Fandi vows to wow the fans

With the likes of Fandi Ahmad and Noh Alam Shah taking charge of the Singapore Selection side in the Sultan of Selangor's Cup at the National Stadium this Saturday, an evening of entertaining football awaits.

This year's competition will kick off with a new "Singapore-Selangor Schools Challenge Cup" match between the Under-16 teams of the Singapore Sports School and a Selangor combined schools team.

This will be followed by a clash between the Singapore Veterans and Selangor Veterans, before the showcase match between the Singapore Selection and Selangor Selection.

Fandi is the coach of Singapore Selection, while Alam Shah has been appointed team manager.

Said Teo Hock Seng, co-chairman of the competition's organising committee: "Both (Fandi and Alam Shah) scored a lot of goals for Singapore.

"Now they're together on the bench as coaches, we're going to trust them that our team will score as many goals as possible.

"I think in every position, we have a solid player, and I think the players' willingness to play is very high.

"You want to see (goals)? I want to see. That is the key to make things interesting for the Cup."

The 21-man Singapore Selection side, made up mostly of top local players, such as Hariss Harun of Home United and Khairul Amri of Tampines Rovers, are beefed up with three foreign S.League players - Yasutaka Yanagi, Kento Nagasaki (both from Albirex Niigata) and Stipe Plazibat (Home United).

Singapore's favourite footballing son, Fandi, pointed to this season's tight championship race as a sign of the quality at his disposal.

The 54-year-old former FC Groningen striker said: "Definitely, we want to see attacking football and we need to score goals.

"We also want to entertain fans, and demonstrate some skills against the Malaysians.

"This year, watching the S.League, it has been very competitive with Warriors, Home, and Albirex being the strongest.

"I think it will be a very good game and we will be going for a win."

Alam Shah, who feels honoured to be the team manager, hopes the players will display the same fire as he used to when donning the Singapore national team jersey from 2001 to 2010.

The 36-year-old said: "After a year of retirement, this is a good role for me to be in.

"The best thing is when I called the players (for the match), they did not say no. They want to play.

"This ignited the fire in me again. I hope during the game they'll show fire like how I did in the past."

Midfielder Shahril Ishak, enjoying a second lease of life in the S.League with Warriors FC this season, is hoping for strong home support.

The 33-year-old national team captain said: "I'm glad to be part of the Cup, and to be part of the Singapore Selection.

"I hope we will do our best and the fans would come in numbers to the stadium, supporting us."

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SINGAPORE SELECTION

• Goalkeepers: Hassan Sunny (Home United), Zaiful Nizam (Balestier Khalsa)
• Defenders: Ho Wai Loon (Warriors FC), Irfan Fandi (Home), Afiq Yunos (Home), Faritz Abdul Hameed (Geylang International), Shakir Hamzah (Tampines Rovers), Zulfahmi Arifin (Hougang United), Yasutaka Yanagi (Albirex Niigata)
• Midfielders: Hariss Harun (Home), Kento Nagasaki (Albirex), Hami Syahin (Garena Young Lions), Raihan Rahman (Balestier), Shahril Ishak (Warriors), Yasir Hanapi (Tampines)
• Forwards: Taufik Suparno (Young Lions), Khairul Amri (Tampines), Khairul Nizam (Home), Faris Ramli (Home), Gabriel Quak (Geylang), Stipe Plazibat (Home)

TICKET DETAILS

• Tickets for the match are priced at $8 for adults and $3 for concession holders, excluding ticketing fees.
• Concession tickets are applicable to students aged 16 and below, and senior citizens aged 60 and above. Children aged four and above must purchase a ticket for admission.
• Infants in arms and children under four years of age may be admitted free of charge, provided they do not occupy a seat.
• Tickets are available at www.sportshubtix.com, SportsHub 
Box Office, SingPost outlets 
and the Sports Hub hotline 
(+65 3158 7888).