Team-first mentality
Singapore's new national football head coach Bernd Stange got down to business right away at his first session with the players by wearing the same outfit as them. They will play against Myanmar and Laos next month.
By Sanjay Nair
The Straits Times
Friday, May 31, 2013
SINGAPORE - Rod Stewart's classic tune Purple Heather blared out as Bernd Stange came face to face with the Lions for the first time yesterday.
Singapore's new national coach picked the song to highlight the team-first mentality he expects from his players and staff.
During a 20-minute closed-door session before training, lyrics such as "If you will not go with me, I will never find another" accompanied clips of recent local football highlights such as last year's AFF Suzuki Cup triumph and the Cubs' goals at the Lion City Cup.
"It was a nice song, a nice atmosphere and I could see some young faces smiling - it's my way of bringing optimism to Singapore football," Stange told reporters.
The four-minute clip, which was preceded by a short pep talk from the 65-year-old German on the rules and targets for the coming months, left an impact on several players.
"You won't hear a song like that during a meeting in the last few years," a senior player quipped.
What Stange does share with his predecessor Raddy Avramovic is a way with words.
Goalkeeper Hassan Sunny, a Lions fixture since 2004, said: "With just a short talk, he inspired so much confidence.
"He said our world ranking is not where we are supposed to be and he has a plan for that."
Despite winning a record fourth ASEAN title, Singapore has fallen to 165 in the Fifa rankings - they were as high as 92 in 2006.
Singaporeans are hoping Stange can work his magic on the Lions like he did with Belarus. From 2007 to 2011, he took Europe's whipping boys to their highest ranking of 36 two years ago.
The wily veteran showed he meant business too. Dressed in the same kit as his charges, he sounded an ominous warning to the media scrum after fielding queries for nearly 10 minutes.
"I'll never speak to you for the next three years if you enter the pitch during training," said Stange, who was appointed earlier this month on a two-year contract, with an option of extending for another two.
And with that, the Saxony native began work with eight of the 23 players called up to play friendlies against Myanmar in Yangon and Laos in Vientiane on June 4 and June 7 respectively.
Surprise picks like Indra Sahdan Daud and Shariff Samat were unavailable owing to S-League fixtures, while a nine-strong LionsXII contingent, including captain Shahril Ishak, had a separate recovery session under fitness coach Aleksandar Bozenko, a day after their Malaysian Super League victory against PKNS.
Stange's booming voice could be heard across the empty stands as he oversaw the small group.
When Warriors FC striker Sufian Anuar blasted a ball out of the stadium, his coach joked: "You'll never get it back, yah."
His troops were on the ground minutes later, doing push-ups for not executing a set play properly.
"I know their faces now and soon, I'll get all their names right too," said the former East Germany coach who had asked one team official how to pronounce defender Faritz Hameed's name.
Also on the sidelines was former East German international Harald Irmscher, who was Stange's No. 2 in Belarus. While he has been spotted with the new Lions boss on S-League scouting trips, officials said he is just a "guest" and has no official role for now.
If Stange gets his names and tactics right, another Stewart classic, Some Guys Have All the Luck, might be heard at Jalan Besar one day.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.
Singapore's new national football head coach Bernd Stange got down to business right away at his first session with the players by wearing the same outfit as them. They will play against Myanmar and Laos next month.
By Sanjay Nair
The Straits Times
Friday, May 31, 2013
SINGAPORE - Rod Stewart's classic tune Purple Heather blared out as Bernd Stange came face to face with the Lions for the first time yesterday.
Singapore's new national coach picked the song to highlight the team-first mentality he expects from his players and staff.
During a 20-minute closed-door session before training, lyrics such as "If you will not go with me, I will never find another" accompanied clips of recent local football highlights such as last year's AFF Suzuki Cup triumph and the Cubs' goals at the Lion City Cup.
"It was a nice song, a nice atmosphere and I could see some young faces smiling - it's my way of bringing optimism to Singapore football," Stange told reporters.
The four-minute clip, which was preceded by a short pep talk from the 65-year-old German on the rules and targets for the coming months, left an impact on several players.
"You won't hear a song like that during a meeting in the last few years," a senior player quipped.
What Stange does share with his predecessor Raddy Avramovic is a way with words.
Goalkeeper Hassan Sunny, a Lions fixture since 2004, said: "With just a short talk, he inspired so much confidence.
"He said our world ranking is not where we are supposed to be and he has a plan for that."
Despite winning a record fourth ASEAN title, Singapore has fallen to 165 in the Fifa rankings - they were as high as 92 in 2006.
Singaporeans are hoping Stange can work his magic on the Lions like he did with Belarus. From 2007 to 2011, he took Europe's whipping boys to their highest ranking of 36 two years ago.
The wily veteran showed he meant business too. Dressed in the same kit as his charges, he sounded an ominous warning to the media scrum after fielding queries for nearly 10 minutes.
"I'll never speak to you for the next three years if you enter the pitch during training," said Stange, who was appointed earlier this month on a two-year contract, with an option of extending for another two.
And with that, the Saxony native began work with eight of the 23 players called up to play friendlies against Myanmar in Yangon and Laos in Vientiane on June 4 and June 7 respectively.
Surprise picks like Indra Sahdan Daud and Shariff Samat were unavailable owing to S-League fixtures, while a nine-strong LionsXII contingent, including captain Shahril Ishak, had a separate recovery session under fitness coach Aleksandar Bozenko, a day after their Malaysian Super League victory against PKNS.
Stange's booming voice could be heard across the empty stands as he oversaw the small group.
When Warriors FC striker Sufian Anuar blasted a ball out of the stadium, his coach joked: "You'll never get it back, yah."
His troops were on the ground minutes later, doing push-ups for not executing a set play properly.
"I know their faces now and soon, I'll get all their names right too," said the former East Germany coach who had asked one team official how to pronounce defender Faritz Hameed's name.
Also on the sidelines was former East German international Harald Irmscher, who was Stange's No. 2 in Belarus. While he has been spotted with the new Lions boss on S-League scouting trips, officials said he is just a "guest" and has no official role for now.
If Stange gets his names and tactics right, another Stewart classic, Some Guys Have All the Luck, might be heard at Jalan Besar one day.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.
