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Warriors eye improvement in Asia
Tam Cheong Yan
info@sleague.com
Eight-time S.League champions SAFFC are keen to rise above their current status as kingpins of Singapore football, as they look towards a stronger showing at continental level in 2010.
The Warriors are among four Southeast Asian teams involved in the AFC Champions League qualifying playoffs, which will start in January next year.
SAFFC had made their debut in Asia’s premier club football tournament this year, surviving playoff encounters against Thailand’s Provincial Electric Authority and Indonesian outfit PSMS Medan to reach the group stage.
There, they came up against some of the continent’s most famous clubs, namely Kashima Antlers of Japan, Korean side Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Chinese aristocrats Shanghai Shenhua.
While the Warriors garnered just one point and finished bottom in their group, they were clearly inspired by the eye-opening experience, playing well above their usual S.League standards in the process.
And club chairman BG Tung Yui Fai has told sleague.com he wants to see SAFFC do even better on the continental front the second time around.
“We’ve won the S.League eight times already,” he remarked.
“I’ve already told the club that while winning domestically remains a priority, we should also strive to do well in regional tournaments. Being able to play in the Champions League will offer us the platform to prove ourselves and be the flagbearer for the league.
“As a chairman, my responsibility is not to run the team, but to run the club. That means the responsibility of ensuring the club is well-managed financially and administratively falls upon myself and the management committee giving guidance to the staff.
“So whatever is required for us to compete in the Champions League, we will make the necessary arrangements to meet it and prepare ourselves for the challenge. As far as club administration is concerned, we have always strived to be as professional as we can be.”
Tung and the management staff have worked hard towards bettering the club’s operations to meet the stringent and ever-growing demands of the AFC Champions League.
On the playing front, the Warriors have also been busy, as coach Richard Bok has wasted little time reassembling a new-look side geared towards a stronger showing in Asia.
Already many of the players key to the club’s past triumphs have been released, including talismanic midfielder Therdsak Chaiman, captain Aleksandar Duric, and Japanese duo Masahiro Fukasawa and Kenji Arai.
But Tung was confident SAFFC will sign the right players to move up to a new level.
“There is a need for us to look for fresh talent, especially fresh foreign talent,” he said, stressing on the need for renewal.
“Having the experience of this year, we know how close we are in terms of fitness, tactics and skills required to compete at this level. So I believe this year has given Richard the opportunity to see what needs to be done.”
Bok too expounded the message of giving his team a fresh spirit, as he looked towards bringing the hunger back into his charges, whose play had appeared jaded at times in the last two years.
While ‘stability’ had often been the buzzword for the Warriors in their past off-season moves, they are making no fewer than ten new purchases this time, while players like Dharham Aziz and Khairi Khalim may be in line for promotion from the Prime League.
As a result, one of the smallest squads in the S.League could well become one of the biggest, after the Choa Chu Kang-based club had just 17 players on their senior roster in the recently-concluded campaign.
Bok also hinted at ending the lone-striker system he had employed for much of this year, as he promised that he will stay true to the club’s philosophy of attacking football.
“We need to look forward, I’ll put it this way,” said the 40-year-old.
“We cannot be still following what we did in 2005 or even 2009. We want to freshen up the team and get some new players, and I’ve told the club I wanted more depth, a bigger squad for next season, because from this year’s experience, we had a very thin squad.
“Now, with our new foreigners, local players like Indra Sahdan and Noh Rahman, and some up-and-coming youngsters from our Prime League squad last year, altogether I have about 25 or 26 players. That depth will allow us to compete in all competitions.
“I’ll also like to go back to having two strikers, and I hope Indra and the new Uruguayan can strike up a good partnership. I think Indra still has plenty to offer to the team, and for him, coming here will bring a new challenge.”
When quizzed on the club’s new foreign signings, Bok was coy as usual, taking care not to give away the players’ names.
Similarly, he was cautious when asked to compare them with the league’s most famous names over the years such as Sead Muratovic, Mirko Grabovac and Peres de Oliveira.
He however showed a little more generosity regarding the players’ backgrounds, revealing that all three senior recruits are new to the S.League.
Another feature common to all three is their towering physique, a point Bok highlighted as important towards the club’s ability to perform on the continent.
“The Croatian defender is 1.94m, the Uruguayan is 1.91, and the Swedish is about 1.89,” he said.
“In the continental game, I think you need big players to play well. Against our Southeast Asian opponents, I think we generally have an advantage, but against the big boys of the J-League or the K-League, we’re facing people averaging above 1.8m.
“I think their build will serve us well, and all three also possess good technical skills. The Croatian and the Uruguayan are also at about 25 or 26, which is a good age, while the Swedish is the most experienced, having been called up in the last two years or so.
“Hopefully they can show better quality than those who have already been here. I really don’t know if they will be better than Mirko or Peres, but I think they are definitely of great quality, and they’ll help us compete in the Champions League.”
The Warriors’ large-scale renewal exercise, with an emphasis on strengthening their position on the continent, has led to fears among neutrals that the 2010 edition of the S.League could turn into a one-horse race.
But while Bok saw no reason to apologize for his team’s hunger for continued success, he was keen to note that teams like Home United, Tampines Rovers and even fast-improving Gombak United will also strengthen themselves and rise to his side’s challenge.
“At SAFFC, we are professional, and we want to build teams that can win titles,” he said matter-of-factly.
“That has nothing to do with whatever we have done before, or what others want to do. For us, every competition we go into, we will try to win it.
“We always want to do better than what we are doing now. But it’s not only us; if you’ve been reading the news, Balestier (Khalsa) have said they are improving their team, and every other team is also going to be improved.
“Home has signed some new players, Gombak are keeping most of their existing players in what is still a relatively young team, and Tampines is still tough as well. I think that’s the way, and it is going to be another very competitive year for the league.” |
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