch is over-used and hard.

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Precious hit out at Gombak

National defender Precious Emuejeraye has accused his former club, Gombak United, of leaving in the lurch in an interview with the Straits Times.

The new S-league season kicks off on Feb 16, but the 25-year-old is still without a club.

He said: “When the season ended in November, I had the impression that I would stay on with Gombak.

“But, four days before the new year, I was told that I would be released. That came as a big shock.

“All the S-league clubs have assembled their squads by then. There is very little chance that a club will squeeze me in.

“Gombak’s reason for letting me go after three seasons is not convincing. They said I was injured for long and the team did very well in my absence” 

 The defender had only played 18 times for Gombak last season after undergoing surgery on his left knee and right ankle.

Gombak though did well enough to finish fifth in the 12-team league.

Emuejeraye continued: “If that’s the case, they should have told me earlier. That would have given me a chance to sort out my future early.”

Gombak declined to comment on the Straits Times report.

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Fandi: PSMS Medan interested in Precious

Fandi Ahmad, coach of Indonesia Divisi Utama (Division 1) side Pelita Jaya, has claimed Indonesian Super Liga clubs, especially PSMS Medan, are interested in Precious Emuejeraye after he alerted them about the defender’s availability.

Fandi said to the Straits Times: “PSMS Medan are keen on signing Precious.”

However Emuejeraye problem is the Super Liga rules state that a foreign player must have appeared in at least 75 per cent of his previous club’s games in the preceding season.

The defender only played 17 times out of the 33 league games for Gombak United last season.

Fandi continued: “Hopefully, PSSI (Indonesian FA) can take into consideration the player’s long-term injury as a mitigating factor.

“Also, Precious has a good record in three years with Gombak and he is a regular with the Singapore national team.”

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Gombak signed Aussie midfielder

Australian FourFourTwo website has reported that Gombak United has signed a defensive midfielder from NSW Super League (A state league).

The player is 21-year-old Goran Subara and he has signed a one year deal with S-League club Gombak United.

Although he was described as an ‘unknown gem’ by the Aussies site, the favourable comments had came from Gombak (who signed him) and the agent (who got him to the S-league) and Aussies are known to boast about their sporting talents so questions must be asked why A-league sides were not looking at that boy and at 21-year-old, he is no rookie to be still playing in a lower standard state league.

Gombak general manager Lawrence Lau told au.fourfourtwo.com that the young Aussie has impressed the coaching staff at the club despite being a virtual unknown in his homeland.

"He's looking good," he said. "We headhunted him. We're aware he played in the lower leagues with Bonnyrigg but you can sometimes find gems from these leagues."

Subara played the last three seasons at Bonnyrigg before leaving the club last season. With few options in Australia, a meeting with former Socceroo Milan Blagojevic smoothed the way for him to get a shot playing professionally in an Asian league.

Blagojevic , a member of the highly rated 1992 Olyroos and a 31-times capped Socceroo, told au.fourfourtwo.com he heard about Subara, put him through his paces and was sufficiently impressed to call a contact of his, Aussie coach Darren Stewart, at Gombak.

"The S-League is probably like NSW Premier League in terms of standard, maybe slightly better. That's because they allow four or five foreign players," says Blagojevic, a former player with Johor in Malaysia. (We are better as a number of Aussie state players have played in the S-league, and a few even came with good resume from the state league, but almost all flopped and that why S-league clubs have not touched Aussies state players for a while)

"And for future players of the A-League, they become used to training day in, day out in those conditions.

"Here you pick a player from the NSW or Victorian Premier League, it takes time for their bodies to adjust with sometimes two sessions a day. They pull up very sore.

"It's got a helluva lot of pluses. And it's only a seven hour flight to Singapore and they speak English. What's more, the top two S-League sides qualify for the AFC Cup." (Take note, FourFourTwo or Milan Blagojevic, it is one slot for ACL and one slot for AFC Cup)

Blagojevic, last season's coach of NSW Premier League grand finalists Sydney Olympic, says it's still hard to get noticed as a player outside the A-League. (That a reason for that, you know as noted already)

"It's taken the explosion of the likes of Shannon Cole to get any recognition. For me, the Super League is just the same," he said.

