BoLASEPaKO.com - A Blog on Singapore Football

It did not take me long to hit the button when I came across the autobiography of Derek Currie - "When ‘Jesus’ Came to Hong Kong: The remarkable story of the first European football star in Asia" on Amazon after I read about the publishing of it months before. LURE TO HONG KONG BECAUSE OF PELE In 1970, Currie signed for Ian Petrie 's Hong Kong Rangers alongside fellow Scots Jackie Trainer and Walter Gerrard with the promise of facing the great Pele in months to come when Santos going to visit the then British crown colony. Derek Currie (left) with the legendary Pele  The signing of the Scottish trio on professional basis by a Hong Kong club, let alone an Asian club, was unheard of in this part of the world during that era and it was no wonder their arrival at the old Kai Tak Airport caused a bit of media frenzy. In spite of Hong Kong's diminutive size, it has always fascinated me how Hong Kong football was the first to have a professional football league in Asia (

SGPL - Balestier Khalsa 4-2 Young Lions 120723 Emmeric Ong (striped jersey) of Balestier Khalsa shared a light moment It was a "mere formality" to see this outcome day in and day out, and we wouldn't know when this would end. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES Tiger Cup match between THFC and LCS of SFOF23 (25-260723) England skipper Harry Kane at National Stadium Here are the snaps taken during the "Tiger Cup" match of the Singapore Festival of Football Driven by CDG Zig (SFOF23) between Tottenham Hotspur and Lion City Sailors on 26/7 at National Stadium and the day before when Spurs held their open training session at National Stadium. Nope, Harry Kane did not play his match for Spurs in Singapore. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES SFOF23/SCST2023 - Liverpool 4-0 Leicester City 300723 Liverpool skipper Virgil Van Dijk plotting his next move Liverpool got down to work straight away with a 4-0 win over former EPL side

Two events in recent days prompted me to jot this note - the Singapore Cup and Tampines Rovers failed to qualify for the AFC Cup . The premier knockout tournament will see the nine teams from the Singapore Premier League (SPL) split into two groups with 5 teams in Group A and the rest in Group B. STAGS FAILED TO QUALIFY FOR A SPOT IN THE AFC CUP  In the meantime, Tampines Rovers found themselves being denied a spot in the continental tournament which they would easily qualify to the knock-out stages in the past when they were beaten 3-2 by Phnom Penh Crown of Cambodia in the qualifying play-off. Stags' coach Gavin Lee faced criticism after failing to qualify for the AFC Cup Ironically, Phnom Penh Crown was one of the many regional invitees in the past to play in the Singapore Cup competition. The above-mentioned tournament, at one point, was dubbed the "Asean Friendship Invitational" because of the participation of club sides from the neighbouring countries. OTHER PRO

HAD KANE PLAY HIS LAST GAME FOR SPURS? THFC 5-1 LCS (26/7) Supposedly to bill as "Jose Mourinho Derby" - a match that never materialised which resulted in having local side Lion City Sailors (LCS) as a late replacement for AS Roma following the decision by the Italians to scrap their Far East tour . Should it have taken place, it would be quite a spectacle to see the Portuguese tactician, who is now in charge of Roma, facing his former employers who sacked him in April 2021 . England captain Harry Kane (second from right) played his last game for Spurs? But the gloss was definitely on England captain Harry Kane when he could have possibly led Tottenham Hotspur out of the tunnel for the last time as Spurs skipper when they took on LCS at the National Stadium. Spurs coach Ange Postecoglou gave no comment when asked about his talisman's status during the media conference prior to his side's open training session a day before the match, according to various sources. &quo