Bring back the "Semangat"?

Got to know there's this movie about Singapore football "Kallang Roar the Movie" that is gonna hit the town soon.

I'm sure it's going to be definitely better than the slapstick - "One Leg Kicking" (graded 3.6/10 as on 30th June by "imdb")

Here's the trailer clips as forwarded to me via my "Farewell to Kallang Roar" clip


Part One


Part Two

Must have bring back a lot of Good Ol' Memories eh? (P.S.: and Uncle Choo's scolding too!!)

Basic to the basic...

Snapped this picture from the train, while on my way to a game.

Can't remember where it was but that's not the issue, rather one thing that came to my mind was - shouldn't the game be played in the most basic manner like what depicted in the picture?

It seems that most of us seems to forget the most basic element of the game - Having fun.

Sure, I know there's a lot of folks outhere still having their "kickabout" session every weekend around the island, though the saddest thing I can't help but having that feeling on those guys slogging out for a living on the field, those so-called "full-timers".

In a time where money and winning are so important that I wonder if those star players on the field really enjoy themselves like those amateurs having fun on an ad-hoc basis?

Product Review: Nike First Touch II FS - Varsity Royal

(P.S: This is my first attempt in writing product review, opinions expressed below are sole personal from the blogger himself , without any form of interference from whosoever entity or individual.)

THE FIRST IMPRESSION

"Wow!","Striking!" - those were the reactions from my friends upon the unveiled of " Nike First Touch II FS - Varsity Royal" (as illustrated above).


The first impression of this footwear is the eye-catching glossy royal blue coloured leather top.

Cushioned padding around the ankle area of this shoe is critical, as twisting and turning revolving the ankle is a common motion when playing futsal.


Although it fitted in nicely, it's bit tight, however just right (some players would prefer a little more room for the feet, rather than being tight-fitting).


As this is not your typical conventional soccer boots that are fitted with screwed or moulded studs, I think these shoes also make an ideal footwear for your daily outdoor activities.


THE "TRY-OUT"
The try-out of the shoes was finally completed this evening after work.

I managed to rope in a working friend of me as a technical adviser on all aspects regarding the shot taking (statically and dynamic as well).

Lining up for pile-driver (man, the feeling was good!)

Hooked the ball up on a flick

Trying a low driver...

An eye for the ball

Don't worry, I saw the lamppost..

I don't deny the fact that I still feel a bit sore on the last toe of my right foot.

I guess it's due to the different cutting of this NIKE footwear, as my workplace footwear also size 8 but offer a little room space for my toes unlike the "tight fitted-in" of "First Touch II FS" (a problem which I was told will overcome gradually by wear them often).

For one, its glossy royal blue outlook is enough to grab the attention and its outer layer is well-crafted to allow players to control, passing the ball with ease, not forget to mention making long, powerful shot using it!

Other than the mentioned glitch (more of personal discomfort due to own oversight), "First Touch II FS" is definitely worth the consideration if one is looking for a pair of futsal boots.

THE AFTERTHOUGHTS
I certain hope I did not let anybody down throughout the whole review.

As a matter of fact, I have not played competitively for ages having self-imposed myself into earlier retirement :P

But the urge of simply juggling the ball is still always a joy and pleasure.

A short Clip on the "TRY-OUT"

Many thanks to Travis and Mason of "SoccerPro.com" for making this try-out possible and Viknesh for his technical help throughout the shooting.

To find out more and interested in making online purchasing on "Nike First Touch II FS - Varsity Royal", please click the link HERE

Instant Reaction: Though din make thru but it was a perfect end ....

FIFA website shown the stats as at the stoppage time

Game over...

It's another end of the chapter following this win at Beirut.

Cheers boys, at least we won the last game and being the first team to score against the Uzbeks.

Take this as a good learning curve and I'm pretty sure that few years down the road, this current crop of players will be enshrined being one of the best teams played for the country.. (after all, we have never been come to this far, right?)

