Stags, Protectors and Cheetahs aim to dethrone Albirex
Since 2015, no local team have won the Singapore Premier League (previously known as the S-League), and no team have broken the Albirex Niigata monopoly since 2016.
But a trio of regular contenders and dark horses have emerged in a bid to end the Japanese team's dominance this season.
Five-time champions Tampines Rovers and two-time winners Home United have already beaten the White Swans this year, and kept the bulk of their respective squads.
With chairman Desmond Ong handing out multi-year contracts since coming on board in 2017, the Stags are benefiting from stability and continuity as their players show understanding of their roles and responsibilities on the pitch.
The young and talented - such as 19-year-old Singaporean Joel Chew and 20-year-old Serb Zehrudin Mehmedovic - are complemented by seasoned campaigners such as Canadian Jordan Webb, 30, and 41-year-old centre-back Daniel Bennett, into his 21st season.
"Having kept the bulk of players from last season definitely helps in terms of chemistry," said Webb, who has 79 goals in 208 league games over nine seasons. "I would be selling us short if I say we are not going for all the trophies. We have good atmosphere, good ideas and the energy levels are high."
His coach Gavin Lee added: "We want to be effective in and out of pre-season. If we can win and entertain with attractive football, that would be the ideal scenario."
The Protectors were the best local side last season, finishing as SPL runners-up and winning the AFC Cup Asean zonal final.
Like Tampines, they have retained 17 of 24 players, including South Korean linchpin Song Ui-young and the evergreen Shahril Ishak, who combined for 40 goals in all competitions last term.
They boast the impressive Under-23 trio of forward Adam Swandi, central midfielder Hami Syahin and central defender Taufiq Muqminin.
With their last major trophy coming in the Singapore Cup in 2013 and their last league title in 2003, Home coach Saswadimata Dasuki said it is time to end the drought.
"We want to build on our successes last season and go one better," said Saswadimata, whose side beat Albirex on penalties in the season-opening Community Shield last Saturday.
"It should be one of the most open seasons in recent years, but we won't write them off. They can only get better training full-time, without national service or school commitments (like local clubs).
Meanwhile, the dark horses in the nine-team SPL appear to be Hougang United, who added considerable firepower to a team who scored a league-low of just 22 goals in 24 games last season.
While they have never finished in the top half or won any major titles, the Cheetahs are gunning for history, with coach Clement Teo declaring that "third would be an underachievement".
Retaining forwards Iqbal Hussain, Shahfiq Ghani and Fazrul Nawaz, they signed Faris Ramli and welcomed back Croat Stipe Plazibat and captain Zulfahmi Arifin.
They initially secured the services of 2015 and 2016 top scorer Rafael Ramazotti, only for the Brazilian to go missing and sign for Mexican club FC Juarez. Instead, they have shored up their defence with South Korean centre-back Kong Ho-won.
Teo said: "Afiq Yunos was our only natural centre-back... The Ramazotti incident allowed us to sign Kong and it was a bonus we picked up Faris. He will give us a different dimension with his ability to take on players.
"With the team we assembled, we feel we need to be in the title race. Among our players, the mindset is, even a draw is underachieving."
Zulfahmi, who has returned after one season with Thailand's Chonburi, added: "Any team can win the league this season and Albirex are beatable. It depends on who are the most consistent across 24 games.
"We now have quality attackers and a great team, so we got to be more adventurous and clinical than before to fight for our targets."
The inquest into Maurizio Sarri's reign will be ramped up further over the next few days with Chelsea's top-four hopes having suffered a huge blow. That Gonzalo Higuain failed to open his account for his new side on his Premier League debut, only made things worse.
'Too stubborn' - These Chelsea fans say the same thing about
Manchester City retained the Premier League title in style on Sunday (May 12), holding their nerve to come from behind against Brighton and see off a charging Liverpool after a thrilling campaign.
Manchester City retain Premier League title in come from
Guardiola expects Man City to suffer in tricky trip to Newport (Reuters) - Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola predicts his side will "suffer" against fourth-tier Newport County in their FA Cup fifth round match on Saturday but has urged his players to adapt to a battered playing surface at Rodney Parade.
Soccer-Guardiola expects Man City to suffer in tricky trip to
Kane and Lloris rescue point for Spurs against Arsenal. 02/03/2019 the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at Wembley Stadium in London, yesterday
Kane and Lloris rescue point for Spurs against Arsenal
Despite falling 118-109 to the Toronto Raptors in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, the Golden State Warriors are still slight favorites to win the series. According to Caesars, the Warriors
Cubs are on a power surge, but it's not paying off in the win
Man City set to be hit with transfer ban for two windows within days. Fifa are poised to confirm the Etihad outfit are the next club to be found guilty of breaching rules on the transfers of minors.
Man City face FIFA transfer ban: report - msn.com
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri accepted his fine after being sent off in Monday night's 2-2 draw with Burnley.It's been suggested Sarri was provoked by con Chelsea boss Sarri on Burnley insults
The X-RATED insult which Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri reacted
Nathan Ake Strikes Late To Sink Nine-Man Tottenham Hotspur Updated: 04 May 2019 19:54 IST Nathan Ake's last-gasp winner condemned Spurs to a 1-0 Premier League defeat at Bournemouth.
Ake strikes late to sink nine-man Tottenham Hotspur
The new era will require a deep understanding of learning. No one in the organization is better poised than L&D to deliver. The race will soon be on. L&D can (and should) seize this opportunity to become central to organizational success. There is no room for complacency in L&D.
COMPLACENCY | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary
Cristiano Ronaldo returns to training after limping out of Real Madrid's draw at Real Valladolid with hamstring injury. Allays fears he'll miss Champions League final with return to training
Cristiano Ronaldo allays Real Madrid fans' fears over
English Premier League: Willian gem sinks Newcastle as Chelsea cement fourth place Description: Salomon Rondon flicked a header towards Ayoze Perez and he accelerated away from Antonio Rudiger, only to shoot woefully wide with just Kepa Arrizabalaga to beat.
Willian gem sinks Newcastle as Chelsea cement fourth place
HOME > Football Australian female footballers to earn same base pay as men. AFP. the base annual pay for players in the W-League was hiked 33 percent to US$11,393.
Australian female footballers to earn same base pay as men
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment