FAS calls Fandi Ahmad??

You want to call the football legend, you have to offer him a good deal. He has a family and he sure wants to bring the best for his children. I am not sure the intention of FAS for calling him but do not waste his time unnecessarily.

If you want to build footballers like his calibre, he needs to be disciplined on the field and also off. We have seen a number of our own local players being in the news for the wrong reasons. Time to beef up the discipline of our footballers so they can be the best that they can be. It's not just about money, it's also about country.


Excerpt from Yahoo! News below:

FAS president Zainudin Nordin will be meeting Fandi later this week.

In a desperate measure to salvage the remaining dignity of the country’s national soccer team, the Football Association of Singapore has approached football legend Fandi Ahmad.

According to The New Paper (TNP), FAS president Zainudin Nordin confirmed that he is contact with the 48-year-old to talk about national football team matters. But he declined to comment if he has indeed offered Fandi a job.

Mr Zainudin who is also the mayor of the Central Singapore District said, “I am in touch with Fandi on a regular basis. My policy has been consistent. I will talk to whoever can contribute to Singapore football and people who are stakeholders.

“I have spoken to people like Fandi, Aide Iskandar, Lim Kian Tong (FAS vice-president), and we are looking at the future, creating strategies and looking at new way of doing things.”

It was reported that Mr Zainudin will meet with Fandi later this week to discuss the possibility of him rejoining the FAS as a coach.

The football legend is also one of seven local coaches with the Asian Football Confederation professional diplomas, the highest coaching qualification in Asia.

Well, maybe the time is right to bring Fandi back considering it has been a dark and dismal year for the Lions, who pathetically mustered only one win throughout 2010.

Players lacked of discipline and poor performances led to a poor finish in the Asian Cup qualifying and Suzuki Cup campaigns.

Matters came to a head last week when Mr Zainudin announced the decision to drop all players in the national team.

But with the FAS president rallying behind the national squad’s current coach, Raddy Avramovic, the only possible option for Fandi would be to fill in the vacant assistant coach’s position, a stint which the latter enjoyed success when the Lions won the 2005 Tiger Cup.

However, sources who spoke to TNP poured cold water on this idea. One of them said, “Fandi has already been the assistant once, and he’s proved to be successful.

“He has all the necessary qualifications to be the head coach and I don’t think the FAS can convince him by offering the role of an assistant.”

Yet another source said, “If the FAS can provide Fandi with a sound and detailed plan in which he can be involved in the national team’s development, who knows, he might consider.”

Still, those close to the former national team captain said that while enlisting his help would be a good move, their opinions are split about when would be the right time for him to rejoin the FAS.

Kadir Yahya, who was Fandi’s former international team-mate said, “People should give up on this idea for now.

“Look, Fandi is already preparing to go to Italy with his kids, so he’s definitely not going to e the national team coach, or Raddy’s assistant, any time soon.”

But R Sasikumar, who scored the winning goal in the 1998 Tiger Cup final against Vietnam, said, “As Fandi is now Genova International Soccer School’s project manager in Asia, the door is slightly open for him to be involved with the national team.

“He will be heading to Italy next week to help his sons find accommodation, schools and academies, but Fandi’s heart is still here with Singapore.”

The 35-year-old also cited Fandi’s knack of working with youths, both with the Young Lions and Indonesian club Pelita Jaya, as a quality the FAS could tap on.

Sasikumar added that Fandi should be brought in to “lead the Under-21 team, where he is given the free reign to select his players based on merit.” This, he said should be done with the view that the youths will eventually form the senior team’s backbone with Fandi in charge.

Perhaps there is a need for the FAS to revise its options and instead of rallying behind the current coaching staff, the time might be right to place Fandi at the helm of the country’s national squad.

Man fooled everyone in the stadium thinking that he is a footballer

This guy is just amazing. I can't believe he did that in front of every one. Not to mention fooling people around the world that he is a football player. Even the players didn't even realise he is an imposter. They actually let him hold the French Cup and you can see a journalist actually interviewing him. They were literally celebrating with him on the field!

And at the near end, you can see his 'fans' asking for autographs thinking he plays for their team. He actually goes to sign it!

Hilarious!

Do you know you can do this in football?

Yes this is allowed! This kind of shot is actually allowed in football. So why not try it sometime, just to surprise the goalkeeper. :)

The probably the most penalty shots in a match

This is just one too many penalties being done over and over and over and over and over again. So much time wasted on a simple act of just putting the ball into the net. I wonder what the fouls are for re-taking the penalty shots.

Football fight in Singapore

Some striker took a cheap shot at a defender and the goalkeeper comes to the "rescue". Well actually he just wanted to beat up the assailant.

I guess that's normal when tensions are high in a football match. Everyone just wants to win but when the other wins unfairly or an unfair decision was made, players have the tendency to play it rough.

Frankly, the referee should have intruded and be firm towards the players rather than walking back deeper into the field. Give a red card ref!

Ronaldo leaves United

Ronaldo is leaving United, and guess who is pissed off. :)

Singapore beaten by Uzbekistan 3:7 (World Cup qualifier)

The first 30 mins of the game was really exciting. Both sides showed showed great flair and spirit in going for goal. But sadly, after that, Singapore's defense just came crashing down.

