BoLASEPaKO.COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

(Media information by Football Association of Singapore ) The Singapore National Football Team SINGAPORE, 29 December 2009: Singapore takes on Islamic Republic of Iran on 6th January at the National Stadium in their penultimate Group E match in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers at 7.30pm. Tickets for the match are now available through the SISTIC Website: www.sistic.com.sg, SISTIC Hotline: (65) 6348 5555 and SISTIC Authorised Agents islandwide. With two games remaining, Iran remain at the top of the table with seven points and just a point clear of Singapore, with third placed Thailand just a point further back and Jordan on four points. The top two teams will qualify for the finals in Qatar in 2011. MATCH DETAILS AFC - Asian Cup Qatar 2011 (Qualifying Stage) Singapore vs Islamic Republic of Iran DATE and TIME Wednesday, 6 Jan 2010 7.30PM VENUE National Stadium TICKET PRICE S$11 - Grandstand S$7 - Gallery S$3 - Gallery (Child/ Student- Pri, Sec, ITE & JC) and Senior Citizen 55 yrs ...

Oman shown their true colour on the New Year's Eve, by walloped Singapore 4-1 at the Bishan Stadium in the final game of this two-game friendly series. As what coach Raddy said after the match, he cannot think of anything positive out of this game as the visitors had clearly outsmarted, outclassed and outwitted their hosts with some swift movement and dominating of possession plays. It was certainly hard to stomach the sight of being so near to witness those three goals (mainly due to sloppy defending) let in by the Lions in the first half. Just as a friend in the media had commented we are guilty for the inconsistency shown in our recent run, which I really hope we can bounce back next Wednesday when we facing the Iranians like how we fought back gallantly to beat the Thais on their home turf . SOME PICTURES FROM THE MATCH (Picture above) This was an "A" international international match, since the referee is non-Singaporean this time, as compared to the "selection...

The refurbished Bishan Stadium is the venue of this two-game friendly series The national team and the visiting Omani squad kicked start their two-game friendly series with a 0-0 draw at the refurbished Bishan Stadium. Just like any prep game for bigger match that follows, it was used a platform for some experimental play and fine-tuning of some issues that coach Raddy would like to remedy who is also facing some problem such as the absence of Arema Malang striker Noh Alam Shah and Home United's Shi Jiayi, both are still on the casualty list. Khairul Amri (12) and Alek Duric (9) hope to establish a telepathic understanding As such, skipper Indra Sahdan Daud was deployed on the right flank with Aleksandar Duric and his new Tampines striking partner Khairul Amri leading the attack upfront. While Hariss Harun and Fahrudin Mustafic (who missed a penalty that would have given us the game in the 37th minute) were tasked to nullify any Omani threat in the middle. Mustafic (15) tussled the...

I was at the Jalan Besar Stadium to catch the national team in their preparation against the visiting Omani side, as both sides are gearing up for their Asian Cup qualifying campaign to be resumed early next month. SOME PICTURES FROM THE TRAINING SESSION (Pictured above) In-sync as Fadhil Noh and Indra Sahdan Daud practicing their headers in the warming up. Coach Raddy and trainer Aleksandar Bozenko planning the routine ahead. "Okay guys, this is what we gonna do" as the coach Raddy spells out the plan. Khairul Amri (middle) places a shot across. Fadhil Noh is one of the Cubs selected for the senior squad. Noh Rahman (middle) recently joined SAFFC from Sengkang Punggol... So did ace striker Indra Sahdan Daud. Hariss Harun attempted a piledriver as Persija's Fahrudin Mustafic looks on. "Farra" himself can't resist to take a shot as well. Veteran Aleksandar Duric switched to Tampines Rovers for this season's S.League campaign. Lionel Lewis blocked an attem...

(Media Release by Football Association of Singapore ) (File picture) Lions in training Lions resume Asian Cup Qualifiers preparation with Oman friendly matches SINGAPORE, 22 October 2009: Singapore will take on Oman in two friendly matches on 28 and 31 December at the Bishan Stadium, in preparation of their 2011 AFC Asian Cup Qualification match against I.R. Iran come January. With Oman currently in 79th position according to the latest Fifa-ranking, and slightly behind 64th-placed Iran, National coach Radojko Avramovic is looking forward to play Oman next week as his final tune-up leading to the Iran match. “The friendly matches with Oman will be good preparation for us as their playing style is quite similar to that of the Iranians. Both teams also have players with very good physical and technical skills.” While many felt that Jordan’s recent shock victory over Iran threw a spanner in Singapore’s Asian Cup Qualification campaign, Raddy insists that his game plan has not changed. Sa...

14 years down the road what had we achieved? “Below-average moderate” as I am to grade the overall achievement for the league. Yes, it provides a chance for any budding footballer to earn a livelihood out of kicking a ball around, also ample jobs in coaching and club administration, etc. Despite the constant proclamation as “one of the top 10 leagues in Asia”, it's not hard to see that there's a lot to be done to overcome some teething issues bugging the league.   SENSE OF HELPLESSNESS From time to time, I have been using this blog to share my thoughts and views on the local football scene, I can't help but felt let down that several nagging issues have yet to be resolved. It's easy to spot a mistake from far, but before we can tackle that problem, how and where are we going to make the first step? Maybe this feedback from a reader on one of the previous entries sums up the best. “Well, it is always easy to give 'suggestions' while watching from far (sic). One...

The 25th SEA Games logo (via Wikipedia ) PREVIEW Just as people thought the youngest ever Cubs were moving on the right track by emerged from their group stages in the recently SEA Games campaign, they were dealt with a lesson they would never forget - the harsh reality of the pace and the depth in technicality of today's football. Indeed, it will be remembered as face-saving outing for this squad of average 19.5 year-old as they met the target of being one of the semi-finalists in the biennial sporting fiesta, but let's hope whatever they learned would help them to be a better player in the near future. For the pride and for oneself - GO for the BRONZE . (P.S: Again due to the unfavourable timeslot, I would be greatly appreciate if any kind folks out there would update me the scores in any means, thanks) AFTERMATH Well done to the Cubs for retaining the spot as the football's bronze medalist of the SEA Games. 3-1 was the final score and glad for the fact that as one of my ...

Cubs' coach Terry Pathmanathan (above) - unfazed by the criticism of the widely perceived "negative" display of football against the Laotians on Thursday . PREVIEW I hope all the dust had settled by now, following the public outcry of the "negative" display of football by both the national U23 (or CUBS ) and their Laotian counterparts on Thursday night. To be honest, due to some prior arranged commitments I did not catch the match on "livestreaming", and felt it doesn't make any sense to watch the delayed telecast of the game upon received those messages, SMSes I gathered after the game was over. Basically, what matters to us is that we had qualified for the final-four and met the target we set for the Cubs before leaving for Laos, therefore, the utmost agenda is to see what can the Cubs achieved from here. Nonetheless, I did notice something that whenever any of the national teams performed badly, tonnes of criticism would be targeted at the team ...