Selecao Put Three Past Gutsy Singapore

Ronaldinho striking his free kick as Juma'at Jantan (back) watches (PICTURE: Gan Meng Yeow)

Basil Yeo
basil@kallangroar.com

THE Brazil Olympic Team managed a 3-0 victory over a Singapore Selection side in lead of their preparations for the upcoming Beijing Summer Olympic Games in August.

The 33 650-strong crowd turned up in a mixture of red and yellow shirts. Singaporeans were certainly not deterred away by the high ticket prices, and most came to see stars like Ronaldinho, Alexandre Pato (both A.C. Milan), and Anderson (Manchester United) strut their stuff on the legendary pitch, amidst a pop-star reception for the undisputed ‘Kings of Samba’.

But it was Diego of Werder Bremen who proved to be the biggest danger for the Singapore Selection, as he provided the most dangerous passes and runs, even scoring the first goal.

The Selection side, however, put up a gutsy performance against the future stars of the world football scene, showing never-before-seen courage and determination which enabled them to manage well against the five-time World Cup winners on several occasions.

Brazilian coach Dunga, captain of the 1994 World Cup winning side, fielded a midfield-oriented 4-5-1 formation, placing 19-year-old Alexandre Pato as the focal point of attack, supported by his club colleague and Olympic captain Ronaldinho, Diego, Hernanes and Anderson, while Lucas provided ample cover in the defensive midfield position. Marcelo and Rafinha took up their usual place on the flanks, while Alex Silva and Fluminese stopper Thiago Silva formed the centre in front of Renan.

On the other side of the coin, Singapore national team head coach Radojko Avramović opted for his usual 4-4-2, with Aleksandar Duric in front and national captain Indra Sahdan playing deep behind him, Shahril Ishak and Ridhuan Muhd on the flanks, and Mustafic Fahrudin and John Wilkinson in the centre of midfield. Daniel Bennett led the defence from the core with Baihakki Khaizan, with Juma’at Jantan in left-back and Home United’s Valery Hiek played in an unusual right-back slot. Hassan Sunny was handed the starting gloves in this exhibition match.

The Singapore Selection started off the game well, taking the first shot on goal as early as the 2nd minute, from Ridhuan Muhd’s head as he connected with Hassan Sunny’s monster free kick from Alexandre Pato’s offside.

However, Brazil struck back with two shots on target from Diego and Pato respectively, but both were handled easily by Hassan Sunny, who has received much praise for his recent exploit against Saudi Arabia.

In the 19th minute, Aleksandar Duric was pulled down in the box by Alex Silva but the referee waved play on amidst calls for penalty from the Singapore players, but Brazil recovered quickly enough for Ronaldinho to play a backheel to Diego, who wasted no time in placing his shot well into the bottom left corner where Hassan Sunny failed to reach, opening the scoring for Brazil.

Seven minutes later, Diego returned the favour by setting up Ronaldinho’s goal. Diego’s initial shot had been stopped by the Singapore defence but failed to be cleared away quickly, almost handing the former Barcelona star an easy tap-in from close range.

Alexandre Pato’s chested down volley forced a stellar save from Hassan Sunny in the 38th minute.

Despite the Brazilian domination in the first half, the Singapore Selection made the best out of their time with the ball, as John Wilkinson and Juma’at Jantan showed more creativity and performed better in attack than their peers. Towards the end of the half, Mustafic Fahrudin picked up a loose ball from 30-yards out and attempted a long-range strike, but was way off-target.

Several changes were made for both sides in the second half, most notably in goal for Singapore as Lionel Lewis took Hassan Sunny’s place in-between the posts, Fazrul Nawaz and Khairul Amri came on for Ridhuan Muhd and Indra Sahdan respectively, while Kenji Arai replaced Baihakki Khaizan alongside Daniel Bennett, Avramović opting for the tested and proven SAFFC centreback duo.

The South Americans made three changes, with Thiago Silva making way for Breno Borges, Rafael Sóbis coming on for Alexandre Pato and Thiago Neves replacing Diego.

Real Madrid’s 20-year-old wingback Marcelo had the first real chance of the second half in the 54th minute, picking up the ball on the edge of the box and managing to chip over Lionel Lewis, but his shot bounced shy of the left post.

But the Singapore Selection struck back twice in quick succession, as Fazrul Nawaz collected a long pass on the left-wing, slotting the ball to Juma’at Jantan, who closed in on goal and fired a deadly shot which stung Renan’s palms and rebounded to John Wilkinson, who hit hard and wide with his first touch.

It was all Singapore for the next few minutes, when Qiu Li came on for Aleksandar Duric and provided even more creativity in the field. Shahril Ishak picked up the ball on the right and played it to Valery Hiek, who shot it wide from the edge of the box.

The crowd did not miss their opportunity to snap away with their cameras as Ronaldinho stepped up in an attempt to recreate his famous free kicks. Mustafic Fahrudin had committed a foul on Ramires around the 30-yard mark earlier, but Lionel Lewis parried the two-time World Player of the Year’s low driving shot with ease.

Chinese-born Qiu Li came on for Aleksandar Duric in the 58th minute, and made a big impact as he added valuable physical presence to the Singapore Selection, challenging the Brazilians. Ten minutes after coming on, he forced a corner from Renan, stinging a shot into the top, and won another corner late in the game as he intercepted Breno’s inward pass to Alex Silva in the Brazilian penalty box, but failed to play the ball as he lost out to Breno’s rather desperate sliding clearance.

Ramires, flown in as a replacement for the injured Robinho, came on for Anderson, and almost squared the ball to an oncoming Rafael Sóbis, but Lionel Lewis came off his line early as Kenji Arai provided cover for Daniel Bennett to sweep the ball up from the goal-line, and play the ball to Juma’at Jantan.

