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Is SG YOG soccer team really that lousy?

Jp66

By Jp66,
in Football Channel

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Jp66

Jp66

5th Gear
(edited)

As above or is Zimbabwe team arrogant ???......

 

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/S...ory_564709.html

 

'5-0 Minimum'

Confident Zimbabwe football team boast of thrashing Singapore in opener

By Terrence Voon

 

The Zimbabwean boys' football team being greeted by their chef de mission Busi Chindove (right) upon their arrival at the YOG village yesterday. -- PHOTO: SPH-SYOGOC/KEVIN LIM

 

RIDING on the team bus with Zimbabwe's Youth Olympic Games football squad is like facing a pack of hungry reporters. The questions just keep coming.

 

How tall are the players from the Singapore football team? How much do iPhones cost here? And is it true that chewing gum is banned in Singapore?

 

For a good 40 minutes yesterday morning, the tables were turned on this reporter when he hitched a ride with the 15-year-olds from Changi Airport to the YOG Village at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

 

After a gruelling 11-hour flight from Johannesburg, the assumption was that most of the 18-member squad would be napping. At the very least, they should be bleary-eyed.

 

Wrong on both counts. The boys simply could not sit still, clambering over seats and pressing their faces against the bus windows for a closer view of landmarks like the Singapore Flyer and the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort.

 

Questions about local cuisine, the weather, shopping and the standard of Singapore football dominated discussions as the bus wound its way across the island.

 

Later, it was revealed that this was the first time that any of them had been outside of their country. Just 24 hours ago, most of them had never even been on a plane.

 

'Your country is beautiful,' said captain and top scorer Ackim Mpofu, his eyes locked on the sea and greenery off East Coast Park. 'And there are so many trees on the road. I've never seen anything like this before.'

 

These days, Zimbabwe - a landlocked country in southern Africa - is better known for its political and economic troubles than for its natural flora and fauna.

 

Their football story is just as underwhelming. Up till 2004, the Warriors - as the national football team are known back home - had not qualified for the African Cup of Nations.

 

The World Cup remains a distant dream and, just two weeks ago, the chief executive of their football association was suspended over match-fixing allegations.

 

But despite their lack of pedigree, the Zimbabwean boys are not short on confidence. After confirming that the Singapore players - whom they will meet in Friday's opening match - were not physically bigger than themselves, the boasts came thick and fast.

 

'If they're the same size as us, then we've already won,' said striker Mncedisi Gumede. Added playmaker Lucky Ndlela: 'We're going to win 5-0 - minimum.'

 

When informed that Singapore had beaten Tottenham Hotspur's youth side 3-2 in a friendly match, the boys were unimpressed.

 

Never mind that they have trained together for only six months, or that the 39 goals they racked up during their five warm-up games came against youth squads in the country's domestic league.

 

The Zimbabweans are here to win - though they do have more than just sports on their minds. Making new friends, checking out prices of branded sportswear and sampling local cuisine are on their YOG checklist.

 

And, if they do end up winning the competition, a handsome reward is in store for the boys back home.

 

'I can't say what it will be, but we will reward our athletes if they do well,' said coach Dumaza Dube. 'The aim is for our footballers to gain experience and groom them for our future World Cup and Olympic squads.'

 

Coming from a country with an unemployment rate of about 90 per cent, many of the boys are hoping the YOG will be their springboard for a lucrative future in professional football.

 

'We want to make Africa proud, especially after the bad World Cup for the African teams,' said midfielder Devylin Hencil. 'We're going to start by beating Singapore.'

Edited by Jp66
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Jp66

Jp66

5th Gear
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Their low valued Zimbabwean money is not going get them anything here in sgp that's for sure. :D

Maybe they decided to change their citizenship after YOG :D

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Kiario

Kiario

5th Gear

lousy or not, at least it is true blue singaporeans playing,

if lose, too bad,

if win, i know i will be more proud than when the table tennis team won the world championship, sorry bout this FT thing again, i know they help the sport but i truly feel nothing when the all-china girls won it for singapore.

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Jp66

Jp66

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[:/] Is this a world event? Only 6 countries participate?

I am more shocked (than surprised) that none of the ASEAN countries (except SG) is participating, what kind of ASEAN spirit is this [thumbsdown]

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Chiongster

Chiongster

Neutral Newbie

I am more shocked (than surprised) that none of the ASEAN countries (except SG) is participating, what kind of ASEAN spirit is this [thumbsdown]

 

 

Yes, this is truly shocking! And all the participating countries are not from famous soccer countries also!!! :blink:[bigcry] Man...at least give me a SG vs Msia, then maybe I will consider to go n watch mah... [inlove]

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Chilli_crab

Chilli_crab

2nd Gear

I can't believe only 6 teams are taking part, so decided to Google a bit more and found this CNA report

 

A quote:

 

"Unlike other team events like basketball and volleyball which require countries to undergo qualification processes, the participating football teams are hand-picked by their respective regional federations for the Games. "

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