Gombak is coached by former Newcastle NSL player Stewart and the Bulls are currently in pre-season mode ahead of its March S-League kick off. (It is Feb 16)

"He's impressed Darren quite a bit," says Blagojevic. "He's passed his beep test and his medical and he's put pen to paper for a year with an option for a second.

"He's landed a decent deal that he's happy with. He's on a professional contract now, gets to play football day in, day out, and earn a very decent living.

"Here, in the state leagues he'd have had to work and train three nights a week. When you dangle that sort of carrot in front of a player, I know what I'd do."

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Technical Director introduced 24 moves to Asian and World Cup

FAS Technical Director Slobodan Pavkovic has introduced the 24 Basic moves, a plan to improve Singapore technical skills.

While Singapore have shown they deserved to be among the Asian middle-tier group, the Lions are still a long way from being considered the top-tier of the middle-tier group as those teams like Uzbekistan, North Korea and Bahrain have far superior technical skills and the Lions will need to improve on that aspect to catch on them; let alone the Asian Big Five.

The plan will be introduced to all youth groups under FAS, which will be expanded with FAS Under-12 and Under 10 introduced, as well as the clubs COE but it seem, Pavkovic is more concerned about the schools as they fall outside FAS jurisdiction.

He believed schools are, at the moment, too concerned about school league results (likely they are also influenced by English football) thus they are playing the long ball too often.

So he is instructing that all schools coaches accredited by FAS must also follow the 24 Basic moves.

This is a positive and great start for Technical Director Slobodan Pavkovic as it show what Technical Director can achieved if they just do a Technical Director job, and nothing else, and not be like previous ones (No fault of their) who had other duties and then changes at the youth levels will come.

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Indra ‘unlikely’ to get clearance to play for Sengkang

It is widely rumored that Lions skipper Indra Sahdan may not get the clearance to play for Sengkang Punggol even if he went on no pay leave.

As a police officer with Traffic Police, the 29-year-old can only play for Home United in the S-league unless he has clearance from his superiors.

It is reported Indra is unhappy with the situation and is ‘believed’ to have hit out at Home United for his problems.

Indra, was claimed to have, said: "I don’t understand why it’s so hard for them to approve my one-year no pay leave so that I can play with another club.

"If Home does not want my service, why are they not releasing me?"

However, as defended by some, the 29-year-old has failed to understand it is not Home United who holds the key but the Singapore Police Force (SPF).

SPF is his employer and not Home United as being a Policeman is his first employment and not football.

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Farzul Nawaz has not sign for Sengkang yet

Sengkang Punggol fan blog – fish out of water – has make a ‘surprising’ revelation; with a claim that Singapore forward, Farzul Nawaz, has not signed for the club as yet, with a month to go, before the start of the S-league.

The media paper, TODAY, had run a story three weeks ago that claimed the 23-year-old was signing for Dolphin but it seems contract negotiation between both parties was not as unsuccessful as they had hoped.

Farzul is currently out injured and is not expected to recover before June this year the earliest thus the difficulties in attracting a club willing to sign the player even with his established track record.

The national forward has scored 37 times in the league since his debut, as a Prime League player, for Geylang United back in 2004.  

Meanwhile, former international midfielder Azhar Baksin is coming out of retirement to play for Sengkang Punggol for the 2009 season.

The player had chosen to retire at the end of the 2006 season after he failed to recover from his long-term injury crisis that started from 2005. 

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Precious now linked with Arema Malang

Indonesian football blog – Jakarta Casual – has revealed Indonesian Super Liga club, Arema Malang, are interested in national defender Precious Emuejeraye.

Earlier, the national defender had been linked with another Indonesian Super Liga club PSMS Medan.

