BoLASEPaKO.com - A Blog on Singapore Football

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

If not, we would not have seen what was claimed by many as the best-ever national team that played and won the Malaysia Cup in 1977.  I chanced upon the National Library Newspaper archive site one fine day, and out of curiosity, I decided to search through the site to see if I can find some of the clippings of the heydays of Singapore back in the 1970s. The result was these two clippings... 'Fans petition' in 1976 ( NLB archive ) It was interesting to note back on 16th December 1976, The Straits Times (ST) reported a fans' petition was organized to ask the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) to replace "Uncle" Choo Seng Quee, arguably the best coach we ever had, with Technical Advisor Englishman Trevor Hartley as the national team coach.  "POOR RAPPORT", "OUT-MODED" CLAIMED FANS These disgruntled fans claimed the coaching methods of Choo were "out-moded" and felt there was a "poor rapport" between him and several player

 SGPL - Balestier Khalsa 2-2 Tampines Rovers 260222 Aerial duel at Tigers-Stags game Balestier Khalsa came back from behind to salvage a draw with goals from Shuhei Hoshino and Ensar Brunčević in the second half. The Stags took a two-goal lead in the first half through Boris Kopitović and Taufik Suparno. The match also saw the return of Balestier's head coach Akbar Nawas to the local top flight after five years when he, ironically, stepped down from the Tampines Rovers' hot seat in 2017. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICTURES SGPL - Tanjong Pagar United 2-2 Hougang United 060322 Jags' 'keeper Zharfan ensured safety Shodai Nishikawa's 88th minute diving header salvaged a 2-2 for Tanjong Pagar United after they earlier surrendered the lead to Hougang United's two quick goals in 77' & 79'. Khairul Nizam opened the account in the 72nd minute for Jags. Tanjong Pagar United reclaimed the pacesetter role barely one day after their co-tenants Alb

Skipper Hariss Harun (14) is a center-back these days Beating Malaysia is sweet, although we should have been more aggressive in the match that saw us beat the auld enemy 2-1 at Kallang last evening (26/7). The lack of aggressiveness was what I told almost everyone I bumped onto during and after the game which also saw national interim coach Nazri Nasir maintained his 100% record against Malaysia. Like I told a friend, I was wondering if Hariss Harun is being utilized more as the center-back these days that saw our lack of commanding presence in the middle of the park? Ikhsan's brace sunk Malaysia As we witnessed how the Harimau Malaya's more swift and intense movements were all over the Lions' domain at some parts of the game that saw Ikhsan Fandi was reduced to an isolated figure up front on a few occasions? And we had Lady Luck to thank when the Malaysians did not take their chance and even struck the crossbar from the spot-kick attempt before their equalizer in the 57t

Borhan Abu Samah 1964-1999  (P.S1) The demise of Borhan Abu Samah at the young age of 34 back in 1999 was a shocker to many in the scene, as he only just quit competitive football barely two years before. One of the vivid memories I had on the day (29 October 1999) he passed away was, I was at Toa Payoh Stadium after a match where a TV crew gathered some of his former teammates to talk about the man who passed away because of liver cancer One after another, these former squadmates of Borhan took turns to share their individual memories of the late former defender on video that were shown on television later. LIONS DEBUT IN 1987 Born on 30 November 1964, Borhan began his football career with Mountbatten CSC, Tiong Bahru CSC before joining Geylang International in 1990. He made his debut for the Singapore National Team on the 4th of March 1987 when he was featured in the victory over Indonesia in the Olympics Qualifiers at the old National Stadium. That 2-0 triumph over the Garudas, with

🙏 Thanks for joining in the FB live streaming on 18th February . 🔗 When we talk about Singapore Football , we can't run away without mentioning Malaysia Cup because of the long association with it. "The Malaysia Cup" was published in 1991 🏆 After all, Singapore was the first winner of this competition in 1921 and the team with the second-highest winning percentage in this tournament. 📖 And the same time, I shared some rare photos and old publications like a book on Malaysia Cup authored by Mr Godfrey Robert , a few copies of "Singapore Soccer", etc. 👴 Based on the June 1976 edition of "Singapore Soccer" monthly, I am confident to say legendary coach "Uncle" Choo Seng Quee would rather win the Pre-World Cup qualifier final against Hong Kong than win the Malaysia Cup in 1977. A copy of "Singapore Soccer" Monthly 🏢 Copies of "Singapore Soccer" monthly and book authored by Mr Robert can be found at National Library

