Suzuki Cup Football: Will first all-local team since 2000 fill stadium and defend title?

By Les Tan and Jasmine Goh

Singapore will get to play all their group matches at the National Stadium. (Photo © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports Archives)

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Wednesday, November 19, 2014 — For the first time since 2000 (see squad lists below), an all-local Singapore team will take to the field at the 2014 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Championship, also known as the Suzuki Cup.

Singapore are the defending champions, and have won this ASEAN tournament a record four times (1998, 2004, 2007, 2012). (This is the only ASEAN football tournament that features national open teams. The Southeast Asian Games only features an under-23 football tournament.)

Bernd Stange, the Singapore team coach, had earlier mentioned that the Singapore squad will probably be all local.

“It’s the first time since 1998 we are playing without foreigners,” Stange said, as quoted by Yahoo. “[During] the last Suzuki Cup, we had five, six foreigners on board [but now] it’s all local boys and that’s the way we are going now.”

In Singapore’s last two friendly matches against Laos and Cambodia, Stange had fielded an all-local lineup.

Can Singapore defend the Cup?

R Sasikumar, who famously scored the ‘Shoulder of God’ goal against Vietnam in the 1998 final to win the Singapore’s first AFF Championship, does not think they can go all the way.

“I still think that maybe they are not good enough to go and win it,” said Sasi on redcardconnect.com. “They are going to compete, that’s for sure. They’ve improved tremendously from the first game I’ve watched them. There are some quality players, but there are some very ordinary players in the team. I really hope they go on and prove me wrong like what they did two years ago!”

Singapore are in Group B with Thailand, Myanmar, and Malaysia, and will get to play all their matches at the new National Stadium. Matches involving the other teams will only be played at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

The pitch itself has taken centre stage because the grass has struggled to grow in the partially enclosed stadium. The Juventus vs Singapore Selection and Brazil vs Japan matches saw the visiting teams criticizing the state of the pitch as “sandy” and “patchy” in their pre- and post-match comments. The rugby match between the Asia Pacific Dragons and Maori All Blacks was also cancelled due to similar concerns about the pitch.

National defender Baihakki Khaizan, 30, a veteran member of the Lions, also voiced his criticism on Instagram.

“You’ve sold out, haven’t you? You’re more about money, moving in a direction I don’t understand. Honestly, I miss the old you,” wrote Baihakki. He described Singapore’s billion-dollar Sports Hub as “all fancy”, with “all the bells and whistles”.

“I remember the plain you, and they are wonderful memories. We won championships on the platform you provided, I became a Lion on your lawn. You’re different now. And I’m not convinced by how you’re behaving now. You don’t seem to know your priorities anymore, and I don’t see how new stars will be born in you again,” added Baihakki, before ending the post with the hashtags “#stadiumforconcerts” and “#$$$”.

The post went viral and attracted over 4,600 Likes and numerous comments.

The state of the pitch was even discussed in the Singapore Parliament. Members of Parliament (MPs) Baey Yam Keng and Pritam Singh asked about the condition of the pitch and its impact on Singapore’s reputation.

Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Lawrence Wong, acknowledged the concerns.

In a parliamentary reply, the Minister said, “SHPL (Sports Hub Pte Ltd) had taken 3 months longer than expected to complete the National Stadium, and this meant that there was not enough time to allow the grass on the pitch to take root and stabilise.

“In addition, SHPL misjudged the impact that the intensive events calendar would have on the pitch. It had carried out testing before deciding on the hybrid Desso GrassMaster pitch, which is primarily natural turf anchored by artificial fibres.

“It had also procured a cover that was designed to allow activities and concerts to take place on the pitch with reduced impact on the grass. This has been tested, but it did not work out as planned, in part because the grass was not anchored deeply enough. As a result, the repeated use and covering of the pitch ended up damaging it.”

The minister added that SHPL had also cancelled a Jay Chou concert to give the grass more time to grow for the Suzuki Cup.

With the National Stadium pitch looking much greener these days after SHPL took corrective action, the attention will now shift to the Lions and what they can do on the pitch.

The one question every Singapore football fan has is: Can these Lions defend the cup?

2014 AFF Championship (Suzuki Cup)

Izwan Mahbud
Hassan Sunny
Ismadi Muhktar
Al Qaasimy Rahman
Baikhakki Khaizan
Shaiful Esah
Afiq Yunos
Amirul Adli
Safuwan Baharudin
Shakir Hamzah
Hafiz Sujad
Hariss Harun
Shahdan Sulaiman
Zulfahmi Arifin
Faris Ramli
Shahril Ishak
Gabriel Quak
Shahfiq Ghani
Khairul Amri
Sahil Suhaimi
Khairul Nizam
Fazrul Nawaz