Both Arema Malang and PSMS Medan are struggling in Indonesian Super Liga with Arema just above the relegation zone while PSMS are struck in the bottom three.

This will be the least of Precious Emuejeraye concern as the 26-year-old have been with out a club since December and he is anxious to find a club, anywhere, as he has claimed he is dipping into his savings to maintain his lifestyle for his family.

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Better off at NFL

2008 Wooden Spoon winner, Balestier Khalsa, is looking set to be crowned 2009 winner if things do not improved at the club.

The Toa Poyah club is having problems finding value-added foreigners to guide their youthful team if review from fans are true.

They are still searching for foreigners to fill up their quotas with a month to go until the start of S-league and it seem they are having no luck getting any foreigners of genuine quality to join them.

They had recently gave seven foreigners, including one they may have signed, a trial run in a friendly game against Gombak United but the review from fans were not good; to put it mildly.

Indeed, the foreigners were described as better off in the National Football League (NFL) even for the South American midfielder reportedly signed by the Tigers.   

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Gombak United squad for 2009

GOALKEEPERS:
Fadhil Salim
Razif Yahya

DEFENDERS:
Jaslee Hatta
Bah Mamadou
Sevki Sha'ban
Jeremy Chiang
Yus Iskandar

MIDFIELDERS:
Fazli Jaffar
Ruhaizad Ismail
Ridhwan Jamaludin
Theerawesin Seehawong (Thai)
Goran Subara (Aussie)

FORWARDS:
Gabriel Obatola (Nigerian)
Emmanuel Emuejeraye  (Nigerian)
Agu Casmir
Norfahazly Kamsan

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Stags Frenchman revealed

Tampines Rovers French player has been revealed as Benoit Croissant.

The 29-year-old had started playing for ESTAC (Known as ATAC before 2000) in the French second Ligue.

He then signed a two year contract for Sheffield United in 2001 but departed, on loan, for Dutch second division side Stormvogels Telstar by the start of his second year to play more regularly and acquire experience with a first team.

The defender did well enough to earn a contract with the Dutch side and by the next year, he was even named among the top 12 players in the Dutch second Division by Voetbal magazine.

But the player then appeared to have lost his way and departed the Dutch side at the end of his contract and he went on a nomad route; changing club virtually every year.

However he appeared to have settled down in recent time in Asia with Shenyang Liaoning (China) and Al Najma (Bahrain).

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Youtube video of the Frenchman

Benoit Croissant appeared to have some talent in action shown on Youtube; as he did do well enough in the Dutch Eerste Divisie (Second Division) to be named among the top 12 player.

However he has a record of a nomad life after that achievement and question must be asked if he has really settled down.

Stags fans have also been cautious as some have expressed that Youtube video can make any players a genius and only when the action start, will the answer be known if he was as good as the Dutch Eerste Divisie (Second Division) Top 12 player. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe8kFYSHQWs

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AFC Cup - Bin Duong to convert Brazilians

Home United AFC Cup group opponent Binh Duong, V-league champions, are seeking Vietnamese nationality for their Brazilian duo of Kesley Alves and Philany.

Kesley will be expected to get his Vietnamese citizenship because he has married a Vietnamese girl. However, he is unlikely to be able to play in Asia in the AFC Cup (if not wrong as he has been in Vietnam since 2005 and need one more year to reach FIFA five-year residence rule) in the upcoming edition.

The Brazilian forward has an impressive resume as he won the V-league Top Scorer Award in his first year, with his present club - Binh Duong, and was runner up in the top scorer list for the next two out of three years with HAGL and Binh Duong.

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Vorwan: A new defensive formation

Tampines Rovers got their pre-season off to a positive start when they defeated the Young Lions 2-1 in a friendly game at Geylang Field.

