Baihakki and Shahril now deemed not good enough for Indonesia league

The report:

This report appeared in today’s edition of The Straits Times:

Shahril, Baihakki likely to return home

(The Straits Times, 7 Feb 2011)

By Lee Min Kok

SINGAPORE captain Shahril Ishak and national defender Baihakki Khaizan seem set to make a return to the S-League.

The Straits Times understands that the duo, who play for Indonesia Super League (ISL) side Persib Bandung, have been deemed surplus to requirements and could be released by their club soon.

Shahril, 27, the S-League’s Player of the Year last season, left Home United in October – two months before the S-League season ended.

Ex-Geylang United defender Baihakki was one of seven national players, including striker Noh Alam Shah, to lead the highly-publicised exodus to Indonesia in 2009. That was when the ISL introduced a rule under which two of each club’s five foreign imports had to come from Asia.

The offer of higher pay, better perks and the chance to play in front of 20,000-strong crowds drew several high-profile Lions to the ISL.

Baihakki joined Persija Jakarta, before moving to Persib last year.

Both he and Shahril could not be reached for comment yesterday.

According to the Indonesian football blog Jakarta Casual, Persib’s new coach Daniel Roekito does not rate the 27-year-old Baihakki highly.

The Indonesian, who took over the reins last November, recently confirmed the signing of Malaysian striker Safee Sali (the top scorer at last December’s AFF Suzuki Cup with five goals) for the second half of the 2010-11 ISL season, which starts on March 7. Persib lie second from bottom in the 15-team ISL after 12 games.

And Baihakki seems ready to leave. He wrote on his Twitter page yesterday: ‘Prepare (sic) to go, but will still give my best for the last 3 games.’

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My thoughts:

I was about to say something rude and cutting like “So, Baihakki, I’m curious. What does humble pie taste like?”

But I thought better of it.

But now that Malaysia’s players are the flavour of the month after winning the South-east Asia Games gold medal and the Asean Cup, I wonder how many more Singapore players are in danger of losing their well-paying and glamorous careers in the ISL — especially after Singapore’s dismal showing and their own crappy performances in the Asean Cup.

What I thought was telling was this sentence about new Persib coach Daniel Roekito:

“According to the Indonesian football blog Jakarta Casual, Persib’s new coach Daniel Roekito does not rate the 27-year-old Baihakki highly.”

I’m also wondering how many S-League clubs will be vying to take them back.

I am sure there will be a few clubs competing for Shahril’s services. After all, he is young, an emerging talent and the national skipper. No one will also forget the critical role he played in Home’s push for the S-League title before he left for the ISL, one which ultimately saw him being named the S-League’s Player of the Year.

The fact that Home’s title challenge immediately went to pieces the moment he left also spoke volumes of his abilities and importance.

But I’m not so sure about Baihakki’s desirability  after all the allegations of ill discipline and arrogance about him (and Ridhuan Muhammad) that has come out in the media in recent times.

Yours in sport

Singapore Sports Fan

Shame on you, S-League, for even nominating Shahril for the Player of the Year Award in the first place.

The crowning of Shahril Ishak as the S-League’s Player of the Year for the 2010 season is a sad indictment of  the moral state of local football.

Sure, the 26-year-old midfielder and playmaker may have had a stellar season with Home United, his performances and 17 goals playing a major part in Home’s pursuit of the title.

But the fact remains that Shahril left his club to join Indonesia Super League side Persib Bandung several matches before the end of the season.

And as The New Paper astutely noted in its report: “After his departure, the Protectors never regained the momentum to keep their title charge going and finished third.”

The New Paper also quoted Shahril as saying that he had no choice but to take up the offer from Persib Bandung.

“I feel sad that my team struggled after I left. But it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for me to leave for Indonesia. I had to take it,” he said.

I do not deny that Shahril is a highly-talented player and that he had a great season with Home.

But regardless of how Shahril chose to explain it, the fact remains that he had abandoned his club for a higher-paying opportunity at a crucial stage of the title race. Mind you, his departure didn’t just jeopardise Home’s title chances. It also dealt a huge blow to the attractiveness of the competition.

All this, in my book, should have automatically disqualified him from being even nominated for the Player of the Year award in the first place.

And yet, the S-League chose to put him on a pedestal instead. In doing so, they have sent the wrong message to all other young aspiring footballers.

On his part, Shahril should have also done the noble thing and declined the nomination from the start.

Shame on you, S-League.