See you guys back home :)

It's not just about S.League..(having Beach Fun at downtown)

.. that this blog been covering, rather I would welcome any opportunity to take a peek on other forms of the game being played in Singapore, after all, this is blog is a "simple view on Singapore Soccer".

Being told visually that was this "Velocity Beach Festival" being held at Novena's Velocity and one of the events feature was the "3-on-3 Beach Soccer Competition".

So after the mandatory market session, I headed down to the mall that prided itself as "Singapore’s dedicated sports mall".

Everything looked disorganized when I first arrived at scene, saw some guys having a kick-about in the sand pit. (only to realize they were just getting ready :P)

A few close-up shots from the sideline.

Some action-packed photos from the sideline.

AFTERTHOUGHTS

Not a bad idea to catch some beach football action in a downtown area, eh?

One thing I do realized is playing the beach version of the game require one's leg muscles to be strong and well-conditioned to take all sorts of strains and knocks that are common during the game.

It's more of short, precise passing of the ball (not forgetting to mention the "flick" as well), one's holding and shielding of the possession are also crucial in the game and which is why I don't think playing long passes and pile-driver are essential for this version, unless this guy is a deadly accurate.

(Last but not least, I recalled I read somewhere that back in the 70's, a day or two prior to a crucial game, the national team went for a jog along the beach and in the end, result was disastrous as the Lions lost that game and seemed to point the finger at the "beach run" - which is why till this day, we don't seems to hear the boys doing their running on the beach. :P)

What a fiery end....

The mock background at the lift lobby of JBS

In the end, Gombak United claimed their first major trophy since joining the S.League with two goals from their "Golden Boy" - Gabriel Obatola in the Avaya -J & J League Cup Final.

While Jeon Byung Euk's stunning equalizer levelled the scores in the second half, the match was concluded in a fiery manner which saw three players being sent off.

Personally, I wasn't impressed with Bulls' 'keeper's "playing with the fire" antics that triggered the mess towards the end.

SOME PICTURES FROM THE LEAGUE CUP FINAL

The Super Reds spared no effort to hype up the support by roped in K-Pop artistes from Korea and the fans luv it, of course


A video clip of their performance.

Gombak coach Swandi Ahmad (center) shared his thoughts after a fiery finale.

Instant Reaction: Thank you to 22,500....

.. of you at the National Stadium just now, for the presumptive last game at the Grand Ol' Dame of Kallang.

Many Thanks to Ms Lee TienSin for taking this shot at the doorstep of "Press Booth No.2"
(Wish I could have the black tag as a souvenir)

Unfortunately, the gallant Hassan Sunny in goal was not enough to stop the Saudis from confirming their spot in the final round of the World Cup qualifiers at our own expenses (those of you who saw the game should know why and how..)

With the exclusive last goal-scorer at the National Stadium fallen to Ahmed Al Fraidi.

SOME PICTURES FROM "SILVER" ROOM

"We knew it will be a very hard game against Singapore, especially after they scored three goals against Uzbekistan (in their last home game)." said Saudi coach Nassir Johar (wearing a cap), through his translator on his right.

"And they made the Uzbeks suffered a lot before wining the game 1-0 at Tashkent.

"We were tactically well-prepared, having know that a good attack and having the control of the midfield had made the game easier for us." added Johar, who only recently took over the coaching of the Saudis' national team.

(P.S: you really have to take your hat off the translator who been so far the best I seen in this business, without relying anything like taking down notes or whatsoever, every words and statements just flow out instantly.)

The media at work - fielding question for the coaches

Coach Raddy's turn to meet the press

"It is a good opportunity (for the players) to be at this stage (of the qualifying round) as we played against some good quality opponents." said Coach Raddy, as he took over the centerstage of the press conference.

"Saudi fully deserved to win tonight and wish them the best of luck in the next round." as he paid tribute to the visiting side.

