Five years on, sham becomes sheer joy
Lions are Asean champs and in round three of World Cup qualifying
By Wang Meng Meng
REACHING THE THIRD ROUND OF THE Woeld Cup Qualifiers for the first time becomes easier after Alexksander Duric (right) scored twice to give the Lions a 2-0 win over Tajikistan in the first leg at home. The Lions drew 1-1 in the second leg to qualify.
THE scoreboard read: Singapore 0 Malaysia 4.
That Tiger Cup thrashing was the sultan of spankings, a grim reminder of how far local football had fallen behind and a low the Kallang Roar could never drown out.
Five years on, instead of looking back to mourn about that rain-soaked Dec 18 debacle, Singapore are steaming ahead for more football glory.
Leading the way are the Lions, who started the year with a massive bang by winning the Asean Football Championship in February, going through the tournament unbeaten.
The Asean Football Championship is the Republic's third regional crown, after similar successes in 2005 and 1998.
That Raddy Avramovic's men beat powerhouses Thailand 3-2 on aggregate in Bangkok is proof that it is this island who are perched at the apex of Asean football.
Singapore are not just gunning for success in the region. The Lions' road to South Africa took some delightful turns, too.
While qualifying for the 2010 World Cup remains a pipe dream, the team have done the country proud by making it into the third round of the qualifiers for the first time.
This is a feat not even the celebrated teams who won the 1977 and 1994 Malaysia Cups could emulate.
Palestine were beaten 7-0 on aggregate in the first round, a result that included an impressive 4-0 away win in neutral Doha.
Tajikistan were next and, even as 11 players suffered from diarrhoea in the away leg in Dushanbe, Singapore still came through 3-1 on aggregate.
The Lions have drawn Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Uzbekistan in Group 4. But, instead of being gripped by the fear of failure, there is genuine belief flowing through the camp that they can upset the applecart.
On another note, the Lions bid farewell to two wonderful servants.
S. Subramani bowed out on a high, making the last of his 115 international appearances during the Asean Football Championship triumph in Bangkok.
Skipper Aide Iskandar, who led the country with distinction and has 120 caps under his belt, left to concentrate on his club career and family life.
On the club scene, Singapore Armed Forces FC made it a glorious S-League and Singapore Cup Double.
The Warriors, boosted by Aleksandar Duric's colossal 44-goal output, pipped Home United and Tampines Rovers on the last day of the season.
And they wrapped up the cup final with a gripping 4-3 win over Tampines Rovers.
In a see-saw contest, the Stags led three times, only for SAFFC to claw back and snatch a late winner.
If there was a blemish, it had to be Noh Alam Shah's shocking attack on SAFFC defender and international teammate Daniel Bennett, resulting in a one-year ban for the Tampines striker.
To end things on a happy note, Lionel Lewis took his first step into the big time by training with Manchester City.
The Home United goalkeeper will train with the Premier League club for a week, before further assessment at a City training camp in Australia next month.
Lewis' stint is all thanks to Football Association of Singapore vice-president, Lieutenant-General (retired) Ng Jui Ping, who personally made the arrangements for the shot-stopper to try his luck.
The country waits with bated breath for the 25-year-old to clinch a move to City or one of their partner clubs like Grasshopper Zurich, FC Moscow or Perth Glory.
The Under-23s also made it to the last four of the South-east Asia Games for the first time since 1999.
The youngsters even broke the 12-year medal duck by taking the bronze.
Kudos to the FAS for giving the country lots to cheer about in 2007.
Oh, the scoreboard in the SEA Games bronze-medal game read: Singapore 5 Vietnam 0.
It sure beats THAT result five years ago.
[email protected]http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_189518.html
