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Abbas Saad slams state of Singapore football

In Part 2 of our interview with Abbas, he speaks about life in Malaysia, the LionsXII and the state of Singapore football.

Abbas Saad still keeps in contact with former teammates like Fandi Ahmad (Photo courtesy of Abbas Saad)
Abbas Saad still keeps in contact with former teammates like Fandi Ahmad (Photo courtesy of Abbas Saad)

The LionsXII may be top of the Malaysian Super League, but for Abbas Saad, that's still not good enough.

In fact, he believes Singapore football has still got a long way to go and has gone backwards from the days he and his team-mates Fandi Ahmad, Malek Awak and V Sundramoorthy used to rule the Kallang stadium.

For one, if the former Singapore playmaker has his way, the LionsXII will be playing with more flair.

"There are too many defensive-minded plays. Singapore fans will want more flair, more goals and more creativity," he explains. "Similar to the way Sundram plays," he adds cheekily.

He may have a point. Despite the LionsXII leading the title chase, their goal difference is a mere +11 . Second-placed Kelantan has a goal difference of +15, while having three games in hand.

However, Abbas was also quick to praise what LionsXII coach and former team-mate V. Sundramoorthy has been able to achieve with limited resources.

Calling the LionsXII "one of the best teams in the Malaysian Super League", the former Australia international rubbished Terengganu coach Mat Zan Mat Aris' recent assertion that the LionsXII will not win the title as "absolute crap".

"The LionsXII are hard to beat, hardworking and well-organised," said Abbas.

Turning to the state of national team, he said current coach Radojko Avramovic has done "a tremendous job with the resources he has" but that more should be done to spot, develop and groom future stars.

"A lot of the players in the national team are on the wrong side of 30, but are the younger players good enough to step up? So I won't blame the coach. I blame the development side of it," he said bluntly.

In the latest FIFA rankings released on Wednesday, Singapore slipped to 158th position, the lowest it has ever hit. The Lions were ranked 152nd when the rankings were last released in November.

This follows the team's dismal performance in the third-round World Cup qualifiers where they lost all six games against Jordan, Iraq and China.

To add insult to injury, Singapore have also fallen behind South-east Asian rivals Vietnam (97th), Thailand (141st), the Philippines (148th), Indonesia (151st) and Malaysia (156th).

The former playmaker also slammed the S.League. "There's not enough excitement. Look at the foreign players. Are they good enough? I don't think so."

While he agrees with what S.League CEO Lim Chin is trying to do by reviving interest in the league and boost attendance figures, he also said he may be fighting a losing battle.

"The S.League has teams in different parts of Singapore playing against each other, but in the MSL, you are playing against the enemy," he said, explaining why the LionsXII matches at the Jalan Besar Stadium are almost always full-house affairs.

"And you can't beat the history of the Malaysian league, which is one of the oldest in the region."

If the youthful-looking 43-year-old sounds like a pundit, it is because he is one.

Now based mostly in Kuala Lumpur, the affable Australian lends his opinion on all things football as an in-house pundit on SuperSport channel on Malaysian TV network, Astro. He is also a familiar face on SingTel mio Stadium's football magazine show, "Tiger It's Your Shout".

The father of two boys Mohammed Ali, 10 and Malek, eight -- named after former teammate and his best friend here Malek Awab -- also coaches the football team of Garden International School, where his sons study.

While the former party-boy and football pin-up admits he is enjoying life in the Malaysian capital, Abbas says Singapore is never far from his heart

Now a pundit, Abbas Saad (holding ball) played for S'pore in the 1990s (Photo courtesy of Abbas Saad)
Now a pundit, Abbas Saad (holding ball) played for S'pore in the 1990s (Photo courtesy of Abbas Saad)

When he is not watching football here, Abbas will be in touch former teammates such as Malek, Fandi Ahmad, and David Lee.

"I'm always on the phone with them," he says with a laugh.

"Given a chance, I would love to come back to Singapore," he said, with clear longing in his eyes.

Read Part 1 here: Michal Vana said sorry to me: Abbas Saad