“It’s the explosion of emotions when you know you have just given someone a Panna—that move of tricking a defender to pass the ball deftly through them unguarded. That’s the beauty of the moment. When a celebratory crowd joins you on the court, loudly and passionately, it really is an extraordinary moment and the greatest feeling ever!”
“Coach Dennis Amato has always believed in my ability. This is not the first time that he has been trying to get me onboard his team. With great privilege, he has once again approached me personally. However, as my agent was already representing me in negotiating with two of the League-1 teams, I did not agree right away. Part of me knew that I have always wanted to play at the highest level but the other part, I would love to repay the trust that coach Dennis had in me.”
“Many people also warned me there will not be many Forrest Lis. But if you don’t even start the concept somewhere and still continue in the way we’re running the league, the standard of Singapore football will remain the way it is – where each club is dependent on the subsidy given by the government. It’s usually a situation where you give me $800k and I try my best to get some money from either jackpot machines or a sponsor or I try to put in some money, if at all.”
“I hope to see the scouting net cast wider as I know a lot of talented players that fall under the radar as the path is not immediately clear how they can get noticed; they drop out from the sport from this lack of support and structure”
Trials are not very widely publicised and the increase in talent numbers can only be a positive effect for the game as a whole here”
“There have been a change in the competition format since 2012 where it became a knockout stages from second round onwards, so there will always be room for plenty of surprises, for example Egypt eliminated Italy in 2016 and Colombia sent Iran packing in 2012. Afterall, futsal is a very dynamic game with a lot of small details. And one small detail is capable of changing a game.”
“After my international playing days, I have picked up foot volley during one of my vacations at the beach and I have been playing the sport ever since. However, I realised that there’re actually many female footballers who also love and play the game very well. Unfortunately, there is no proper platform or an UAE Women’s Beach Soccer Team in the country. So that’s when I thought perhaps I could get more involved in the country’s beach soccer scene and that could motivate more women footballers to come forward to get involved”
“But of course the biggest factor is the parents’ mindset and that is indeed not easy to change. During my time, there was a lot of good Chinese players at school level but they never pursued a professional career because their parents don’t allow them to – I think this is an issue that still exists today.”
“It seems to fit well on the back of various jerseys with the players’ names sitting just below the number as compared to the traditional style we see in popular leagues like the EPL, LaLiga or the Serie A. Instead, we have a huge heat pressed logo of the league’s principal sponsor – AIA”
“However, underneath all those little achievements, I did have many challenges playing in different environment and adapting to different cultures. Over the years, I think I have come out stronger and more committed. I started to value and appreciate what I have worked hard for.”
“Don’t forget all matches will be played at a centralised playing ground. Unlike the previous editions where the home and away matches will be played, there will not be any home advantages for the “home” team. Hence, there could potentially be some surprises,” Benjamin Tan, Thai League deputy CEO & Director of club licensing sharing his thoughts with Junpiter Futbol.
“Let’s look at the bright side of playing against all these big teams. There are so much to gain especially for the younger players. I told them how fortunate they are to be able to play against the best in Asia at their age. The experience that they gained from playing in such matches will definitely improve their game! So I told the younger boys, let’s all go out do our best and enjoy the moments”