Qiu Li gave the Stags a dream start with a goal in the third minute, when he executed a polished left-footed curl past Hyrulnizam Juma’at. Veteran winger Satria Mad doubled the Stags’ advantage early in the second half, before K. Sivaseshan pulled one back for Terry Pathmanathan’s side midway into the half.

Stags coach Vorawan Chitavanich used the match to parade new signings Akihiro Nakamura and Benoit Croissant, and singled out the latter for mention as he discussed his approach to the new season.

“We want to explore our new formation with four at the back compared to the three we were playing last season,” stated the Thai.

“Ben will play the central role in this formation, leading the defence.”

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DPMM apply to S-league

The Brunei Times have reported DPMM FC may play in the S-League.

DPMM FC, in an interview, confirmed that they are interested in playing in the Singapore League (S-League) subject to approval from the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).

DPMM FC team manager Pg Waslimin PSJ Momin Pg Waslimin has travelled to Singapore this week to meet Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and S-League officials and revealed that there was still hope for competitive football this season.

"There are still a few matters to be resolved such as the home and away format and approval from Fifa," Pg Waslimin told The Brunei Times.

"But in Fifa's eyes Bafa is still the governing body for football in Brunei.

"The S-League has talked to the chairmen of all the clubs (in Singapore) because we want to play our home games in Brunei."

Set to kick off on Feb 16 and end on Nov 8, the S-League will involve 12 teams with each side playing a total of 33 matches during the 2009 season, which is divided into three rounds.

Pg Waslimin added that the club would be happy if it could play a third of their games at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas, but admitted that he was resigned to the possibility of S-League officials denying the request.

With only three weeks to go until the season kicks off, fixtures need to be reworked to accommodate DPMM FC and S-League clubs might be hesitant to agree to the idea.

"Whatever it is, the ball is in their (S-League officials) hands," said Pg Waslimin, adding that the club would also be able to compete in the Singapore Cup.

S-League officials are expected to reach a decision to confirm DPMM FC's inclusion or deny it an S-league place within the next seven days.

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Precious find a club

National defender Precious Emuejeraye has found an S-league club for the upcoming season.

The 26-year-old has been without a club since December when Gombak United told him his contract will not be renewed.

Since then, he has struggled to find a club in Singapore or Indonesia willing to take him in as they have more or less finalized their squad already.

Now, Woodlands Wellington site has announced the arrival of the national defender to their team.

With keeper Rezal Hassan, Englishman Daniel Hammond, Chilean Eduardo Hicks and now Precious all signed, the Rams backline looked to have been formed for the upcoming season.

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Dalian place with S-league in doubt

SPH straits Times have reported Dalian Shide place with S-league is in doubt.

While the Chinese side have stayed out of troubles unlike it two predecessors – Sinchi and Liaoning Guangyuan – it seem the league are unhappy about the strength of it side.

The Chinese team only won five of it 33 league matches and it had the worst defensive record of all the 12 teams last season conceding 75 goals.

S-league wants assurance from Dalian Shide that the team that will be staying in Singapore will be much stronger than the 2007 team.

If the league cannot get it then DPMM from Brunei, who are rumored to be in the running for a place in the S-league, may replace the Chinese side. 

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Darren Stewart delighted with his squad

In an interview with the S-league website, former Australia international and Gombak United coach Darren Stewart has expressed delight with the squad he has on his hand.

Stewart takes over a Gombak squad that will be largely unchanged from the one that had won the Avaya-J&J League Cup last year, although there have been a few departures.

Rightback Faizal Abdul Hamid has left to pursue his dream to become a prisons officer, with the versatile Jeremy Chiang, who turns 24 in April, promoted in his place.

Wide midfielder Jalal and former Singapore international Ishak Zainol have also been released after seeing their playing opportunities limited in 2008. The former has since signed for Woodlands Wellington, while Ishak is contemplating an early retirement.

There is also one change in the lineup of foreigners for the club, as Nigerian hitman Kingsley Njoku has left for Europe in December after doing well in his two-week trial with Norwegian outfit FC Lyn Oslo. In his place comes young Australian midfielder Goran Subara, who has been hailed as an up-and-coming talent after starring for New South Wales side Bonnyrigg White Eagles.

