BoLASEPaKO.com - A Blog on Singapore Football

Coach Raddy screen-grab off the live stream The nightmare is over in Qatar when Iraq handed the 7-1 scoreline to send our boys back home to conclude a World Cup Qualifiers that would be best not to mention in the near future. Despite the nature of being a "dead-rubber" for this fixture, the team with Brazilian legend Zico at helm did not allow any slip-up. With the floodgates opened in the fourth minute through Karrar Jasim, there was not look back for the Iraqis who took and executed their chances well right till the end with skipper Younis Mahmoud rounded up with a hat-trick before referee Abdullah Al Hilali of Oman signalled the end of a heart-wrecking match. Isa Halim's well-placed strike in the 28th minute was the only bright spark for the hapless Lions. I guess one of the hardest things to stomach is the fact that two teams that qualified for the next phrase were once defeated by us and had shown where our football is now - stagnant. Starting First XI

Taisuke Akiyoshi (blue) heads to Bulgaria Having read about former SAFFC winger Taisuke Akiyoshi (joining a list of ex-Albirex Niigata [S] heading to Europe) signed for Slavia Sofia, a club in Bulgaria on a two-and-half year as reported by TODAY, I posted my thoughts in italic below in the blog Facebook page. "Despite the resentment of their presence as a foreigner-based club, it's hard to deny the contribution made by Albirex Niigata (Singapore) since they joined the league in 2004. If the league authority been talking about the crucial role of having these foreigner-based squads in the S.League, no one can hardly disagree the White Swans are the benchmark of that of well functioning CLUB. Whilst their on-field performance only started to pick up since last year (with their first ever honour - the League Cup), the well-oiled mechanism to operate the club off the field is for all to see and emulate. With that on top of those alumni, bedside those promoted to senior

(This entry is formulated based on the transcript of the media release issued by X-League , one of the partners of this blog.) (P.S: The images depicted in this blog entry are provided by X-League.) Not just futsal, the new facilities include eateries and a supermarket within reach The Woodlands region, located at the north of Singapore, will see a new futsal league kicks off in the month of March. Boasting eight social football teams with players from both Singapore and Malaysia, the new tournament will encompass a unique three team promotion/relegation structure sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS). The X-League's Sports Planet (SP) Futsal League is the brainchild of both X-League and its partners, Sports Planet with effort to bring the smaller version of the beautiful game to residents staying in the north. "Weather-proof" - a total of four sheltered futsal pitches All matches will be played in Sports Planet's latest facilities

I took the shot of Lee Lim Saeng and post in this album and saw the almost identical on another website Straight to the point here that I would like to seek third-party opinion if these two shots are identical here? If it's identical, I would like to state that under no circumstance was I ever being approached by any organization or individual to request to reproduce this picture for any purpose on prior notice. It's regrettable that if these two pictures are indeed the same, despite the " Copyright Information " posted at the top of the page. Whilst I am grateful that all along due permission was being sought before-handed and acknowledgement is given upon any reproduction of my photos, but it is sad to note some individuals and organizations decided to disregard the efforts and work of the originator. If such incident ever take place again, I will not rule out the possibility to stop all my photography work on this blog. However, having said all these

National coach Raddy Avramovic (pictured right) has been pretty quiet of late since he was named as an advisor to the Lions XII team months back. With the media attention being shifted to focus on other issues such as the " come -and- go of Johan Gouttefangeas", the ongoing fixation on the tournament as the result of the joint-MOU signed last year, everyone seems to have forgotten about the concluding match of the faltering World Cup qualifiers against Iraq in Qatar. It wasn't until recently when coach Raddy called up a group of 25 players for a centralized training session beginning this coming Sunday in preparation for the Middle-East journey I think many would have long forgotten about (after all, who would bother after the big gamble that failed to reap any dividend?). A glance at the year long schedule issued by the league authority had indicated that the only work left to be done is to concentrate on the AFF Suzuki Cup at the end of the year for coach Raddy.