Lionel Lewis had yet another chance to prove his worth as he managed a confidence-boosting hand to Thiago Neves’ brilliant shot, palming the ball away. From the resulting attack, Alex Silva got his heel up to the ball from Lucas’ high pass, but it ended up safe in a Lionel’s palms.

On the 81-minute mark however, Lionel was beaten by an excellent move from Thiago Neves. The Fluminese midfielder picked up the ball on the right and closed in on goal, feinting Juma’at Jantan to slice a cross out of Lionel Lewis’ reach, providing an all-too-easy close-range header for Manchester City new boy Jô.

The first name to go into referee Abdul Malik Bashir’s books was Rafinha, who was flashed a yellow for arguing against a handball offence, while Slovakian Miroslav Latiak was next two minutes later, for lunging down at a Brazilian defender in the middle of the park.

However, the biggest tempers flared in the 90th minute when Alex Silva was sent off for apparently elbowing Qiu Li in the face, with the latter earning a dubious yellow card. Qiu Li was allowed to leave the pitch for treatment, but the referee ignored his requests to return to the pitch for almost two minutes before he finally ended the game in a 0-3 win for the visitors, as the crowd showed their appreciation to both sides for having played an exciting final game for the Grand Old Dame of Kallang... or was it?



Minute-by-Minute

1st Half

Kickoff: 2001

1' Singapore kicks off the game.
1' Alexandre Pato is flagged offside by the linesman.
2' Muhammad Ridhuan's header from Hassan Sunny's free kick is on target, but caught by Renan.
3' Hassan Sunny catches Diego's overhead kick with ease.
4' Alexandre Pato is flagged offside once again.
7' Ridhuan Muhammad is flagged offside by the linesman.
14' Alexandre Pato manages a shot on target which is saved by Hassan Sunny!
18' Diego's shot is blocked by Daniel Bennett.
19' Aleksandar Duric is pulled down by Alex Silva amongst shouts for penalty but the referee waves play on!
20' Hernanes' shot is blocked by the feet of Daniel Bennett.
20' GOAL! Diego picks up Ronaldinho's backheel pass and fires a low driving shot into the bottom left corner.
27' GOAL! Ronaldinho scores an easy tap-in after the defence fumbles with Diego's shot.
38' Aleksandar Duric is flagged offside by the linesman.
40' Alexandre Pato chests down the ball and fires a lethal volley at Hassan Sunny, who saves it convincingly.
44' Shahril Ishak's shot is deflected by Lucas' feet.
44' Alexandre Pato is flagged offside by the linesman.
45' Mustafic Fahrudin takes a shot from 30-yards out but it sails high over the bar.
45' The fourth official indicates an added time of 1 minute in the first half.
46' Anderson fires his shot wide and way over the bar.
46' Half-time!

HT: 2048


2nd Half

Kickoff: 2108

46' Substitution: Singapore Selection - 18. Lionel Lewis for 1. Hassan Sunny, 8. Fazrul Nawaz for 2. Ridhuan Muhd, 24. Kenji Arai for 3. Baihakki Khaizan, 19. Khairul Amri for 10. Indra Sahdan
46' Substitution: Brazil Olympic Team - 14. Breno for 4. Thiago Silva, 17. Rafael Sóbis for 9. Alexandre Pato, 16. Thiago Neves for 11. Diego
46' Brazil kicks off the second half.
54' Marcelo is played on by Rafael Sóbis and chips the ball over Lionel Lewis but his shot misses the target.
56' Juma'at Jantan fires a deadly shot on target which Renan palms out but John Wilkinson manages to hit the rebound powerfully, though he is off target.
57' Substitution: Singapore Selection - 11. Qiu Li for 9. Aleksandar Duric
59' Shahril Ishak is flagged offside by the linesman.
61' Substitution: Brazil Olympic Team - 15. Ramires for 8. Anderson
62' Valery Hiek attempts a shot on the edge of the box but it is off target.
64' Ronaldinho's low driving free kick is parried by Lionel Lewis.
65' Rafael Sóbis' shot is deflected off Daniel Bennett's feet.
66' Ramires falls with a challenge from Valery Hiek and requires medical attention.
68' Qiu Li fires a shot from the edge of the box which forces Renan to give a corner.
68' Substitution: Singapore Selection - 12. Miroslav Latiak for 17. Shahril Ishak
68' Substitution: Brazil Olympic Team - 13. Ilsinho for 6. Marcelo
68' Ilsinho is hacked down by Miroslav Latiak and requires medical treatment.
69' Ramires forces a goal line clearance from Daniel Bennett.
70' Substitution: Brazil Olympic Team - 18. Jô for 5. Hernanes
73' Thiago Neves' shot forces a very good tip away by Lionel Lewis.
74' Lionel Lewis is confident with Alex Silva's backheel and catches it hands on.
75' Substitution: Singapore Selection - 4. Isa Halim for 14. John Wilkinson
78' Fazrul Nawaz attempts a shot from the wing but is off target.
81' GOAL! Thiago Neves dribbles in close from the right wing, beats Juma'at Jantan and crosses to Jô, who heads it in from close range.
83' Rafinha is shown a yellow card for arguing with the referee against a handball decision.
84' Miroslav Latiak for yellow card for pulling down a Brazilian defender.
90' The fourth official indicates an added time of 3 minutes in the second half.
90' Alex Silva is shown a straight red for elbowing Qiu Li.
90' Qiu Li is shown a yellow card for arguing with Alex Silva and requests treatment, but he does not make it back onto the pitch as the referee ignores his requests from the sidelines.
91' Khairul Amri is flagged offside by the linesman.
93' Full-time!

FT: 2157