Author Archive for Shamir Osman

It is almost impossible to conceive after 47 trophies, a knighthood, and installing a dynasty of football at a mid-table club that is now the most successful in the land, that Sir Alex Ferguson was once a single match away from losing his job at Manchester United.
It was January 1990 and the pressure was mounting on a 48-year-old Ferguson after three trophy-less years at the helm, and a seven game winless streak that saw fans call for his head.
Drawn away to a high flying Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup, the tabloids of the day would have you believe that defeat would have seen Ferguson out the Old Trafford door.
But a goal from 20-year-old Mark Robins, saw United take that tie 1-0, eventually going on to win the FA Cup that year. They beat Crystal Palace 1-0 in the final, winning Ferguson his first major trophy and possibly his job at United.
The rest, as they say, is history.
It would not be hard to conceive that we have recently witnessed a similar history-altering moment in Singapore football.
2010 was a dark year for the local football fraternity.
The three domestic titles up for grabs in the league, were all taken by foreign clubs. The RHB Singapore Cup ripped from Singapore shores by Bangkok Glass, taken as loot from a slick passing raid by the Thai side; and the league and League Cup won by French side Etoile FC in what was their first foray into Singapore football.
If a poor showing at the Asian Games was bad, the limp performance by a Lions team masquerading as three-time Asean champions at the AFF Suzuki Cup was disastrous.
Booted out in the group stages, both fans and belief deserted the Lions- and Singapore football.
Dwindling crowd numbers continued in the league early this year, with some fans livid at the Football Association of Singapore decision to disband the national team, while the technical staff led by coach, Radojko Avrmaovic, still stayed on board.
When Singapore was drawn to face old foes Malaysia in the second round of the Fifa World Cup qualifiers, it appeared as if the cosmos had conspired to provide an ideal setting for redemption.
Defeat to the most successful South-east Asian nation – 2009 Sea Games gold medalist and 2010 Suzuki Cup winners – in the last two years, would have seen Singapore football plummet to a whole new low in the current climate.
But, what a difference 180 minutes of football made.
It was not just the 6-4 aggregate victory over two legs, it was the manner of the Lions’ performances.
Avramovic’s charges roared at the Jalan Besar Stadium, showing guile and gumption to come back from a goofy goal conceded within 25 seconds and win 5-3.
And they danced on the Bukit Jalil green in the second leg, sliding effortlessly from defence to attack, pegging Malaysia back, finishing the game 1-1, as they waltzed into the third round of the World Cup qualifiers for the second consecutive time.
Belief has returned in full, and then some.
Facing China, Asian Cup winners Iraq, and Jordan in the next stage, there is genuine confidence that Singapore can negotiate the trio – all ranked at least 23 spots higher in the Fifa pecking order – and qualify for the final group stages for the first time in its history.
The fans who were buzzing in the terraces of Jalan Besar and Bukit Jalil now cannot wait to follow the Singapore entourage up north next year, as a Singapore team makes its return to the Malaysian Super League and Malaysia Cup.
Those two games have altered the climate of local football, changed its face, almost.
The forecast went from dark clouds with a possibility of a thunder storm, to sunny skies and rainbows everywhere you look.
The cosmos conspired to present a chance, the Lions took it, and now it is up to the powers that be in Singapore football to take baby-steps towards history, and maybe follow in the footsteps of Ferguson.