"Hassan (Sunny) done extremely well tonight and he shown the true character during the training, in my opinion, why not give hin a chance (to start the game)

"Qiu Li got the quality and have any chance like any other players" replied coach Raddy when asked for his assessment onthe two star performers of the home team.

FINAL NOTE: With the defeat to the Saudi, this could well marked the end of the era of the National Stadium, Thanks for the memory. :)

The LAST Hurrah??

Alrite, we all know very well that we were being "played out" last year by that event. Nonetheless, this could well be the LAST I guess...

So just a kindly reminder that, for those who are heading down to the stadium tomorrow, do yourself a favour - sing the "MAJULAH SINGAPURA" lound and clear...

If you want to have a guide on how to see the national anthem, here's a clip to show you how.

HOW TO SING "MAJULAH SINGAPURA"

Mission (Im)possible

Look what I found during the tidying of my stuff over the weekend?

Two Malaysia Cup-era posters of the Singapore team (it's not right to call them the NATIONAL team when they playing in a domestic competition of another sovereign state)!!

Good thing that I didn't dump them away, but honestly speaking I have totally forgotten their existence till the tidy up!!

So wasting no effort, I had these two valuable posters laminated and next on the plan - is to trace down each individual and ask them to sign on these poster :)

So guys, watch out for me, with these posters and a marker, in coming weeks :P

(P.S: Unfortunately, "Russian Tank" Borhan Abu Samah is one I can't get to sign on it...... )

Writing to the mainstream media

The leading up to and the days that follow after the game against Uzbekistan saw some of my letters being published on the mainstream papers.

Urging the fans to turn up at the National Stadium - "Mypaper" - 2nd June 2008 (Well, 28,000 of you, as seen below this line, turned up.. How many responded to my call??)

Days later (6th June 2008), another of my letters (below) was published on "TODAY" (dated 6th May).

This time round, I voiced my opinion by saying it wasn't fair to "pin-point" the naturalized players only for the defeat. (Unfortunately, the guys at TODAY tweaked my line a little bit and somehow misnterpreted my views.. Sight! ).


On the same day on "MyPaper", one honest chap gave his "wake-up" call to we all die-hard supporters (as depicted above).

Feeling a lump in my throat, I wrote in again (above, published on 9th June 2008) and "thank him" for his honest view.

Writing to the mainstream press can be a daunting task or bluntly saying it is a "waste-your-time" thing to do.

Countless time, I wrote to the mainstream press (regarding other issues), hoping to have my views seen and discussed but countless time, my letters were dumped into the basket.

If some of you guys are regular followers of these so-called "feedback" pages of the papers, you might noticed one or two "regular writers" (example a Mr Law, a Mr Leong and a guy named after a card of a poker card.) - are these guys' views really struck a chord with the masses that most editors would use them?

Not only that, probably the more stupid things that would appeared in these columns are some of those "kucing kurap" (insignificant, trivial)matters like once a house owner complained she was mistaken as a maid by a civil servant (C'mon, don't waste our @#$%& time on this kucing kurap matter.)

Although, I'm disappointed with the treatment by the mainstream folks on local football, however at this point of time, they are still essential to get the message across.. SIGHT!!

Instant Reaction: Nothin' to shame about, Lions

Really... there's nothing to shame.

You guys did yourself a great favour to restore the pride of the team.

Nothing to shame about, just bad luck and the Uzbeks simply expoited it.

You were so close to savage a draw, but this is one of the games you guys out there should walk away with your heads up.

Hope to see you carry on with this great performance when you are back in town for the Saturday game against the Saudis.

Well done boys, you made a fool out of the Uzbeks... :)

Obituary: Mr Khairudin Idris

With deepest sympathy and sadness, we say goodbye to Mr Khairudin Idris, who passed away peacefully this morning in his sleep.

Mr Din had been actively involved in the local football scene in the capacity as a match commissioner for the S.League.

