BoLASEPaKO.com - A Blog on Singapore Football

Rizal is now part of Tanjong Pagar United's coaching panel Rizal Rahman is the reason why I decided to take up football photography. I still remember that day we met for the first time face to face at a fast food outlet near the National Stadium when he asked if I have pictures from his playing days. Which, unfortunately, I had none as I had yet to start taking match photos back then and I could sense the disappointment which I thought was probably a good time to venture into something that was alien to me. The following repurposed content is the feature on the former Balestier Khalsa goalkeeper which was first published on 23rd April 2009 in a Q&A format. Additional details were added to this blog post recently to give an update on the ex-national youth goalkeeper. FROM THE VOID DECKS Like many Singapore boys, Rizal started playing football in void decks of HDB (Housing Development Board) residential blocks. As the primary school where he studied did not have a football team,

So long it's not called "pussy cat" I must be probably one of the rare few in Singapore to nickname the Singapore National Under-23 squad as "THE CUBS", whereas most would call them "YOUNG LIONS". For a good reason, I thought "CUBS" should be the appropriate one in this context, even though some opined those national teams in the teenage group should be called that. Simply because "YOUNG LIONS" is a team playing in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) and not a team representing the Republic in international tournaments. To nickname the Singapore National Under-23 as "YOUNG LIONS" would only give a wrong interpretation that the SPL team of the same name is THE ONE representing Singapore in overseas competitions when it is not (even though the bulk of the CUBS were selected from the YOUNG LIONS on many occasions). After all, the function of "YOUNG LIONS" is for developmental purposes in a professional setting. While

We read to widen not constraint our perspective The idea of sharing past occurrences of local football on this platform is to remind us what happened in the past and how those events should inspire us to do better. It is never meant to be a channel to allow certain groups or ideologies to claim superiority over other groups or beliefs. It has not been uncommon to see some lauded and immortalised the achievements of those many decades ago while belittling the efforts of those who did us proud in recent years. These thoughts came to me after I read a book recently in which a former national player lamented efforts by his club mates and himself in a continental tournament meant little significance to many fans who still basking in the glory of a domestic Cup competition which Singapore long associated in the past (need not for me to elaborate which Cup competition). This only tells us the parochial mindset that is etched in the mindset of some fans who still cannot let go of the past. Whi

Saying "No" is an art Even though I blog on Singapore football, it doesn't mean I will cover everything under the said theme. Mainly because being an OMO (One Man Operation) since the start of BoLASEPaKO•COM in 1996, I realised the importance of focusing on certain niches. The niches I referring to can be in any form or topic. Be it, the professional Singapore Premier League, the Singapore National Teams, the amateur/part-time based Singapore Football Leagues the write-ups, the photography, the social media postings, etc. Not having the luxury of a team would mean I have to stay focused on my continuing involvement, on top of having to juggle my day job to avoid a potential burnout. And those who followed me since the early days would know where my niches are, what are the areas I couldn't cover (noticed I used the word "couldn't" instead of the word "don't", since there is a difference between the two). This post is not referring to anyone