While Njoku’s departure means he will no longer team up with Ojimi Gabriel Obatola, Agu Casmir and Emmanuel Emuejeraye in the Bulls’ famed front four in 2009, there could be a return for burly striker Norfahazly Kamsan to cover the attacking line.

The one-time Young Lions starlet had been part of the Gombak squad for 2006 and 2007, although he had missed the last campaign.

“I think we still have the basis for a good team, based on their performance last year,” remarked Stewart as he evaluated the strength of his squad.

“We’ve kept about 80% of the players who were here last year. Everyone we wanted to stay here has stayed, and we have reinforced with a couple of players like Goran and Yusiskandar Yusop from Tampines.

“The only area we might be a little short in is in terms of our strikers, but we have Obatola and Agu still here with us, and Emmanuel can help out too. If we’re able to bring Norfahazly into the team, then we should be fine.”

While the Newcastle-born man was generally satisfied with the state of his squad, he was coy when it came to what he hoped to do with the team in the upcoming campaign.

“It’s not about me or what I want to achieve, it’s about everyone in the team,” he said.

“I’m not setting targets like where I want the team to finish in the table. Of course, it’s good if the team does better than it did last year.

“If there’s anything I hope for myself in my time with Gombak, though, it’s to work with a bunch of good people. And looking at the characters here, I think Gombak’s got that.”

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Sivaji: Bench is stronger this term 

PN Sivaji’s side, Home United, were defeated 1-2 by Sengkang Punggol at Hougang Stadium in a friendly game.

But Sivaji was not disappointed, as he was missing his national team players, even as he acknowledged after the match that there were still areas for his side to polish up before the start of the season on 16 February.

“Before the game we listed down all the objectives that we needed to achieve and one of them was individual defending,” he told sleague.com.

“It’s definitely an area which we need to work on.

“But I am happy with our overall performance. We are missing six players because they are with the national team, but I am happy with the way our young players performed.

“If they keep improving, we will have a stronger bench this season.”

The Bishan side are also linked with a Chinese striker as they want their fourth foreigner to be an Asian so he can play in the AFC Cup under the Asian player rule.

However talks are still ongoing and it seem things are not going as well as expected.

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Gombak ‘snatch’ Farzul from Dolphins  

It seems the negotiation between national forward Farzul Nawaz and Sengkang Punggol have totally collapsed.

SPH Malay paper Berita Harian has reported the 24-year-old is signing for Gombak United in the upcoming season.

Farzul is currently out injured and is not expected to recover before June this year, the earliest, thus the difficulties in attracting a club willing to sign the player even with his established track record.

The national forward has scored 37 times in the league since his debut, as a Prime League player, for Geylang United back in 2004.  

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Noor Ali installed as Eagles captain

Kallangroar blog has reported that ex-international Noor Ali has been named as captain of Geylang United, after last year's captaincy duo of Aide Iskandar and Noh Rahman were both snapped up by Sengkang Punggol.

It is no surprise as the 34-year-old is in his second spell with the Eagles having joined back with the club in 2008.

He had led the Bedok club to it last championship back in 2001 as he scored 12 goals in 31 league games.

During his time with his previous club, SAFFC, he was also been named as captain as he picked up two S-League titles and one Singapore Cup with the Warriors.

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Interviews with Walid Lounis and Rickey Marvin Harris

Two interviews have been conducted with Geylang United new recruits - defender Walid Lounis and striker Rickey Marvin Harris.

One was conducted with Geylang United site with defender Walid Lounis.

In it, he was asked what prompted the defender to join the Eagles as he was with giant Home United.

He claimed it was right time to move on and Geylang is professional and well-run to come to.

That said, the site also acknowledge the move can be considered a marriage of convenience, in the sense of both player and club need each other.

