Singapore striker Aleksandar Duric
talks about Azkals & Philippine football
by rick olivares
“We didn’t know anything about your
team” said Singapore’s Aleksandar Duric about the Philippine Men’s Football
National Team that snuck under the radar during the 2010 Suzuki Cup.
In the group stages of that
tournament, the Philippines drew 1-1 with Singapore when Chris Greatwich
cancelled out Duric’s early strike with a late goal. And one match later, the
Filipinos later collected its biggest win of its footballing history when it
shocked defending champions Vietnam 2-0 propelling the game to dizzying heights
back in the Philippines.
The Azkals advanced to the semis where
it ran out of steam against Indonesia while Singapore never got out of the
group stages of the biennial tournament.
The Lions, as Singapore’s team is
nicknamed, gained a measure of revenge when they defeated the Azkals, 2-0, in a
friendly in late 2011 at the Jalan Besar Stadium. Duric scored the second of
his country’s goals.
Duric’s Filipina maid would tell
stories about the growth of football in the Philippines. “It was amazing to
hear her stories,” expressed the Lions’ striker. “It’s good for the game and
competition around the region. The Philippines’ success will force everyone to
evaluate where they are. During that friendly, I asked her if she would cheer
for me and Singapore and she said she loved my family but she only supported
the Philippines. After the game, she said that the Filipinos in her section
talked about me. ‘You’re probably the most famous Singaporean in the
Philippines outside Lee Kuan Yew.’ I had a laugh and I take that as a compliment.
Your national team taught not just us in Singapore but everyone else in the
region to respect you,” pointed out Duric.
He admitted to following not only the
Azkals but also the UFL and the PBA through the internet. “The passion being
shown for sports is good. I do not like politics as I feel it is divisive.
Sports can be a unifying factor when played the right way.”
Duric, the Straits Times’ Fabius Chen,
and ESPN Star’s Gabriel Tan admitted to me that the Singaporean S League is
going thrown some difficult times as attendance has greatly dwindled. During
its formation in the 1990s, the stadia around the small island state were
packed with fans. Nowadays, they are lucky to see a couple of hundred faces.
The glamour of European football,
staid matches, on-field brawls, the lack of a promotion-relegation system and
the youth moving away from sports to other pursuits like online gaming, the
internet and the such have eroded support for the clubs. The interest is there
for the national team but that is a finicky statement.
When English side Liverpool came over
for an exhibition match in 2009, over 65,000 fans packed the old Kallang
National Stadium. However the great majority wore Liverpool kits. “This is just
so wrong,” Duric recounted his wife’s words to him upon seeing he massive
crowd. “The crowd also cheered for us but we were like visitors in our own
stadium.”
In an article for CNN in 2010, John Davidson
interviewed sponsorship
expert Kenny Hau, regional business director of the marketing agency ESP, who
said that the rise of the English Premier League and Singapore’s economic
prosperity have combined to hurt the S-League.
“The advent of the pay-TV
business model, in conjunction with increased affluence and sophistication of
Singaporeans, has contributed to a decline in interest in local football,” said
Huang. “Singaporeans now enjoy numerous lifestyle and entertainment choices
that were not available even 15 to 20 years ago and any football fix they may
have will be fully met in the air-conditioning of their living rooms or pubs by
viewing the global superstars that are Premier League players and their
globally recognized club brands.”
The participation of UFL side Loyola
in the 2012 RHB Singapore Cup, Duric believes, is a masterstroke for the
organizers. The fact the best attended matches of the tournament so far have
been the matches by Loyola have not been lost on him. Duric even watched the
first round match between the Sparks and Geylang United in the bleachers
section of the Jalan Besar Stadium. For the first leg match of the
quarterfinals between Myanmar’s Kanbawza and Loyola, Duric watched the game
from his home.
However, the current Tampines Rovers
striker also noted that the success not just of Loyola but also foreign teams
in the tournament is cause for concern. “You saw the passion of the Myanmar
fans.” They watch in huge numbers. While when Geylang played Loyola, Geylang
was lucky to even have 50 supporters in the crowd.”
The current problems of the S League
is something that Loyola’s Randy Roxas said bears watching. Said Roxas, “What
could give problems to the S League is something that could later hurt the UFL.
We should learn from them.”
Ironically, the boot is on the other
foot now. “The play is much better,” Duric observed of Loyola. “They are
playing disciplined football. Clubs in Singapore should also learn from them.
Even the league should learn from what is being done right in the Philippines.”
Ironically, the boot is on the other foot now. “The play is much better,” Duric observed of Loyola. “They are playing disciplined football. Clubs in Singapore should also learn from them. Even the league should learn from what is being done right in the Philippines.” - wow. I cant believe we are getting this kind of recognition in football today. Kudos to UFL, Kudos to PFF and kudos to all pinoy football fans
ReplyDelete