Singapore go for youth
SINGAPORE – Singapore have turned to youth for this year’s Tiger Cup, naming a 22-man squad which includes just seven players over the age of 24.
While there is a good deal of experience in the shape of skipper Aide Iskandar, defender S. Subramani and midfielder Goh Tat Chuan, the essence is definitely on youth with several youngsters including 18-year-old defender Ismail Yunos, who has yet to play for a professional S.League club but has won the confidence of coach Raddy Avramovic.
There are some injury concerns for Avramovic in his final 22 with three of the four forwards not fully fit. Indra Sahdan Daud and Noh Alam Shah are nursing ankle and knee injuries respectively while Agu Casmir has not appeared sharp in recent game after recovering from a hamsring injury.
AvramovicÂ’s options up front were limited thorugh with Masrezwan Masturi, Ashrin Shariff and Jamil Ali all ruled out by injury.
Singapore, Tiger Cup winners in 1998, kick off their campaign against hosts Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday. The Lions are in Group A with the Vietnamese, Indonesia, Laos and Cambodia.
Singapore squad
Goalkeepers: Hassan Sunny, Lionel Lewis, Shahril Jantan
Defenders: Noh Rahman, Jaslee Hatta, S. Subramani, Daniel Bennett, Baihakki Khaizan, Aide Iskandar, Ismail Yunos
Midfielders: Muhammad Ridhuan, Tengku Mushadad, Shahril Ishak, Imran Sahib, Goh Tat Chuan, Ishak Zainol, Hasrin Jailani
Forwards: Khairul Amri, Indra Sahdan Daud, Noh Alam Shah, Itimi Dickson, Agu Casmir
Vietnam look to settle old score
Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam and Singapore kick-off their 2004 Tiger Cup campaigns on Tuesday in a repeat of the 1998 final, which the Singaporeans won courtesy of a lone Sasi Kumar goal.
Tuesday's Group A match will be the fourth Tiger Cup meeting between the two sides, with Vietnam having won the most recent encounter 1-0 in the 2000 edition.
While FIFA ranking and results in all competitions since 1998 suggests that Vietnam are fancied to take all three points against the visitors, head coach Edson Tavares has played down the favourites tag.
“I wouldn’t say we are favourites because football is 11 against 11 and winning or losing is a consequence of the game or the consequence of the preparation” said the Brazilian, who is in his second stint with Vietnam having been their first ever foreign coach when he was at the helm for five months back in 1995.
Tavares was playing his cards close to his chest when it came to who may or may not take to the field against Singapore but is convinced that if his charges play to their capabilities then they should be able to slay the Lions.
“I don’t know too much about Singapore but the point is that we have a good team and if the players play like they can play, like they are supposed to play, just like they did against Korea Republic, then our players should be able to overcome any difficulties.”
Vietnam prepared for the Tiger Cup with a 13-day training camp in Chengdu in China, although no competitive matches were arranged at the camp with Tavares instead concentrating on developing the physical, technical and tactical aspect of his side.
Singapore, meanwhile, arranged a series of friendlies in their lead in to the fifth edition of ASEANÂ’s premier football tournament.
“There was a long period between our World Cup qualifier against Japan and the Tiger Cup so we needed to arrange some games,” said head coach Raddy Avramovic.
“If we hadn’t arranged these matches then our preparation would not have been so good,” the former Kuwait Olympic coach said of the games against Myanmar and Hong Kong, which Singapore won 2-0 and drew 0-0 respectively.
“It was good to play against Myanmar as they are one of the teams playing in this tournament,” continued Avramovic, whose side also took on Indonesia, Malaysia and a Thailand selection prior to the Tiger Cup.
Despite some players carrying a few knocks, most notably the ankle injury of striker Indra Sahdan Daud, Avramovic has a full compliment of players to select from, and is approaching the match confidently.
“Everyone has an opinion but it is nothing to do with who is the favourite and who is the underdog,” he said.
“We are going looking to win the game but we will see what will happen after 90 minutes. We are not under any pressure and with the stadium at full capacity, I think it is them who will get nervous and not us.”
Indra ready for roar for Lions
Ho Chi Minh City - Having missed out on SingaporeÂ’s 1998 Tiger Cup triumph and playing just five minutes of the last edition, Indra Sahdan Daud is hoping to use the 2004 Tiger Cup to justify his reputation as one of ASEAN top strikers.
“I don’t want people just to see me in the S-League," said the 25-year-old on the eve of the his side's opener against hosts Vietnam on Tuesday.
"I want to show people that I can perform on a bigger stage and this the perfect opportunity for me to show that.
“But while I want to prove my worth as an individual I also know that the team comes first," added the Home United striker.
"It really doesn’t matter if I score or not as long as the team wins I will be very satisfied.”
The affable 25-year-oldÂ’s team ethic contrasts with the indifferent attitude whe showed when he was taking the first tentative steps on his international career.
And looking back, Indra accepts that it was his professional naivety that robbed him of his chance to be part of Singpore’s proudest footballing hour: Sasi Kumar’s famous ‘shoulder blade of God goal’ that gave them the unlikeliest of victories over 1998 Tiger Cup hosts Vietnam.
“I was in the squad but I never got called up,” recalled Indra.
“At that stage I wasn’t really thinking about the future as I was always going out at night with my friends. My Dad was always on my back and thankfully this was just a short period of my life.
“I always thought Singapore would do well but I never expected them to win the Tiger Cup. It was a great moment for Singapore and I was very proud that we won, but I would have been much happier if I was there.
“But who is to say if I was in the squad we still would have won. Maybe I just wasn’t supposed to win it at that time.”
If 2004 is to be his time, Singapoer coach Raddy Avramovich will be hoping a long and arduous season for club and country doesnÂ’t catch up with him.
On top of national team duty, Indra and teammates Aide Iskander and S. Subramani have played more than 50 matches this season, including a run to the last four of the AFC Cup.
Fatigue, though, doesnÂ’t appear a factor for Indra, who has put back ankle surgery to represent his country at the fith edition of the Tiger Cup.
“It has been a long season for the Home United players in the squad but our coach Steve [Darby] has been looking after us during the season and in the national team none of us have been pushed too much, " said the striker.
"I don’t feel tired. In fact I am raring to go.”
SingaporeÂ’s match with Vietnam kicks off at 19:45 local time on Tuesday.[/b]
Pressure is on the hosts, say Lions
Ho Chi Minh City - With a sell-out crowd of 20,000 passionate home fans expected to create good-natured bedlam when Vietnam kick off their 2004 Tiger Cup group A campaign against Singapore on Tuesday, many rate the hosts as clear favourites to take all three points.
But for Singapore striker Indra Sahdan Daud, the crowd may just galvanize the visitors, who have fond memories of playing Tiger Cup football in Vietnam, having beaten them 1-0 in the 1998 final.
“Maybe their fans will work for us as they well be under immense pressure to perform well,” he said.
“If things aren’t going their way then maybe the crowd will turn against them and this can only work to our advantage.”
Despite being 25 years-old, Indra is something of a veteran in a young Singapore squad, and the Home United hit man admits that the Vietnamese fans could have an impact on the less experienced members of the team.
“One or two of the younger players might be affected by the crowd and this is where our senior players will have to look out for them," said the Home United man.
"The first 15 or 20 minutes will be very intimidating but if we can get through that then we can get a result.
Some observers have suggested that the young squad Singapore have assembled for the Tiger Cup may not have the necessary experience to deal with the pressure associated with playing in the region's premier tournament, but head coach Radojko Avramovic is working under the adage that if you are ‘old enough you are good enough’, citing England’s teenage sensation Wayne Rooney as an example.
“I was watching England and we saw what Rooney could do,” Avramovic said at the Singapore-Vietnam pre-match press conference.
“Of course you get a little worried for young players but it is good to see them get the chance to prove themselves. They give fire to the side.
“I am not concerned [about using young players in the team] as it is a part of football, of building and developing a team. In the end I think our team has a good mix of experience and young players.”
Vietnam play host to Singapore at 19:45 local time.
Vietnam name final 22-man squad
HANOI – Vietnam have finalized their 22-man squad for the Tiger Cup, cutting defender Le Bat Hieu from the team that has just returned from a training camp in Chengdu, China.
The final selection of national coach Edson Tavares includes veteran striker Le Huynh Duc, 32, who will be appearing in his fifth consecutive Tiger Cup.
Ten other players who were in the team that finished third at the last tournament in 2002 are also in this yearÂ’s squad including goalkeeper Tran Minh Quang, defenders Nguyen Huy Hoang and Nguyen Duc Thang, midfielders Nguyen Minh Phuong, Phan Van Tai Em and Tran Truong Giang, and forward Ngo Quang Truong.
The most notable exclusion is Song Lam Nghe An striker Pham Van Quyen, who starred for the Vietnamese under-23 side that reached last yearÂ’s SEA Games final but has been in poor form this season.
Vietnam kick off their Tiger Cup 2004 campaign with a Group A encounter against Singapore in Ho Chi Minh City on December 7. They are also scheduled to meet Indonesia, Laos and Cambodia during the group stage.
Vietnam squad
Goalkeepers: Tran Minh Quang, Bui Quang Huy, Nguyen The Anh
Defenders: Le Anh Dung, Nguyen Huy Hoang, Nguyen Manh Dung, Pham Hung Dung, Le Quang Trai, Vu Duy Hoang, Nguyen Duc Thang, Nguyen Van Dan
Midfielders: Nguyen Minh Phuong, Phan Van Tai Em, Le Hong Minh, Tran Truong Giang, Trinh Xuan Thanh, Nguyen Trung Kien
Forwards: Le Huynh Duc, Le Cong Vinh, Thach Bao Khanh, Dang Van Thanh, Phan Thanh Binh
Vietnam pin hopes on veteran striker
Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam head coach Edson Tavares insists veteran forward Le Huynh Duc has what it takes to help Vietnam win their first Tiger Cup.
Dismissing suggestions in the Vietnam press that the 32-year-old may be past his prime, the Brazilian gave his full support to the talisimanic striker.
“In Asia there seems to be this mentality that when a player reaches 31 or 32 he is too old,” the 48 year-old Brazilian said at Monday’s Vietnam-Singapore pre-match press conference.
“Duc is a guy who cares a lot about his family and his parents. He is not the kind of guy who goes out drinking or chasing girls so he still has a few years of football in him.”
Duc, who plays his club football for Da Nang, has been in the Vietnam squad for every Tiger Cup since the competition began in 1996 and is just one goal away from equaling the tournament record of 15, currently held by ThailandÂ’s Worrawoot Srimaka.
His first attempt to equal or better the record set by Worrawoot, scorer of a hat-trick in ThailandÂ’s 4-1 win over Indonesia in the 2000 final, is against Singapore on Tuesday.
Duc has mixed experiences of playing Singapore in the Tiger Cup.
In the 1998 final, played in Hanoi, he was in the side that was left shell-shocked as Sasi KumarÂ’s goal consigned Vietnam to the runners-up position. Earlier in the tournament, Singapore had hung on for a 0-0 draw in the group stage.
He did, however, gain a modicum of revenge two years later in Songkhla, Thailand, when his 62nd-minute strike gave Vietnam a 1-0 win which helped ensure the then defending champions were eliminated from the 2000 Tiger Cup at the group stage.
He will hoping for a similar outcome in Tuesday's Group A encounter which kicks off at 19:45 local time.