Walid had to find a new club as Home did not exercise the option of prolonging his stay while Geylang lost their entire back line as Aide Iskandar, Noh Rahman and Lau Meng Meng exited the club.

The other was conducted with kallangroar blog with striker Rickey Marvin Harris.

It was revealed in the interview that despite being a Canadian citizen, he was a Grenada national team player as he had mustered three caps with Grenada.

Eagles new coach Lim Tong Hai is also confident his new striker will deliver as he praised his style of play and appreciate the speed and technique that he add to the team

More information on both interviews can be found in the links

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Balestier sign Aussie forward

Balestier Khalsa have added an Aussie forward to their rank according to Aussies fourfourtwo site

It is striker Bryan Soane, 20-year-old striker, who was the 2007 NSW Super League player of the year and a golden boot with Sydney Wanderers in the same year.

He had trialled with the Toa Poyah club last month and signed a deal on January 31.

The trial came about after the forward toured Singapore last year with the Australasian Football Academy.  And while his contract is not thought to be especially lucrative, Soane quit his job for a shot at playing professional football.

Soane told au.fourfourtwo.com: "After quitting my job, I began a rigorous early morning training programe including daily 8km road runs, beep tests, 12km runs, hour long treadmill sessions, boxing and pool sessions.

"Passing and finishing sessions along with the Australasian Football Academy sessions at night all helped me to reach my peak fitness and ultimately secure a contract over here."

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Clementi for Home

Kallangroar blog has reported Home United is moving to Clementi Stadium.

It is due to their home stadium, Bishan Stadium, being earmarked as the hosting venue for both the 2009 Asian Youth Games and the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics thus it would be undergoing renovation works for the Games. .

Home United will be utilising the complex for the entire 2009 season, and possibly part of the 2010 season as well.

The 4,400-seater stadium, which is quite a great distance away from the nearest MRT station, was previously used by Clementi Khalsa FC till its merger with Balestier Central in 2002.

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Home United squad for 2009

Goalkeeper
1. Ridzuan Fatah Hasan
18. Lionel Lewis

Defender
3. Ismail Yunos
4. Juma'at Jantan
5. S Subramani (C)
6. Shahril Alias
13. Valery Hiek
14. Rosman Sulaiman

Midfielder
7. Shi Jiayi
8. Tengku Mushadad
11. Syed Fadhil
12. Itimi Dickson
16. Faizal Abdul Samad
17. Shahril Ishak

Forward
10. Kengne Ludovick
15. Fadzuhasny Juraimi
19. Azhar Sairudin
20. Peres de Oliveira

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DPMM offer incentives

According to Today, DPMM has offered an incentive that will make it more attractive to S-league and it affiliates clubs.

The Brunei club, owned by the Crown Prince of Brunei, has agreed to pay the cost of travelling expenses for the Singapore sides after the club requested to play their home games in Brunei.

The 12th club for the 2009 season has yet to be decided but talks that Chinese side Dalian Shide will be the one left out of the S-league has gained strength.

Although the Chinese side signed a two-year contract to play here in 2008, there is a clause that allowed FAS to kick out the side out if they failed to meet expectation which are foreign clubs are assessed on: Management, finances and competition performance.

And after finishing third from bottom last year, FAS have been equally disappointed by the side put out by Dalian according to Today as it claimed the quality of Dalian’s player roster for 2009 did not inspire confidence in the FAS.

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Tigers sign from across the Causeway

Balestier Khalsa have signed two more foreigners and both are from across the causeway, in a sense.

They are anchor midfielder Julio Eduardo Cid Lagos and defender Seth J. Galloway

Chilean midfielder Julio Eduardo Cid Lagos hailed from Malaysian Premier League champions KL Plus.

The midfielder had played a pivotal part in KL Plus promotion to the Malaysian Super League as the KL club finished top of the Malaysian Premier League but his reward was to find himself without a club in Malaysia as FAM banned foreigners from the league.