Kyoga Nakamura's deal - a bigger news I can sense that excitement when Tampines Rovers surprised everyone when they dished out an unprecedented contract to bind Kyoga Nakamura for the next five years . After all, a commitment for that duration is something unheard of in local football where it was a common thing to see one or, if lucky, a two-year contract for the players. Furthermore, it came at a time when the economy is not doing well when most of us are worrying about our bread and butter. CONTINUING OF THE HYPE? The surfacing of this development definitely gave us a "wow" reaction, and probably something of a continuation of hype after the heroics of the Lions that melted the hearts of the nation in the recent AFF Suzuki Cup followed by the signing of Izwan Mahbud and M Anumanthan to the big-spending Lion City Sailors (LCS). Not forgetting Albirex Niigata (Singapore) made eyes turn when they roped in former Japanese international Tadanari Lee  ( Lee is famous for s

No time to waste on searching for Coach Yoshida's replacement No point in crying over a cup of spilled milk when the utmost task for the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) is to seek an immediate replacement for outgoing Tatsuma Yoshida as the Singapore National Team Head Coach. As mentioned in the press release announcing the Japanese tactician's departure after steering the Lions to the AFF Suzuki Cup semis for the first time since 2012, the FAS "will commence with the search for a permanent replacement for Tatsuma in January 2022" in order to prepare for the third and final round of qualification for the Asian Cup in next June After all, have we not learned from the past that dragging their feet in naming a replacement for the national coach would have a detrimental effect. Even if a permanent replacement is not possible in time, getting someone on an interim basis should be one option to ensure the preparation for the Asian Cup qualifiers not be disrupted

Plenty of blunders were made in the official tournament programme of AFF Suzuki Cup 2020, according to a friend of mine. In a series of text messages, my friend highlighted these mistakes with illustrations forwarded for my reference. "TWO-LEGGED" ONLY STARTED IN 2004 On the "Roll of Honour' page of the programme (as illustrated), said my friend: "From 2004 , the knockout stage is played over two legs on a home-and-away format.", pointed out using those emojis on the glaring mistakes made such as wrongly listed Singapore beat Vietnam "on aggregate" to win her first international honour - the Tiger Cup in 1998 . "My friend" claimed this was a 1997 SEA Games team photo The next things being singled out were the wrong Singapore team photo used in introducing the tournament history and the name of the tournament. "(It was the) wrong (Singapore team) photo used on 1996 First ever “AFF Suzuki Cup”, (it) should be (called the) Tiger Cup. I

An IG poll was conducted to see how many noticed this poster There is some marketing buzz going on for the upcoming AFF Suzuki Cup though I am not sure how many noticed this banner while strolling along this busy walkway of Bishan MRT station? Not that far away from this station is Bishan Stadium - the venue for most of the Group B matches. One thing to take note of is the stadium is installed with a new natural grass surface (picture below) which I had a look at recently from the nearby Bishan Sports Hall. Being a surface that was only laid not that long ago, not sure if it is able to withstand the robustness of the team like the Vietnamese who are known for their pace. (maybe someone with some horticultural knowledge can answer that)? Will Vietnam thrive on this new surface? In the meantime, the delay in the announcement of the ticketing and broadcasting details caused some anxieties among the local fans during the run-up to the biennial showpiece. Yet when the ticketing details we

AFC U23 Qualifiers - Philippines 0-1 Singapore 281021 "Hey, ref! Look!" A wondering strike from outside the box by Glenn Kweh was enough to keep Singapore U22's hopes alive in the ongoing AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifier, as the Cubs beat the Philippines 1-0 last evening(28/10).  The 21-year-old took his chance well before unleashing a piledriver with his left foot in the 51st minute to spark celebrations among the crowds at the Jalan Besar Stadium. It was Kweh's second goal of the campaign after he scored the first goal in the Cubs' opener against Timor Leste. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES AFC U23 Qualifiers - South Korea 5-1 Singapore 311021 Nur Adam scored the consolation against the Koreans The match against their South Korean counterparts was almost like a dead rubber for the Singapore U22 squad, after the preceding tie saw Timor-Leste beat the Philippines in the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers last evening (31/10) at the JBS. It all got

