FAS president Zainudin’s bombshell, as reported by Berita Harian

The report:

This report appeared today in the Asiaone website. It is a translation of the Berita Harian report on Jan 6 in which Football Association of Singapore (FAS) president Zainudin Nordin dropped the bombshell that he is disbanding the national team. You can access the story here

I feel it is important to read this story first before  the other follow-up reports that appeared in today’s newspapers (ie The Straits Times, The New Paper and Today) because it gives the full flavour of why the FAS made such a decision (which has since divided public opinion).

Do yourselves a favour — give it a read first. And then you decide whether it is a wise or foolish decision by the FAS in the first place.

Yours in sport

Singapore Sports Fan

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All players from the Lions will be dropped

(Asiaone News, 7 Jan 2011)

By Chairul Fahmy Hussaini and Hisham Hasim

All football players in the national team will be dropped in regards to their bad performance in 2010.

President of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), Mr Zainudin Nordin, said that the current standard of Singapore’s football is at a disappointing level.

In order to save the situation, changes will be made with focus given in developing young talents in group age of 14-17 years-old and expanding the talent of the current lineup.

The harsh reality and brave decision was revealed by Mr Zainudin in an exclusive interview with Berita Harian on Wednesday.

According to him, a span of five years is needed the national team to be successfully renewed.

For the upcoming years, Singaporeans will have to be prepared to face the possibility of not winning trophies.

“That is my message to all. We will give focus to young players, develop talents as young as 14, 15, 16, 17 years old and talents’ of these players cannot be expand overnight but requires a span of four to five years before they reach the level that is required of them.

“This is what’s going to happen. I hope when we announce the changes that will be carried out, citizens will understand that, these are for the benefit of the long term and not the short term.

“Maybe half of the citizens will not be happy but we will do our best in the SEA Games and  the World Cup qualifiers although we are a team of new players.

“Although we will work hard, do not expect a miracle to happen overnight,” he said.

The SEA Games is scheduled to begin in November this year in Palembang, Indonesia while the selection of the eligibility of the World Cup is scheduled mid this year.

Mr Zainudin is firm that from all the players that will be dropped, only four players from the main 11 will be called back to be the “back-bone” of the national team that will be formed soon.

“When we proceed with the changes in the upcoming months, the national team coach, Radojko ‘Raddy’ Avramovic, will regard each player as a new player.

“All the current player will be dropped and Raddy will form a new team. When the new players are chosen, they will be based on merit,” he explained.

Last month, Raddy had given the media hints that from next month onwards, the national football team will have new faces.

This was followed by the disappointing performance during AFF Suzuki Cup in Hanoi, Vietnam recently.

Mr Zainudddin also mentioned that there were positive achievements last year, for example the success of the young football team in winning the bronze medal in the YOG.

“We will give full attention in developing our young talents,” he said.

Agreeing with the decisions, former national player, Malek Awab, 50, thinks that it was a bold move.

“It’s a good thing as it will give us a fresh start and new motivation in out national football team.” he added.

A similar response was voiced by a former national striker, Alexandre Duric, 41, said, “People are probably disappointed in the performance of the current team and FAS has to do something but it requires a long-term period to build a strong team.”

Translated by Muhammad Azman Bin Hamran from the original article first published in Berita Harian on Jan 6, 2011.

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Baihakki and Ridhuan’s insincere and defensive apologies are the most pathetic attempts at saying sorry I’ve ever heard

The report:

This report appeared in today’s edition of The Straits Times. My observations appear after the report. Do note the ‘interesting’ parts that I have highlighted.

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Please don’t make us scapegoats: Baihakki

(The Straits Times, 12 March 2010)

By Wang Meng Meng

BAIHAKKI Khaizan and Ridhuan Muhamad, the two national footballers at the centre of the latecoming controversy in Jordan, have apologised for their transgressions.

Baihakki, who plays for Indonesia Super League club Persija, said: ‘I am sorry to the coach and my teammates for being late. I didn’t do it on purpose.’

Arema Malang right-winger Ridhuan also issued an apology. But he explained the circumstances leading up to Lions coach Raddy Avramovic filing a report on the duo’s tardiness, which kept their teammates waiting for seven minutes on the team bus that was to take them for their Asian Cup qualifier against Jordan.

The 25-year-old said: ‘I wanted to apologise to the guys when I was on the bus but Raddy’s stern look scared me.’

