Pre-World Cup - Singapore v Iraq
Recently, I was in pensive mood and wanted to walk down memory lane and so I penned several articles on Singapore soccer during those golden years of Malaysia Cup days and I received some accolades from readers as it brought back fond memories of a bygone era. I have also put in some songs and music which were played at the National Stadium during interval at the time. If you like me were soccer crazy, your eyes may have been wet.
For those who may have missed it, here goes:
Fast forward to last Friday when Singapore took on China in their World Cup qualifying opener at Kunming. Of course I wanted a Singapore win but China is always going to be the stronger team but Singapore played a discipline game and I can say each player played above themselves and took a surprised lead when fat boy Qiu Li's interplay with Alexander Duric gave Singapore the lead. The 41 year-old Duric had a good game. Remember how fit he is at 41.
I do not blame China but I can tell you that the refereeing standard left much to be desired. The first was 50-50 but it seems the Chinese forward has no way of getting to the ball. The second was dubious as there was no contact made then at the other end Duric was hacked down but the referee waved play on. If you had seen the Scotland v Czech game on Saturday you would have seen a similar incident where a Czech player went down so easily when nobody even touched him and that resulted in a goal against Scotland. In soccer as in life, you see such unfairness and injustices and you feel for the the team that suffered but there is nothing you can do about it unless players view and choose sportsmanship as more important. I can't help but relate how Robbie Fowler was given a penalty for Liverpool but Fowler appealed to the referee as he explained that he was not fouled. When the referee stuck to his decision, Fowler strolled to the spot kick and hit a soft and low shot straight to the goalie. It was intentional and I think sportsmanship at its highest form.
Singapore v Iraq
My first time watching Singapore at the stadium since a long while.
My first time watching Singapore at the stadium since a long while.
I met Ho Kwang Hock outside and we had dinner and drinks. Another former national player who is now a coach at Sports School Abdullah Noor (pix) came along. So did Hariss Harun's dad. I chatted with Kwang Hock about the good old days of Uncle Choo and his boys and then on to R. Arumugam, Santokh Singh, Soh Chin Aun, Ali and Isa Bakar and Mokhtar Dahari. Santokh was built like a tank, Chin Aun was indeed the Towkay and Mokhtar was unstoppable even strong man Syed Mutalib would testify.
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The entrance to the Jalan Besar Stadium.
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Passionate fans showing their unabashed support.
Some folks are professionals and managers in the day and at night they can become soccer hooligans.
The crowd was settling down.
Boys carrying Fairplay banners led the field with both teams gathered for the traditional photo session and handshakes. Wow! Dr. Tony Tan, our new President came as the VIP to grace the occasion.
There was a group of very passionate Singapore soccer fans most probably the fan club was boisterous and enjoying themselves with songs and songs and chants after chants. Bravo!
Iraq was 2007 Asian Champs and always a formidable team since the 70s. The half-time score was 0-0. The Iraqi seemed to have the rub of the green as most balls seemed to drop nearer to them or was it? Or was it because they were stronger, faster and had greater movement.
They had threatened and dominated. Lionel Lewis make several outstanding saves. Daniel Bennett tried hard but he was not in good form. I was highly impressed by 19 year old rookie defender Sufawan Baharuddin who was simply outstanding. He was there with his clearances and timely/crucial tackles to block some dangerous shots. If this boy works hard, is humble and keeps his passion, he will go very far. Isa Halim work his guts out and Mustafic was as usual a dependable destroyer, the tough guy protecting Singapore. Qiu Li talented as he is was not his usual self. He should have made better use of the ball in a good position to score but lost it and it almost resulted in a goal against. Shi Jiayi came on later but to little effect as he looked jaded due to his flu. His control of midfield was missing. Saiful was poor wasting numerous free-kicks and Alexander Duric cut a lone and cold figure out front. With few balls for him, it was going to be tough.
Iraq soon scored with a header and another later as the back line and goalie misjudged the ball's bounce. Zico standing mostly and prancing around the technical area suddenly realized that his complaint of the synthetic grass actually worked for him. So don't complain too much in life as those things you do not like can eventually help you too.
It will be very tough for Singapore from here on but at this level it was to be expected. Some favours from the other teams may be needed. I notice that our team was somewhat static. Soccer is about passing and movement. All great teams like Barcelona and Arsenal do that. When static, your opponents read your move easily as the one with the ball will probably have only one option. Teams like Barcelona and Arsenal pass and move so much such that when in possession, the player can have 3-4 options how to pass the ball and they can easily choose the easiest option.
Soccer fans are an interesting lot. I spoke to a few people I do not know outside and each have their very own views. What was a great spectacle for me which I enjoyed was the multi-cultural presence of our different races coming together as one. Majulah Singapura!
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