Just a small scribe about my instant reaction after having heard the launch of the "Vision 2030" which I think the two usual suspects - "Paper Chase" and "National Service (NS)" could cause part of the project to hit the kerb if no solution are there to nail them down. "Serving the Nation" A tricky situation pertaining the NS issue that long dogged the various national teams that exemption were not granted in time to allow those affected ones a chance to bask for the nation glory. Harris Harun (foreground) is serving his NS now, while Delwinder Singh (behind Hariss) is studying for his diploma Nonetheless, the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Chan Chun Sing remain upbeat when he revealed not long ago that "very positive" discussions are taking place with the relevant authorities to address this matter. "Paper Chase" (Picture credit SAFFC) Which is why I thought the recent joint collabor

(This entry is formulated based on the transcript of the media release jointly issued by the Football Association of Singapore , StarHub and ESPN STAR Sports with quotes extracted and pictures credited accordingly) The whole idea is actually simple when the new broadcast deal is inked today (as in yesterday when this entry was loaded up) - to provide the necessary catalyst to fuel the realization of the ambitious ASEAN Super League (ASL) . Moving out of obscurity as S.League goes regional  The ASL is the brainchild of FAS spelt under its "Strategic Plan" when it was announced two years ago to see championship winning teams from the region to complete in a similar format of that of the successful Champions League in European club football. With the participation of Brunei's DPMM and the Harimau Muda from Malaysia in this season's S.League, it does make sense to boast its regional presence in those two countries and to serve as a gauge if fans in these two c

(The entry is formulated from the transcript obtained via Integrated Marketing Solutions Group -IMSG , the PR agency of Nike Singapore ) (P.S: The copyrights of the images depicted in this blog entry belong to Nike , unless stated on the images itself.) In its quest to help players to maintain their game in order to excel further to the next level, sporting apparel giants Nike had recently launched their latest collection of football boots - the "4 Silo" with aim to help them in achieving that goal. The "4 Silo" collection (L-R) CTR360 Maestri II Elite, Tiempo Legend IV Elite, T90 Laser IV & Mercurial Vapor Superfly III The four newly-launched boots are improvised from their previous models with updated colourway for each of them plus other features as well. Beside having a more dynamic outlook to give a much striking feel, certain details (i.e.: weight, grip, etc.) of these boots are being improved to enhance the level of performance of the players

Where has the filling gone for Home United "sandwich" ?? "Two pieces of toasts without fillings in the middle" as what it sums up Home United performance in their season curtain-raiser against defending S.League champions Tampines Rovers in the Charity Shield match at JBS. The void left by Valery Hiek was clearly illustrated in the goal conceded in less than five minute how the once stout brick-like Protectors' defense was fully exploited by Stags' new signing Davor Piskor with not follow up from Lionel Lewis' narrowing of angle from near distance. Shotaro Ihata (right) struggled against Fahrudin Mustafic (left) While the recruitment of Shotaro Ihata from Albirex Niigata (S) to compliment Fred Mendy upfront looks like a match made in heaven, but with a well-marshalled Tampines backline led by skipper Fahrudin Mustafic, the newly-minted duo were struggling to make any impact. On the contrary, shrewd recruitment of players had given Stags coach

"I always believe such cooperation between clubs and their locality GROs (Grassroots Organizations) will do more good than anything. Both parties should leverage on the plus sides of each other to benefit themselves in the long run. And this is something I hope the "joint event" this afternoon is not a "one-off" event." That was what I said on the blog FB page in response to a member's posting on the "SAFFC Warriors Football Carnival 2012", which was held in Choa Chu Kang (CCK), before heading down there.   "SAFFC Warriors Football Carnival 2012" The choice of the venue was ideal with the event taking place just right across the "Lot 1 Shopping Center" which made it a lot easier for people to take notice and travel to and fro the Choa Chu Kang MRT station next to the mall. Ruzaini Zainal (right) signs on a poster of a fan In conjunction with the SAFFC's pre-season media press conference, a futsal tournament for

"It just got off from a shaky footing when there are many in reality is trying so hard to look good..." Clementi Stadium in rain Just less than a week from the kickoff of the 2012 S.League season, the league authority dropped another shocker that totally caught everyone in the fraternity off guard when it was announced defending champions Tampines Rovers will be relocated to Clementi Stadium, while its previous tenants Tanjong Pagar United will be "heading home" to Queenstown Stadium. In a statement made known to the media, S.League CEO Lim Chin said:"Queenstown Stadium was made available a fortnight ago and after discussions with both clubs, the decision was made to relocate both clubs to Clementi and Queenstown Stadium respectively. "This move bodes well as Tampines Rovers will now be able to start the season without the concerns of having to relocate later on in the season while Tanjong Pagar will return to their rightful home at Queenstown."