Baihakki, a defender, added: ‘I wasn’t trying to be arrogant or act like a superstar. When I boarded the bus, Raddy was staring at Ridhuan and me. The way he stared at us was as if he wanted to eat us.

‘That’s why Ridhuan and I quickly sat down and kept quiet. I blocked the incident out of my mind immediately as I wanted to focus totally on the big match.’

With the two players, who were roommates in Amman, likely to face disciplinary action, Baihakki, 26, hopes that he will not be held responsible for the 1-2 defeat that ended Singapore’s hopes of qualifying for the 2011 Asian Cup Finals.

He said: ‘I’m prepared to face the disciplinary committee. I will explain my side of the story. But don’t use this case to drop me. Don’t destroy my international career over seven minutes. Please don’t make Ridhuan and me the scapegoats for the defeat. We lost to a hungrier team.’

Avramovic has decided on the duo’s fate, but he declined to reveal his verdict for now.

Baihakki lamented that the issue came to light after Singapore’s loss, saying: ‘When we lose, big and small issues will start to come out. But when we win, everything looks so nice.’

Ridhuan, meanwhile, believes that he is a target of envy. He said: ‘Maybe, some people don’t like us. Just because Baihakki and I play in Indonesia, some people think we’re big-headed.

‘Honestly, we are still the same guys. We want to win for Singapore as much as everybody else

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My thoughts:

I’ve made up my mind: Baihakki Khaizan and Muhammad Ridhuan should not be made scapegoats for Singapore’s 1-2 loss to Jordan which ended the Lions’ hopes of qualifying for next year’s Asian Cup. The team’s failure was a collective one. Besides, we just weren’t good enough against Jordan.

But nevertheless, Baihakki and Ridhuan should be axed from the Lions’ squad,  regardless.

Just look at their sorry excuse of an attempt at an apology, and ask yourselves: are these the sort of players we want in the national team?

In their own words, they didn’t apologise to the team for being late because they were scared of Raddy Avramovic. They were intimidated by his black face, and so they kept quiet.

So, was that a valid excuse for not apologising subsequently?

Let’s call a spade a spade.

If you are not man enough to stand up and admit you are wrong, even when you are fearful of the coach, then honestly, what sort of person are you? And how does that make you fit to be a Lion?

What was to stop them, while the bus was making its way to the stadium in Amman, to ask team manager Eugene Loo if they could have permission to apologise to the team for their tardiness?

Nothing, right? At most, if it had been rebuffed, they still could have said they tried to apologise.

What was to stop them from apologising in the locker room before the game? Wouldn’t that have done wonders for team unity minutes before the game?

Instead, they opted not to apologise, and in Baihakki’s words, tried to block the incident from their minds.

Which means they didn’t take into account the possibility that their teammates could have been resentful of their poor discipline en route to the stadiujm, Not very good for team unity, right?

And they only chose to apologise several days after the match, upon hearing about Avramovic’s  decision to report their ill-discipline to the FAS.

In that light, their apologies don’t seem terribly sincere after all.

But what was most revealing was what these two clowns said to pad up their attempt at an apology.

Please don’t make us scapegoats, said Baihakki.

Also, he asked, why is it that when the Lions lose,m the big and small issues come out?

So is this what you think it is all about, Baihakki? That everyone is looking for a scapegoat?

Hasn’t it occured to you that your ill discipline, on the day of the big match, was unforgivable in itself?

And here’s another question: do you think your lateness is a big or a small issue?

If  it is a big issue, then why are you apologising only now?

And if it is a small issue, then what does it say about you? Is lateness really such a small issue?

Ridhuan was even better. After attempting to apologise, this clown of a footballer says “Maybe some people don’t like us. Just because Baihakki and I play in Indonesia, some people think we are big-headed.”

The moment he said that, I knew his apology had no sincerity in it.

So is this you think this hoo-hah is all about, Ridhuan? Jealousy?

What about respect for the team and your teammates? Isn’t that the issue here?

And aren’t you supposed to be a professional footballer in Indonesia now?

If so, then how is it that you can be so unprofessional in your behaviour in the Singapore jersey?

Doesn’t playing for one’s country deserve a higher level of professional conduct?

I am flabbergasted at these two clowns. And I have had enough of them. Their attempt at an apology is a sheer insult to the Lions, to Avramovic, and to us long-suffering die-hard fans.

Please, Raddy, axe them.

They do not deserve to have the five stars and crescent on their chests from now on.

Yours in sport

Singapore Sports Fan