Ironically, the last time I saw Mr Din was at Choa Chu Kang Stadium on Wednesday.

Rest In Peace, Mr Din.

Ma gonna kill me if she found out.....

(If she found out that I posted these pictures on the internet (especially the LAST photo).

After much delaying, the bedroom, where I slept for the past few years since the inclusion of it due to upgrading of the flat, had finally converted to a study room-cum work area.

How the desktop and the other "barangs" were placed on a makeshift display unit.

Suppose to have them all place on these steel table but just couldn't fit in.

Bingo!! it's done..

But here's the MESS .. (Just don't tell my mum, thanks)

Alright, Own up.. who is spying on Lionel Lewis??

So who has been tracing us from Tashkent?

Based on "FEEDJIT", someone from Tashkent visited this blog

A click on the referrral shown this particular someone was checking on Lionel Lewis - our national team goalkeeper.

What's more based on "FEEDJIT", it was logged on from a PC near to where the main stadium of Tashkent is, hmmm....

The Aftermath (3-7)

“The Straits Times” shown some mercy when they lauded the "courage and effort shown", whereas its sister paper, the free tabloid “Mypaper” screamed "Disgraceful, Inept, Shameful!", while the rivalling “TODAY” depicted a player looked like Aleksandar Duric or Fahrudin Mustafic holding his head in despair with the tag "LIONS' SHAME".

Those were the reactions from the mainstream media following the national team's biggest home defeat in their competitive history.

While I don't blame the media for splashing that kind of eye-catching headlines across the front-pages since they were telling what we saw with our own eyes.

Although, all these happened at the wrong timing.

Wrong timing in a sense, these happened when the chips are looking up for the national team, who are slowly trying to regain the faith of the notorious sceptical football followers of this country.

Yes, we were being taught a very good lesson of the game and the Uzbeks truly deserved all the accolades.

Most of the thoughts I gathered from the grapevine indicated the sloppy defending by the players attributed to the downfall of the team.

"They tried their best but the lack of international (match) experience and stamina caused them dearly.

"Also, the team did not shown teamwork and there was not chemistry between Lionel (Lewis - the 'keeper) and his defenders" said a working friend of my.

"But I really enjoyed the way Uzbekistan played their football." said another for his admiration of the attacking play of the Central Asians.

Instant reaction: the thrashing by Uzbeks

No doubt, it is setback for the dream.

The Lions were sent crashing back to earth by the much superior Uzbekistan side.

But isn't that football ?

Before the "FLOODGATE" open....

Hey, I'm not finding any excuse and I know some of you, sceptics out there, already have your knives sharpen to prove your "incompetence" theory had correctly predicted the downfall, that was aided by the fact the game was shown live on television for all to witness that.

Looking at a bigger picture, the Lions were given a very good lesson learnt, weren't they?

Took this picture with coach Raddy after the game (Many thanks to the gentleman, who took this shot, I'm sorry that I forgotten to ask your name.. but I appreciate your help :))

Coach Raddy always mentioned the Uzbeks are playing a different style of football and they did (seen what fast they slammed three more after we levelled?).

On a few occasions, our players actually waiting for the possession and not fighting for it (therefore allowing some of the goals being conceded in that manner, agreed?).

But at the end of the day, let's not discredit the national team for just one defeat.

Everyone has its bad day and taking some consolation out of this game - we actually destroyed the clean sheet of the Uzbeks in this qualifier.

SOME PICTURES OF THE DAY (by friends of HWZ)

Many thanks to "Pika" of HWZ for allowing me to use some of his pictures (above) he taken while at the ground.

Many thanks to "tamago_" of HWZ for allowing me to use one of his pictures he taken while at the ground (above: Mustic above to level the scores through the spot-kick.).

This picture (above) by "takuyazzz" of HWZ shown one of the many "wayang" tactics by the Uzbek for "time-wasting" (many thanks to "takuyazzz" )