Mohd Noor was excellent in the back, he went for the ball and worked hard in trying to keep the ball away from the net. Baihakki's performance, however, wasn't good. He made a number of misses that cost the game. He wasn't quick and not pressuring the Uzbek's forwards enough. Precious's usual dominance in defense was no where to be seen. We are talking about players who have experienced in European football, tall men like Precious isn't going to instill fear in their hearts. Precious has to work on his speed, agility and aggression. The Uzbek's forwards were fast and more experienced, so definitely the defense has to counter it with quick feet and strong pressure in the next match.

Singapore's midfield's was fairly good to me, saw some good skills from the midfielders even though I feel that they should have been more 'hard' in the game. For the first time, I am seeing players like Wilkinson showing good ball control and skill on the field. His tackling was right on and manages to win the ball for Singapore in many occasions during the match. Being in the right position, at the right time. Wilkinson has improved since I saw him in the last match. His scoring was excellent too.

Singapore's forwards were pretty good. They tried many options to score and never felt like holding back. They went forward and tried a few shots which were denied by the goalkeeper and defense. But still they manage to score 3 goals. Duric's score was an uplift for Singapore, and I hope to see more of him in the next match. Amri always gives his all in every match but I think he needs a little more support. The defense is always marking him and it is proving really difficult for him to even penetrate the line. If he had a partner that would compliment his skill, that would be great, much like how Fandi and Abbas used to play.

Overall, Singapore's defense has to improve a lot. There are weak players at the back which I am sure there will be some change in players. The midfield has to be more hard and keep controlling the game as much as possible to disallow any attacks by the Uzbek's to even try penetrating the defense. Their go for goals, to me, is essential in the next match. Because long shots from goal is always a surprise for the goalkeeper but it has to be with good accuracy and power if there are to beat the goalkeeper.

What I find lacking is set pieces. Singapore has to have to be creative upfront to beat the defense line of the Uzbek's. Today, we saw that the Uzbek's can be scored against. Even though Singapore has lost greatly in this match, we are the only country in the group who has scored against them. I think this reality shows that the Uzbek's can be beaten if we work hard enough.

I did saw the Uzbek's coach looking concern during the match. I think he underestimated Singapore's fighting spirit in the match and their ability to score. Frankly, I think both sides have to work on their defense strategies. Singapore being the one who has to do a lot of work on that aspect.

The WORST referee ever!

The Worst Referee Ever - The best video clips are right here

WTF?! Hand ball?! Is he blind? And a disallowed goal?! Which was clearly over the line!

Ronaldo thought the 3 prostitues were women

Prostitution in Brazil is legal but I think it is just wrong for a football star like him to do this. But heck, he is not the first nor is he going to be the last to pay for such services.

Anyway, what is he doing with those prostitutes anyway? I thought he is suppose to be recovering from a knee injury, if he is fit enough to do this then bring him back into the club!

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Ecstatic after a victory, Oliver Kahn accidentally smacks Van Bommel's face (Video)

I couldn't stop laughing when I watch this video. Have you guys ever been so ecstatic after a win that you unintentionally hit your friend. Well this is one of such incidences caught on video.

You can see Oliver Kahn running around crazy, and then meets Van Bommel, jumping around, only to accidentally smack Van Bommel with his big glove. Of course it hurts, but you can see Oliver Kahn's reaction realising that Van Bommel was in pain. But, after a quick hug all is well. I guess the adrenaline rush quickly dampens the pain.

Singapore beats Lebanon: 2:0 (World Cup Qualifier)

Possibly one of the best games I have ever seen Singapore play. No doubt there were misses and controversial decisions by the referee but hey, which game doesn't have their fair share of that? Quite frankly, I underestimated Singapore's flair and resilience in the game. I thought that it would just be a draw, but after seeing how Singapore played a few minutes ago, I think we have a pretty good chance at the top 2. Quite far fetched it seems but if they progress further and sharpen their weakness in the game, I seriously think we can make it.

Singapore is definitely the underdogs in the group. First time in the world cup qualifiers, our hopes for the World Cup 2010 seems to be near. We lost to Saudia Arabia in the previous game but we did beat Iraq (Asian Cup winners) to qualify. If I am not mistaken, we were the only one who beat them. And their new nike jerseys looks pretty good. Nike sponsored some more! But no names on their jerseys yet :P. Nevertheless, for the next games their play is more important.

Uzbekistan isn't an easy team to beat. Their european style of play is hard to beat but definitely penetrable. Already beating Saudia Arabia, Singapore coach, Radojkov Avramovic, has to do some serious strategy making. I think first of all, we need to keep our momentum and maintain our composure. It's no use getting all too excited only to be over-confident in the game. Counter attacks is essential just like how we saw in today's game. Power and accuracy is a must, and unnecessary misses shouldn't be tolerated, Singapore should sharpen in that aspect. And of course, teamwork!

No one was selfish tonight, I am glad of that. And each shot takers took it only if it was necessary and on target, so not many wasted shots there. Long shots on goal were fantastic, powerful and accurate, eventhough we didn't score with that kind of shots, but it surely got the goal keeper on his toes. With varying shots on goal, upcoming teams will need to be on their guard.

Defence wise, Singapore held up well. Although at the last 15 mins or so, they seem to let up a little. Either there were too tired or out played by the forwards. Either way, I hope they can read the opposing players and position themselves better. But overall, the defence were strong and good.

It was great to see midfielders come up and come down to support the forwards and defenders. Especially in their courage to take shots on goal and defending well to disappoint the opposing team.

Next week against Uzbekistan is going to be an interesting match. I hope Channel 5 plays it LIVE. Today's win was a real boost in the morale of the team and Singapore also. I am truly hoping Singapore qualify. Congratulations Singapore for winning against Lebanon.