SINGAPORE - The Young Lions are technically Singapore's Under-22 development team but, in reality, the Singapore Premier League (SPL) team are even younger in 2019.
As Fandi Ahmad's team take on Balestier Khalsa in their opening SPL fixture on Saturday (March 2) at the Jalan Besar Stadium, they will have an average age of just 20, with many of them rookies in professional football.
Also, the key players behind their 2018 season have left - Hami Syahin and Taufiq Muqminin both signed for Home United while brothers Irfan (Bangkok Glass, Thailand) and Ikhsan Fandi (Raufoss, Norway) have ventured overseas.
Looking pragmatically at his squad, Fandi feels that last season's creditable seventh-place finish in the nine-team table will be hard to repeat. He said: "Seriously, it will be a very difficult season. I will be very happy if we are not bottom. We just have to keep fighting."
But this is not a gripe from the 56-year-old former national captain. With nine players in the squad born in 2000 and after, he knows the team sorely lack experience.
"I have no complaints. They know the level is very high and I want them to learn fast. They are not used to this level of fitness, they are not used to training at this intensity. We will try to play good, positive football."
But one thing that defines this team is their spirit. As seen during training at Geylang Field on Monday, Fandi and assistant coach S. Subramani drilled the boys' pack mentality, instructing them to press high up the pitch in groups.
Â
Â
Â
Even if this year's cohort is still raw, there are still bright sparks to look out. Attacking midfielder Saifullah Akbar is pacy and creative, Rezza Rezky Ramadhani is a central midfielder with an eye for a through pass while left-back Syahrul Sazali loves to overlap.
Captain Joshua Pereira, 21, said: "It's going to be a tough and long season.
"Apart from the SPL, we have the SEA Games and the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) U-23 Championship qualifiers. It's going to get hectic but we are looking to do well and gain more experience.
"No doubt, it will be tough against all the seasoned SPL players.
"We are a very young team but our team spirit is strong, our fitness is good and we will never stop fighting for each other."
This year's pre-season results have been mixed. While Fandi's team easily brushed aside amateur National Football League sides such as Jungfrau Punggol and Katong, they lost to Malaysia Super League team Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia Premier League side PDRM, among other results.
"Preparation was not the best, it has been difficult to get the whole squad together," he said.
"Many of them have study and NS (national service) commitments, some were taken by other clubs, that's why I am calling up much younger players, who are 17 or 18."
The youngest is Marc Ryan Tan, 17, son of former Lions winger Steven Tan.
And in addition to the SPL, they will fly off to Japan for training and cold-weather acclimatisation next week, ahead of the AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers in Ulaanbaatar from March 22 to 26. The team are drawn in Group G with Hong Kong, North Korea and hosts Mongolia.
In November and December, they will compete at the SEA Games in the Philippines.
And Fandi has called for patience as he begins the tough process of guiding his rookies in their new world of professional football.
He said: "The most important thing is development. After the first few games, the boys will understand the game more. It's a big challenge. Some of them are very raw but I am very happy with their commitment."
MADRID (Reuters) - Real Madrid must win Wednesday's La Liga game at relegation-battling Real Valladolid or their hope of snatching the title from Atletico Madrid or Barcelona will be over, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Tuesday. Real missed a chance to wrest the initiative from leaders Atletico and
Suarez and Messi on target as Barcelona beat Real Madrid
Crystal Palace piled further pressure on Leicester City manager Claude Puel on Saturday with a comprehensive 4-1 Premier League win over his team, who have now gone seven games without a victory.
Palace rout Leicester to step up pressure on Puel - Football
Sport's News. We do it our way, says Klopp after another late Liverpool win
Sergio Ramos and Alvaro Morata both scored penalties as Spain beat Sweden 3-0 on Monday to keep their perfect start to Euro 2020 qualifying intact. Spain in charge in qualifying quest after
Spain in charge in qualifying quest after beating - Cyprus
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri charged by FA for behaviour during Burnley game charged with misconduct by the Football Association following his touchline dismissal in the 2-2 draw against
Football: Chelsea's Sarri charged with misconduct over
Antoine Griezmann struck again as Atletico Madrid kept the pressure on Barcelona at the top of La Liga by beating in-form Getafe 2-0 on Saturday. Griezmann now has eight goals in as many games, his latest helping Atletico register their sixth win in seven league matches. The only dropped points came in a respectable draw away to Sevilla.
Tampines Rovers' bench for the 2019 SPL campaign will see Kadir Yahaya support new head coach Gavin Lee. He has been described as one of the most astute local coaches in recent times and it was no wonder when Tampines Rovers decided to recruit former Singapore international Kadir Yahaya
SEA Games on Flipboard | ABS-CBN, SEA Games, Gaming
Napoli draw puts Juventus coronation on hold 08/04/2019 Oman Observer Milan: Napoli drew 1-1 with ten-man Genoa on Sunday to ensure that Juventus will have to wait another week to seal an eighth consecutive Serie A title.
Football: Napoli draw puts Juve coronation on hold, Football
Football: Italy upset Australia at Women's World Cup with Bonansea double; As Canarinhas thump Reggae Girlz 1 day ago VALENCIENNES, France (REUTERS, THE GUARDIAN) - Barbara Bonansea scored twice to give Italy a surprise, last-gasp 2-1 victory against Australia in their opening Group C game at the women's football World Cup on Sunday (June 9).
Soccer: Italy upset Australia with Bonansea double
The Italian club are looking for a forward after new signing Alvaro Morata was injured in his first training session with the club. Balotelli? Football. old Lotterer is a three-time winner
Mario Balotelli refuses to talk about Liverpool career
Youngest local SPL Coach, 33, unfazed He earned the necessary certification to lead a professional local club six years ago. But the opportunity never came for Khidhir Khamis, until now.
Latest KHIDHIR KHAMIS | The Straits Times
Two goals from Marko Arnautovic and Ryan Fredericks's first Premier League strike helped West Ham beat Southampton 3-0 at London Stadium on Saturday to complete their first league double over the Saints since 2001.
EPL: Arnautovic ends drought as West Ham sink Southampton
Football Association of Singapore (FAS) are set to announce Australian Joe Palatsides as its new technical director, according to reports coming in from Singapore. The Straits Times are reporting
Football: New FAS technical director Joseph Palatsides aims
0 comments:
Post a Comment