SINGAPORE - The Young Lions are technically Singapore's Under-22 development team but, in reality, the Singapore Premier League (SPL) team are even younger in 2019.
As Fandi Ahmad's team take on Balestier Khalsa in their opening SPL fixture on Saturday (March 2) at the Jalan Besar Stadium, they will have an average age of just 20, with many of them rookies in professional football.
Also, the key players behind their 2018 season have left - Hami Syahin and Taufiq Muqminin both signed for Home United while brothers Irfan (Bangkok Glass, Thailand) and Ikhsan Fandi (Raufoss, Norway) have ventured overseas.
Looking pragmatically at his squad, Fandi feels that last season's creditable seventh-place finish in the nine-team table will be hard to repeat. He said: "Seriously, it will be a very difficult season. I will be very happy if we are not bottom. We just have to keep fighting."
But this is not a gripe from the 56-year-old former national captain. With nine players in the squad born in 2000 and after, he knows the team sorely lack experience.
"I have no complaints. They know the level is very high and I want them to learn fast. They are not used to this level of fitness, they are not used to training at this intensity. We will try to play good, positive football."
But one thing that defines this team is their spirit. As seen during training at Geylang Field on Monday, Fandi and assistant coach S. Subramani drilled the boys' pack mentality, instructing them to press high up the pitch in groups.
Â
Â
Â
Even if this year's cohort is still raw, there are still bright sparks to look out. Attacking midfielder Saifullah Akbar is pacy and creative, Rezza Rezky Ramadhani is a central midfielder with an eye for a through pass while left-back Syahrul Sazali loves to overlap.
Captain Joshua Pereira, 21, said: "It's going to be a tough and long season.
"Apart from the SPL, we have the SEA Games and the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) U-23 Championship qualifiers. It's going to get hectic but we are looking to do well and gain more experience.
"No doubt, it will be tough against all the seasoned SPL players.
"We are a very young team but our team spirit is strong, our fitness is good and we will never stop fighting for each other."
This year's pre-season results have been mixed. While Fandi's team easily brushed aside amateur National Football League sides such as Jungfrau Punggol and Katong, they lost to Malaysia Super League team Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia Premier League side PDRM, among other results.
"Preparation was not the best, it has been difficult to get the whole squad together," he said.
"Many of them have study and NS (national service) commitments, some were taken by other clubs, that's why I am calling up much younger players, who are 17 or 18."
The youngest is Marc Ryan Tan, 17, son of former Lions winger Steven Tan.
And in addition to the SPL, they will fly off to Japan for training and cold-weather acclimatisation next week, ahead of the AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers in Ulaanbaatar from March 22 to 26. The team are drawn in Group G with Hong Kong, North Korea and hosts Mongolia.
In November and December, they will compete at the SEA Games in the Philippines.
And Fandi has called for patience as he begins the tough process of guiding his rookies in their new world of professional football.
He said: "The most important thing is development. After the first few games, the boys will understand the game more. It's a big challenge. Some of them are very raw but I am very happy with their commitment."
Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said his "confident" side could stage a Champions League fightback at Paris Saint-Germain this week after a dramatic 3-2 victory over
Solskjaer 'confident' of Man United miracle in Paris | The
Mourinho concedes Man Utd incapable of living with Liverpool 2018 Football, this season continued as United strained to keep a rampant Liverpool at bay and were only level for so long
Mourinho concedes Man Utd incapable of living with Liverpool
LONDON (AP) — Manchester United moved into the Premier League's top four by beating Fulham 3-0 at Craven Cottage on Saturday, with Paul Pogba scoring two more goals to continue his resurgence
Arsenal Move into Top 4 with Win over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford are pivotal to Manchester United's future, according to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Solskjaer was appointed as United's permanent manager on Thursday, signing a three-year deal at Old Trafford after impressing since taking over from Jose Mourinho in an interim capacity in December.
Manchester United manager Solskjaer sends Paul Pogba and
Man City's Aguero in frame to face Brighton in FA Cup FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Fulham v Manchester City - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - March 30, 2019 Manchester City's
Man City's Aguero in frame to face Brighton in FA Cup
Kane starts for Tottenham in Champions League final. Harry Kane returned from almost two months out with injury to start for Tottenham in the Champions League final against Liverpool on
Champions League final: Harry Kane starts for Tottenham
Kevin-Prince Boateng set for shock Barcelona move - reports Description: Born in Germany, the half-brother of Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng moved to Serie A last year after helping Eintracht Frankfurt win the German Cup.
Football: Boateng set for shock Barcelona move - reports
extratout.com/2019/01/21/football-boateng-set-for-shock-barcelona-move-reports/
MADRID (AFP) - Ghanaian forward Kevin-Prince Boateng is on the verge of joining Barcelona in a shock loan move from Italian side Sassuolo, according to media reports in Spain on Monday.Catalan daily Sport reported that the leaders of La Liga had agre
Boateng set for shock Barcelona move - reports - ARYSports.tv
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on March 17, 2019, with the headline 'Europa League hat-trick hero Giroud hoping for EPL chance'.
Europa League hat-trick hero Giroud hoping for EPL chance
Lionel Messi became the first man to score 400 La Liga goals as Barcelona eased to a 3-0 win at home to Eibar on Sunday which kept the Catalans five points clear at the top of the standings at the
FIFA 19 La Liga Team of the Season: Messi and - goal.com
The victory lifts the Socceroos to second in the Group B table, two points clear of their final opponents Syria, against whom a draw will be enough to seal qualification to the last 16, while Palestine are bottom on one point but are far from out of the knockout picture.
Match preview: Socceroos v Palestine | Socceroos
Sacked Puel says managing Leicester a 'honour' "It was my honour to work for the late and much-loved Khun Vichai, who gave me the fantastic opportunity to manage his club and share some great
Claude Puel pays to tribute to former Leicester City owner
Gareth Bale has been named as a substitute for Real Madrid's Champions League last-16 second leg against Ajax on Tuesday. The Welshman's future at the Santiago Bernabeu has been the subject of intense scrutiny in recent weeks, reaching a crescendo in Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Barcelona.
Spanish media call for Valverde axe. May 9, 2019, 5:00 am. Sport Stories . Little red dot hails 'amazing' mighty Reds. Valencia to home in on Arsenal's poor away form.
Lionel Messi tells Ernesto Valverde to axe five Barcelona
A woman has accused Brazil soccer star Neymar of raping her in Paris, according to a Sao Paulo police report seen by Reuters. Neymar's representatives did not immediately respond to a request for
Brazil soccer star Neymar accused of committing rape in Paris
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar