New-look SAFFC have an eye on Asia

Sazali Abdul Aziz
info@sleague.com

The man with the blonde hair looked relaxed, leaning back in his chair as members of the media fired questions at his new head coach sitting beside him. His striking pink track shoes stood out from his team-mates’, and perhaps hinted at the star quality he possesses.

“I like to win,” Niklas Sandberg declared, when asked what he hopes to achieve at his new club. “In the past three years, all the teams I have been in have finished top, and I hope to bring this experience to SAFFC.”

The Swede was one of ten new signings unveiled by S.League champions at Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday, and is considered an integral part of a new-look SAFFC team which is looking to make an impact not only locally, but in continental competition as well.

Club chairman BG Tung Yui Fai said: “The club have won the S.League title 8 times in fourteen years, and four years in a row. It is an understatement that we are the premier team in the S.League.

“In terms of being the best in the S.League, we have nothing to prove anymore. The target we have set for ourselves now, is to carry the flag for the S.League in the region, in the AFC Champions League (ACL).”

With a renewed focus on the ACL, BG Tung feels that this is reflected in the signings the club has made, with Sandberg arguably the biggest name to sign on in the close season.

The 31-year-old helped CFR Cluj and Stabæk IF to the league championships of Romania and Norway in 2007 and 2008 respectively. He also helped FK Haugesund to the Norwegian second division title earlier this year, and counts his two caps for Sweden earned in January 2007 as one of his proudest achievements.

“I’ve played professional football for many years in Europe – 13 years – and I’m looking for a new challenge, a new adventure. Money is not so important for me right now, I took a big pay cut to join the team,” he explained.

Sandberg has been to Singapore three times since visiting the country on a training tour with AIK Stockholm in 1997, and says the humidity here is a big challenge for him. He is confident though, that he has what it takes to settle in. “In Romania, I played in 40 °C, and then one month later it was -10 °C, so I hope I can adapt,” he smiled.

Uruguayan striker Federico Martínez has also joined from Brazilian Série C side Cabofriense. The rangy attacker laughed – perhaps out of nervousness – after being told that he was brought in to replace three-time defending S.League top-scorer Aleksandar Duric.

“That’s why the job is harder,” he said. “I have to show my fellow players that I can be a good striker, but it is a very hard job to fill the shoes of a great striker.”

Bok though, has no worries about his new signings, and has been impressed with what he has seen so far. He has even likened Martínez to a former SAFFC great: “The thing about Rico is that he can create goals by himself, like Mirko (former striker Mirko Grabovac).”

“I knew he was good in the air, but when we started to do ballwork in training, man, he can shoot. Left foot, right foot, he can take shots well, and this is the type of striker I like,” gushed Bok.

Sandberg and Martínez are joined by former Albirex Niigata (Singapore) midfielder Taisuke Akiyoshi - who rejected a chance to join Albirex’s J-League squad for a training camp to sign on professional terms with SAFFC – and towering Croatian centre-half Ivan Lovric to make up SAFFC’s new foreign signings.

On the local front, the club have also snared six Singaporean players, including Singapore internationals Indra Sahdan and Noh Rahman. The upcoming season is especially important to striker Indra, who feels he has a point to prove.

“09 wasn’t a good season for me, and I am out to show that I have not become a bad player over the course of one year,” he said. “I still have two or three years of good football left in me, and I want to prove I am not over the hill.”

For the club to qualify for the ACL group stage though, they must first defeat Indonesian champions Sriwijaya on 30 January in the first of two playoff matches. If they manage to overcome the Palembang side, they will face either Vietnamese champions SHB Ðà Nẵng or Thai champions Muang Thong United in the second playoff game.

Head coach Richard Bok will need his new charges to gel quickly, and is hoping a training camp in Vietnam will do the trick. The Warriors will be playing V-League sides Đồng Tâm Long An F.C. and Navibank Saigon on 12th and 15th January, respectively.

Bok also took the opportunity to announce his new team captain “for 2010 and beyond” – goalkeeper Shahril Jantan. Duric had been skippering the team for the last two seasons.

“When choosing a captain, you need someone with leadership. Shahril is someone who works well with both sides – the locals and the foreigners – and he fits the bill well,” explained Bok, who added that Daniel Bennett and John Wilkinson will be the team’s new vice-captains.

Shahril himself was humbled by the appointment, but feels he is up to the task. “I accepted the appointment having already played under two good captains in Noor Ali, who was good at rallying the team, and Aleks, who led with his professionalism.

“I don’t think it will distract me from my job as a goalkeeper, and I hope I can do well for the team as captain.”

SAFFC’s new signings: Rezal Hassan (player/goalkeeper coach) Hyrulnizam Juma’at (Young Lions) Noh Rahman (Sengkang Punggol) Ivan Lovric (Gosk KG, Croatia) Syaiful Iskandar (Woodlands Wellington) Niklas Sandberg (FK Haugesund, Norway) Rhysh Roshan Rai (Balestier Khalsa) Taisuke Akiyoshi (Albirex Niigata, Singapore) Indra Sahdan (Sengkang Punggol) Federico Martínez (Cabofriense, Brazil)