As for USA defender Seth J. Galloway, he was borned in Penang, Malaysia and he has gone on to play with Chinese Recreation Club there before leaving for US to study.

Balestier Khalsa is his first professional club as before this, he was with Chicago Eagles (USA football school)

His description

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Khariul out until April

SPH Straits Times has reported Tampines Rovers and Singapore forward Khariul Amri has broken his metatarsal again.

The 24-year-old was playing in a friendly game in Bangkok to prepare for the S-league season when it happened.

He has just recently recovered from breaking his metatarsal in his left foot and this time it is his metatarsal in his right.

It could take up to April for the player to fully recover and Khariul Amri is extremely disappointed as he had missed the December Suzuki Cup and January Asian Cup qualifiers with Singapore and now, the same thing is happening with Tampines Rovers although the season still have a long way to go until November.   

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Tampines Rovers squad for 2009

GOALKEEPERS:
1. Hassan Sunny
13. Alimin Mohamed

DEFENDERS:
2. Shariff Samat
4. Satria Mad
6. Edward Tan
7. Fathi Yunus
12. Zulkarnaen Zainal
15. Benoit Croissant

MIDFIELDERS:
3. Ridhuan Muhammad
8. Akihiro Nakamura
14. Sutee Suksomkit
16. Shukor Zailan
17. Fahrudin Mustafic
19. Aliff Shafaein

FORWARDS:
5. Khairul Amri
8. Noh Alam Shah
10. Qiu Li

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Young Lions squad for 2009

GOALKEEPERS:
1. Hyrulnizam Juma’at
18. Jasper Chan Yuhui
22. Izwan Mahbud
30. Syed Sufiyan

DEFENDERS:
2. Eddie Affendy Chang
3. Rahim As'ari
6. Hamqaamal Shah
10. Irwan Shah
14. Afiq Yunos
16. Shahir Hamzah
20. Obadin Gabriel Aikhena
28. Azfar Zainal Abidin

MIDFIELDERS:
4. Isa Halim (C)
7. Gabriel Quak Jun Yi
8. Hafiz Abu Sujad
9. Faritz Abdul Hameed
12. Fabian Kwok Wing Hong
13. Izzdin Shafiq
15. Rabbani Sudalman
17. Hariss Harun
21. Erwan Gunawan
23. Arif Aiman

FORWARDS:
5. Fairoz Hasan
11. K Sivaseshan
19. Goh Swee Swee
25. Fadhil Noh
26. Khairul Nizam
27. Eugene Luo Zhenlun

* Players 26-30 are NFA Under-18 Players

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S-League Charity Shield

The new 2009 S.League season kicks off with a first ever S.League Charity Shield 2009 to be contested between a Locals and Foreigners side at the Tampines Stadium on Thursday, 12 February 2009.

The Locals will be helmed by former National captain and newly appointed Young Lions coach T Pathmanathan and will feature 10 National players, who played in Singapore’s recent 2-1 victory over Jordan in the Asian Cup qualifiers. Crowd favourites like Tampines Rovers’ Noh Alam Shah and Khairul Amri will be playing in front of their home fans.

The Foreigners are guided by Sengkang Punggol’s German coach, Jorg Steinebrunner. He has picked a squad representing the five major footballing continents of the world and includes his club’s new signing, former Canadian Under-20 midfielder Murphy Wiredu, Home United’s Cameroonian defender Valery Hiek, who was part of the Indomitable Lions’ squad for the 2006 the Central African football championship and Tampines Rovers’ own Sutee Sumsomkit, who just recently notched both goals in Thailand’s 2-2 draw against Denmark in the King’s Cup.

S.LEAGUE Charity Shield 2009 - Locals vs Foreigners

Match Date: Thursday 12 February 2009
Kick off Time: 7.45pm
Match Venue: Tampines Stadium
Basis of Play: Two halves of 45 minutes. If scores are level at full-time, the match shall be decided immediately by a penalty shootout.

