SINGAPORE, 21 AUGUST 2018: Former Singapore international Noh Alam Shah is hungry to taste success in the Sultan of Selangor’s (SOS) Cup for a second consecutive year as he reprises his role of Team Manager for this year’s edition.

 

The 37-year-old was part of the backroom staff last year as Fandi Ahmad led the Singapore Selection to a 3-2 victory over their Selangor counterparts at the National Stadium, which hosted the SOS Cup for the first time.

 

This year, the 17th edition of the annual friendly competition will return to Shah Alam Stadium and Alam Shah is relishing the trip to the 80,372-capacity venue.

 

“It’s an honour for me to be Team Manager again, especially as it’s my second year and I am looking forward to it because it will be a much larger crowd this time,” the 80-cap ex-striker told the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) website.

 

“As for my role, I will be doing a lot of liaising with the FAS officials on the administrative end and making sure everything goes smoothly as planned, so the technical staff don’t have any issues.

 

“Apart from that, I will also be contributing in training sessions, so they can expect a lot from me on and off the field.”

 

The Singapore Selection squad will be headed by Balestier Khalsa FC Head Coach Marko Kraljevic for the first time, with the match set to kick off at 9pm on 25 August, Saturday.

 

A 21-man squad has been selected, with the players coming from across six different Great Eastern-Hyundai Singapore Premier League (SPL) clubs. Fourteen of them will be involved in the SOS Cup for the first time, while there are nine Under-23 players, in line with the SPL’s focus on youth development this season and Alam Shah is confident they can rise to the challenge.

 

“The SPL has established the U-23 rules and it’s good that the Coach has followed suit,” he said. “The younger ones are the ones I am looking forward to working with; they are the future of Singapore football, so (helping to) establish them is our main priority.

 

“They have no reason not to rise to (the occasion) if they want to become established players; it’s also part of my job to let them know what to expect. They will be playing in front of a 70,000 to 80,000-strong crowd and I will help them, and the experienced players will also offer their support.”

 

Albirex Niigata FC (S) and Singapore international midfielder Adam Swandi (second from left in image above) is also relishing the opportunity to play in the SOS Cup for the first time, describing it as an “honour”, as the Singapore Selection gun for a third straight triumph.

 

“It’s a very prestigious match and I bet all the players and coaches will treat it like a final even though it’s a friendly,” the 22-year-old said.

 

“Going to play at Shah Alam is a big thing for me as a player and I hope it’s going to be a memorable one.

 

“I am looking forward to winning the Cup, that’s on everybody’s minds; we will be going up and looking to play as one… I think the players named in the squad are really good and deserving, and I think we will be able to retain the title.”

 

Winning the 2018 edition will also see Singapore edge ahead of Selangor in the all-time trophy count, with each side having won the SOS Cup eight times and Alam Shah is fired up for the clash.

 

“Of course, I never go inside the field and say we will lose,” he smiled. “We will play an attacking brand of football and we do want to have a pleasant ride back home, so having the trophy with us for that trip will be great!”

 

Singapore Selection

S/N	Name	DOB	Pos	Club
1	Zaiful Nizam	24 Jul 1987	GK	Balestier Khalsa FC
2	Syazwan Buhari	22 Sep 1992	GK	Tampines Rovers FC
3	Fadli Kamis	07 Nov 1992	DF	Balestier Khalsa FC
4	Shaqi Sulaiman	11 Oct 1998	DF	Balestier Khalsa FC
5	Emmeric Ong	25 Jan 1991	DF	Warriors FC
6	Ho Wai Loon	20 Aug 1993	DF	Warriors FC
7	Kento Fukuda	15 May 1990	DF	Warriors FC
8	Irfan Najeeb	31 Jul 1999	DF	Tampines Rovers FC
9	Wataru Murofushi	13 Jun 1995	MF	Albirex Niigata FC (S)
10	Hafiz Sulaiman	10 Oct 1995	MF	Warriors FC
11	Hafiz Sujad	01 Nov 1990	MF	Tampines Rovers FC
12	Hami Syahin	16 Dec 1998	MF	Young Lions
13	Huzaifah Aziz	27 Jun 1994	MF	Balestier Khalsa FC
14	Hazzuwan Halim	02 Feb 1994	MF	Balestier Khalsa FC
15	Zulfadhmi Suzliman	10 Feb 1996	MF	Tampines Rovers FC
16	Ryutaro Megumi	29 Jun 1993	MF	Tampines Rovers FC
17	Iqbal Hussain	06 Jun 1993	MF	Hougang United FC
18	Yasir Hanapi	21 Jun 1989	MF	Tampines Rovers FC
19	Zulqarnaen Suzliman	29 Mar 1998	MF	Young Lions
20	Adam Swandi	12 Jan 1996	MF	Albirex Niigata FC (S)
21	Shuhei Hoshino	19 Dec 1995	FW	Albirex Niigata FC (S)

 

Singapore Veterans team

S/N	Name	Age	Pos
1	Rezal Hassan	43	GK
2	Shahri Rahim	54	GK
3	Aide Iskandar	43	DF
4	E. Manimohan	50	DF
5	Idham Riduan	58	DF
6	Ishak Saad	57	DF
7	Razali Saad	54	DF
8	Zulkarnaen Zainal	45	DF
9	Fahmie Abdullah	44	MF
10	Kamalruzaman Zainal	55	MF
11	Malek Awab	57	MF
12	Nazri Nasir	47	MF
13	Rafi Ali	46	MF
14	Samawira Basri	46	MF
15	Syed Faruk	51	MF
16	Yahya Mandon	55	MF
17	Dalis Supait	47	FW
18	Fandi Ahmad	56	FW
19	Nahar Daud	49	FW
20	Steven Tan	48	FW
21	Tay Peng Kee	57	FW

 

Singapore Under-16 Selection Team

S/N	Name	DOB	Pos	School
1	Danial Iliya	06 Feb 2003	GK	Singapore Sports School
2	Umayr Sujuandy	18 Feb 2003	GK	Hong Kah Secondary School
3	Farhan Zulkifli	10 Nov 2002	DF	Queensway Secondary School
4	Fathullah Rahmat	05 Sep 2002	DF	Singapore Sports School
5	Naufal Ilham	17 Aug 2002	DF	Singapore Sports School
6	Nicky Melvin Singh	13 Jun 2002	DF	Sengkang Secondary School
7	Ryaan Sanizal	31 May 2002	DF	Singapore Sports School
8	Afiq Iqbal	14 Apr 2003	MF	Saint Patrick’s School
9	Aidil Johari	05 Apr 2003	MF	Yishun Town Secondary School
10	Aniq Raushan	05 Oct 2003	MF	Singapore Sports School
11	Danish Qayyum	02 Feb 2002	MF	Meridian Secondary School
12	Danish Siregar	01 Mar 2003	MF	Anglo Chinese School (Independent)
13	Iman Hakim	09 Mar 2002	MF	Singapore Sports School
14	K Dashan	08 Sep 2002	MF	Singapore Sports School
15	Niq Harraz	02 Jun 2002	MF	Singapore Sports School
16	Aqil Dany	20 Jun 2003	FW	Singapore Sports School
17	Irfan Roslan	24 Apr 2002	FW	Singapore Sports School
18	Zakaria Syari	31 Jul 2003	FW	Meridian Secondary School