2012 AFF Championship (Suzuki Cup)
Champions
Isa Halim
Shi Jiayi
Shahdan Sulaiman
Fazli Ayob
Hariss Harun
Mustafi Fahrudin
Shahril Ishak
Firdaus Kasman
Hafiz Rahim
Zulfahmi Arifin
Shaiful Esah
Baihakki Khaizan
Daniel Bennett
Irwan Shah
Safuwan Baharudin
Aleksandar Duric
Fazrul Nawaz
Qiu Li
Khairul Amri
Izwan Mahbud
Hyrulnizam Juma’at
Joey Sim

2010 AFF Championship (Suzuki Cup)

Hassan Sunny
Muhammad Ridhuan
Baihakki Khaizan
Isa Halim
Noh Rahman
Precious Emuejeraye
Mohd Noh Alam Shah
Aleksandar Duric
Fazrul Nawaz
Agu Casmir
Masrezwan Masturi
Mustafic Fahrudin
Daniel Bennett
Sharil Ishak
Lionel Lewis
Khairul Amri
Shahdan Sulaiman
Afiq Yunos
Juma’at Jantan
Rosman Sulaiman
Safuwan Baharudin
Izwan Mahbud

2008 AFF Championship (Suzuki Cup)

Hassan Sunny
Ridhuan Muhammad
Baihakki Khaizan
Isa Halim
Noh Rahman
Precious Emuejeraye
Shi Jiayi
Mohd Noh Alam Shah
Aleksandar Duric
Indra Sahdan Daud
Agu Casmir
Juma’at Jantan
John Wilkinson
Mustafic Fahrudin
Daniel Bennett
Shahril Ishak
Lionel Lewis
Ismail Yunos
Mustaqim Manzur
Shaiful Esah
Hyrulnizam Jumaat
Rosman Sulaiman

2007 AFF Championship
Champions
Hassan Sunny
Ridhuan Muhammad
Ismail Yunos
Isa Halim
Aide Iskandar
Baihakki Khaizan
Shi Jiayi
Mohd Noh Alam Shah
Indra Sahdan
Fazrul Nawaz
Masrezwan Masturi
Hafiz Osman
Shunmugham Subramani
Mustafic Fahrudin
Daniel Bennett
Shahril Ishak
Lionel Lewis
Khairul Amri
Noh Rahman
Precious Emuejeraye
Itimi Dickson
Fadhil Salim

2004 AFF Championship (Tiger Cup)
Champions
Hassan Sunny
Ridhuan Muhammad
Ishak Zainol
Hasrin Jailani
Aide Iskandar
Baihakki Khaizan
Goh Tat Chuan
Mohd Noh Alam Shah
Ismail Yunos
Indra Sahdan Daud
Imran Sahib
Shahril Jantan
Noh Rahman
Shunmugham Subramani
Tengku Mushadad
Daniel Bennett
Shahril Ishak
Lionel Lewis
Khairul Amri
Agu Casmir
Jaslee Hatta
Itimi Dickson

2002 AFF Championship (Tiger Cup)

Shahril Jantan
Adi Saleh
Razif Mahamud
Aide Iskandar
Shunmugham Subramani
Arumugham Siva Kumar
Noh Rahman
Daniel Bennett
Nazri Nasir
Rudy Khairon Daiman
Zulkarnaen Zainal
Rafi Ali
Goh Tat Chuan
Ahmad Latiff Khamaruddin
Mohd Noor Ali
Azhar Baksin
Fadzuhasny Juraimi
Egmar Goncalves
Noh Alam Shah
Indra Sahdan Daud

2000 AFF Championship (Tiger Cup)

Rezal Hassan
Robin Chitrakar
Rafi Ali
Aide Iskandar
S. Subramani
Steven Tan
Tan Kim Leng
Ahmad Latiff Khamaruddin
Indra Sahdan Daud
Basri Halis
Zulkarnaen Zainal
R. Sasikumar
Gusta Guzarishah
Nazri Nasir
Sharifuddin Mahmood
Mohd Noor Ali
Hasri Jailani
Yazid Yasin

1998 AFF Championship (Tiger Cup)
Champions
Rezal Hassan
Dzulkifli Jumadi
Rafi Ali
Aide Iskandar
S. Subramani
Samawira Basri
Ahmad Latiff
Basri Halis
Hafizat Jauharmi
Zulkarnean Zainal
R. Sasi Kumar
Lim Soon Seng
Nazri Nasir
Kadir Yahaya
Mohd Noor Ali
Nahar Daud
Gusta Guzarishah
Bashir Khan
Joseph Pragasam
Rudy Khairon Daiman

1996 AFF Championship (Tiger Cup)

David Lee
Bashir Khan
Lim Tong Hai
Kadir Yahaya
Aide Iskandar
S Subramani
Saswadimata Dasuki
Borhan Abu Samah
Zulkarnaen Zainal
Rafi Ali
Nazri Nasir
Hasnim Haron
Malek Awab
Zulkifli Kartoyoho
Samawira Basri
Steven Tan
V. Selvaraj
Fandi Ahmad

Singapore Football Results (National Open Squad)