Yours in sport

Singapore Sports Fan

Aliff’s arrest and irresponsible behavour just adds to the worsening image of the local S-League footballer

The report:

This report appeared in today’s edition of The Straits Times:

S-League footballer held over car crash

(The Straits Times, 16 Nov 2010)

Tampines Rovers vice-captain suspected of drink driving and driving while suspended

By Lester Kok

S-LEAGUE footballer Aliff Shafaein was arrested on Sunday on suspicion of drink driving and driving while suspended, after he was involved in a car crash hours before he captained Tampines Rovers in the Singapore Cup final.

Two women needed hospital treatment after the accident on the morning of Tampines’ match against Bangkok Glass, which the former lost 0-1.

Tampines Rovers vice-captain Aliif Shafaein. Picture courtesy of The Straits Times

Aliff’s coach and team manager were left fuming after they learnt of the vice-captain’s arrest, which he failed to tell them about before the match on Sunday. The attacking midfielder was acting team captain during the match, but was substituted in the second half because of his poor performance.

Aliff, 28, was believed to have been driving a relative’s black Honda Jazz along Lentor Avenue towards Yishun when it collided with another car. The other driver, a 30-year-old woman, and her passenger, a woman in her early 20s, were taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. They were said to have been treated for minor injuries.

Aliff, believed to have been handcuffed when arrested, was unhurt. It is understood that he was able to play in the match because he was released on $10,000 bail.

Team manager Syed Faruk said he had been able to contact Aliff only via SMS after learning of the arrest yesterday, and was very disappointed with the player’s actions.

‘We run our club based on trust… we treat our players like adults, we trust them to do the right thing and I think he has done the wrong thing, by not telling us before the match. This got us really angry as it was such an important match.’

Mr Faruk added that Tampines coach Vorawan Chitavanich was very angry when he heard about the incident. ‘He (Aliff) wasn’t playing his usual game. I think the coach suspected something was amiss, but we didn’t know what happened, nobody told us anything,’ the team manager said.

He added that the other team members had not known of their vice-captain’s arrest, although they knew he was in a car accident that morning.

Aliff is known to have had more than 50 unpaid summonses over the past two years, believed to total up to $30,000. Mr Faruk had helped him settle the bill.

The manager said he did not know why Aliff’s licence was suspended. He added that he did not know who paid Aliff’s bail. ‘His family is not so (well to do), he is supporting his family.’

Police confirmed yesterday that ‘a man in his late 20s was arrested for drink driving and driving under suspension of driving licence’.

Aliff did not respond to calls from The Straits Times last night. His teammates said they were surprised to hear of his arrest, as he appeared normal during the match.

Striker Aleksandar Duric said: ‘He is very quiet, I’m surprised.’

Attacking midfielder Shahdan Sulaiman described Aliff as a ‘good person’ who does not talk very much.

The future of the Tampines vice-captain, who has been with the club since 2004, now seems uncertain as his contract will run out by the year end.

Mr Faruk said discussions will be held with the club’s committee, chairman and general manager tomorrow or on Thursday, before they decide on whether to renew Aliff’s contract.

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My thoughts:

The above incident is an example of sheer stupidity and irresponsibiity at its best. But worse of all, it deals another hammer blow at the image of the local professional footballer.

So now we know: not only is the average S-League footballer

a) incapable of earning a proper living when he is not playing football (as shown by the example of Mohd Noor Ali who ended up doing odd jobs and assisting at his father’s prata stall during his suspension from the S-League for betting on matches),

b) incredibly disloyal (as shown by some Lions in the past two years who abandoned their clubs midway through the season to join Indonesian clubs which were dangling higher salaries, even though their own clubs were in the chase for the S-League ttle)

c) incredibly stupid (as shown by Aliff Shafaein’s reckless behaviour on the eve and morning of his club’s Singapore Cup final.

I mean, is drinking the night before a Cup final the sort of behaviour a professional footballer should be indulging in?

My jaw also dropped at the revelation that Aliff had chalked up over 50 summonses and over $30,000 in fines prior to his arrest. And that he was driving despite having his licence suspended.

What is wrong with the bloody idiot? Does he not have a brain?

For that matter, what is wrong with all these footballers?

Is there any cause for wonder then that the general public has such a poor impression of our local footballers, and of football as a viable professional career?

Sadly, the people who are going to suffer the most in this instance will be the members of Aliff’s family.

From the report, it’s pretty clear that he is one of the main breadwinners of his family.

He is already 28 years old. So if he ends up in jail for a lengthy period of time, it probably means the end of his livelihood as a professional player.

For that matter, do you think that Tampines Rovers – who entrusted him with leadership positions in the team — or any other club would want to have him on their rosters now that they know the sort of irresponsible person he is?

It’s all very stupid, very tragic and very sad.

 Yours in sport

Singapore Sports Fan