Match tickets will be available 6pm till half-time at the door

Adult(Gallery):$5.00
Student/Senior Citizen (Gallery):$1.00

*Only applicable for secondary school, ITE & Junior College students with proof of valid concession passes; Senior Citizens must be 60 years and above as of 2009 with proof of identification documents)

^Free entry for primary school students and below (Students must display valid concession passes for entry to stadium)

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Nasaruddin: We will be better this year

In an interview with the S-league, Balestier Khalsa coach Nasaruddin Jalil believed his team will be do better this term

The Tigers had finished bottom of the S-league table accumulating just 17 points from their 33 games played, carving out three wins, eight draws and 22 losses for their efforts.

"Our preparations for this season started early and all our players have passed their Beep Test. We have retained 80% of last season's team and during the course of our preparations and pre-season friendlies, we have identified a few areas for the team's overall improvement." said Nasaruddin guardedly.

"Since January until now we have played four matches: against SAF (lost 3-1), Woodlands (lost 2-0), Albirex (lost 1-0) and Geylang (lost 1-0). These games were played over the past two months with the four foreigners we have brought in," he added.

The 44-year-old was making reference to foreign imports Seth Galloway (American, 22 years; defender), Bryan Soane (Australian, 21 years; striker), Eduardo (26 years) and Ithimar (Brazilian; Prime League squad currently).

Aside from the foreign signings, and in maintaining their belief in their youth development policy, Balestier Khalsa have promoted from within their Prime League squad to the ranks of their S.League team.

Four other notable entries to the Tigers fold are new first-choice goalkeeper Hafez (from Sengkang Punggol), midfielder Ram Shanker (from Home United), defender K Sathiaraj (from the Young Lions) and midfielder K Vikraman (from Sembawang SC).

In expressing his satisfaction at the strengthened Tigers line-up for the challenges ahead, Nasaruddin emphasised confidently:

"I still believe this Balestier Khalsa team can improve further and the boys we have can provide (for) a much better performance this season than last."

The affable coach, a former Singapore midfielder and ex-player for the club he now coaches, also highlighted that his young squad will pose a much stiffer challenge to the other teams that comprise the 12-team S-League.

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Balestier Khalsa squad for 2009

GOALKEEPERS:
1. Abdul Rasyid Hamid
19. Hafez Mawasi
20. Daniel Ong

DEFENDERS:
2. K. Sathiaraj (DF/MF)
3. Sofiyan Abdul Hamid
4. Jufri Taha (C)
5. Mushtafa Kamal
6. Mahmod Hashim
15. Seth Galloway

MIDFIELDERS:
7. Julio Eduardo
8. Han Yiguang
9. Anantha Rajan
11. Rhysh Roshan Rai
12. Poh Yi Feng
13. Syaqir Sulaiman
14. K Vikraman
17. Faizal Amir

FORWARDS:
16. Ram Shanker
18. Byran Soane

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DPMM are in

S-league have confirmed Brunei club Duli Pengiran Muda Makhota (DPMM) are the new additions to the 12-team S.League for the 2009 season, replacing Chinese club Dalian Shide Siwu.

Established in 2000, the sultanate outfit had been playing in the Malaysian league in the last three seasons prior to their latest move.

With their inclusion, DPMM are the third foreign team — and the first from Southeast Asia — in the league along with Japanese club Albirex Niigata (Singapore) and Super Reds of Korea Republic.

A signing ceremony was conducted at Jalan Besar to formally welcome Brunei’s sole professional club into Singapore football.

Under the deal, the Brunei team will feature in the S-League for two years, subject to an annual review on their on- and off-pitch performances.

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DPMM: We wanted to play in S-league since 2006

DPMM vice-chairman YAM Pengiran Anak Abdul Rahim is delighted his club are embarking on their first full campaign in Singapore.

“The idea of playing in the S-League actually first came in 2006 when we were involved in the Singapore Cup,” he revealed.