People of my generation might have heard of him but were too young to realize who he was when he was playing. Let alone those millennials or Generation Z who might think "Mat Noh" is just a random name of someone around them. It is something we cannot pinpoint at anyone if many young people these days have not heard the names of Mat Noh and his contemporaries who wowed this island republic in the 1970s. The 1977 Singapore National Team is still revered by many to this day ** Simply because many former players have stayed out of the media limelight after they hung up their boots that it is no surprise, some might not realize who are they if they happened to stand in front or next to a former national player. SAD THAT ONLY REALIZED WHO THEY WERE WHEN THEY GONE It is a sad thing that whenever former star players like Mat Noh pass on, we only get to read articles in the newspapers and discussions on social media reminiscing the achievements they had in their heydays, other than

 Lions Training 010921  Coach Yoshida led by example in the Lions' training  National Coach Tatsuma Yoshida called up 22 locally-based players for a series of training sessions during the FIFA international window. The training sessions saw the newcomers in the likes of Song Ui-young of Lion City Sailors and Hougang United's Afiq Noor. The sessions also saw the return of skipper Hariss Harun alongside Faritz Hameed, Jacob Mahler and Geylang International's Amy Recha whose last call-up was back in July 2016. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICTURES SGPL - Tampines Rovers 2-1 Young Lions 180921 Balancing act by Baihakki Khaizan Tampines Rovers had to work their socks off till the end to ensure they finally snapped their six-game winless streak by beating a resilient Young Lions 2-1 last evening (18/9) at Our Tampines Hub. Zehrudin Mehmedović gave the Stags the lead before half-time that was cancelled out by the spot-kick from Young Lions' skipper Jacob Mahler in

I believe those in their fifties and above would know who Mat Noh (Mohd Noh bin Hussain) was. Nicknamed "Allan Clarke" of local football, the good-looking striker was a heartthrob to many ladies fans and wowed many with his dazzling skills on the field during his heydays in the 1970s when starring for the national team in their Malaysia Cup exploits that ignited the "Kallang Roar" era. Mat Noh passed away at the age of 67 But how many who were born in the 1980s actually know him or his contemporaries and those who were born in the late 1970s might be too young to know who they were until they read about them in newspapers, etc.? And because of such ignorance, it led to one unsavoury incident that triggered one uproar that a late former national player was not properly accoladed on the night when he should at the closing ceremony of the old National Stadium (I shall not dwell on this incident, just go and Google it, as it still left a bitter taste on my tongue whenev

To sum up, what went wrong in Saudi Arabia for the Singapore National Team is pretty straightforward when the writings were already on the wall prior to the resumption of the campaign. Before the halt of the FIFA World Cup/AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers almost two years ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic, everything was rosy for the perennial underachieving Lions. Coach Tatsuma Yoshida's (filed) honeymoon period is over  Under Japanese coach Tatsuma Yoshida, the four-time Asean champions found a new lease of life by chalked up two wins, one draw, and two defeats in Group D of the joint qualifiers - a performance that was lauded by many in a group that included regional heavyweights like Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan. Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances saw the Lions and the rest of the region endured a lengthy international break since the postponement of the qualifying matches last August was announced by both FIFA and AFC, that positive momentum enjoyed by the Singaporeans had t

Most of those relive-the-glory-days moments would always have that 1994 Malaysia Cup-winning video shown but overlooked the few other notable moments - the 1998 victory over Vietnam in Hanoi that saw us win our very FIRST international honour - the Tiger Cup before repeating the same feat in 2004 at Kallang when we won at HOME - in front of a full capacity (old) National Stadium and not forgetting the 2007 and 2012 moments of glories too. The 1994 Malaysia Cup triumph moment, as seen in an exhibition at the National Museum   Yet many times, many social media postings seem to favour the footage from the 1994 Shah Alam victory when comes to savouring that bit of nostalgia. "It feels like you celebrate your 25th anniversary at work by showcasing the company that fired you as (a) prelude." remarked a friend after seeing it on the  AIA Singapore Premier League Facebook Page of the 1994 Malaysia Cup Final last year. TESTAMENT FOR THE FLEDGLING S.LEAGUE Don't get me wrong, whi