Football (or soccer as the Americans call it). It's called the Beautiful Game. It's the world's most popular game. The common language that many countries, in war and peace, speak. The emotions that surround the game can never be truly explained by the brains of scientists. Football, from the Sunday League amateur teams to the world superstars that showcase their skills week in, week out, will always be compared to sex.
What is my role here? Well, the name says it all. I have always been captivated by football and how much impact it has to all football-loving fans in their lives. Therefore, I have decided to dip my feet into the waters of football commentary and contribute my thoughts in words of how I feel about the Beautiful Game.
First and foremost, I'm a football supporter in Singapore who was exposed to football via the days of the Malaysia Cup. I have to thank my father for the yesteryears of Singapore football (I'm an 80s kid). I remembered the Saturday games where the Singapore national team battled the Malaysian states back in the Malaysia Cup days where the whole of Singapore stops and fill the dearly departed Old Lady of Kallang, the National Stadium to the brim as we watched our heroes representing the Lion City against the hated Malaysian states. Selangor, Kedah, Pahang, Johor, Sarawak were the biggest rivals. In the Malaysia Cup, Singapore fans were united in arms in showing our support for the national team week in, week out. For the older fans, names like Quah Kim Song, Dollah Kassim were the idols. For those around my time, we were bedazzled by our famous idol Fandi Ahmad, mesmerised by the skills of Malek Awab and THAT bicycle kick of V. Sundramoorthy against the Malaysia Cup whipping boys, Brunei.
When we were told to leave the Malaysia Cup after winning the Double in 1994, the country's ferocious support slowly waned as FAS decided to form Singapore's first professional league, the S-League to replace the semi-professional FAS Premier League where clubs like Geylang International, the original foreign clubs from Australia Perth Kangaroos & Darwin Cubs formed the semi-pro league from 1988 to 1995. Teams like Geylang United, Police FC, SAFFC, Balestier Central & Woodlands Wellington became the pioneers of the new league. I then shifted my interest to my local team, the underdogs called Sembawang Rangers FC. The Stallions, the nickname for the Rangers were the underrated team whose rivalry with Woodlands Wellington was fiesty and well-known. The Northern Derby as it was called really showed how much passion football fans in Singapore were.
At the same time, the influx of European football came to our shores. With history repeating itself, Singapore football fans were once again being colonise by our former colonist the British. They sold us the English clubs of Nottingham Forest, Derby County, Ipswich Town, Liverpool, Manchester United and that was the tsunami that began where the local papers focused more on the English league, contributing to the lucrative publicity to the English clubs. The local football slowly went the way of the buffalo where fast forward to today, the crowds are shrinking, the joke of not having a 60000-capacity national stadium and the national team having Foreign Talents players. And the S-League of 1996 and today is at two different ends of the axis.
Anyway, I will be blogging down my opinions about football in general and giving my two cents. In short, hence the title. A football pundit wannabe. But hey, everyone loves opinions when it comes to football. It makes a good banter and debate amongst football fans all over the world.
In case you are wondering, I'm a Manchester City fan. Switched allegiance from Manchester United back in 1998 after being dilusional of the gloryhunting fans of the Red Devils. You may say I'm a gloryhunter as well seeing that now City is the richest club in the world. But hey, it's your opinion and I love a good banter and debate. My future's wife a United fan for your info.
Anyway, I will post my part-biased, part-pundit opinions on everything of football. The news, the rumours, the rivalries. I am relishing the opportunities to speak my mind and be another amateur pundit to join the pundits all over the world.
I hope you guys will enjoy my posts and keep popping by to read my point of views.
Peace out.
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