November 23, 2022

It was a fun day out for the boys of SailorFanTalk today, as all three of us headed down bright and early to LCS Training Centre to play in the BVB Fan Club v The Crew friendly game. Fun fact, Ethan (one of SailorFanTalk’s own) is also a huge BVB supporter and so he played for BVB Fan Club. The Crew 2 – 1 BVB Fan Club Despite being outnumbered by the BVB fans, after some negotiation, it was agreed that 4 of the newer BVB fans would don Sailors shirts and play for us. This of course caused quite a bit of unfamiliarity for us and we started the match tentatively. However, we managed to slowly gain a foothold in the game, and went into half-time with a 2-1 lead. BVB fans clearly took the game very seriously, judging by the number of sliding tackles I saw from their players. It was a friendly, but it was clear that BVB were trying their best to win it. After half-time, BVB sent out their “death squad”, putting together their best team in a bid to come back into the game, but by then we had gelled with our new friends and gradually grew into the game. In the end, we managed to see the game out courtesy of some good defending and good goalkeeping, and there were handshakes and smiles all around. We made some new friends, and I made it a point to take a picture with 10 year old Thabo, who is definitely one to watch. He’s a young Ousmane Dembele, and I had to concentrate really hard to make sure he didn’t get the better of me. And he’s 10! Apparently he’s one of the top-scorers in the Puma Youth Champions League, so yeah Thabo if you ever become famous please remember that I played against you one rainy morning in 2022! It was all fun and games, but the morning ended on a sour note as our very own Joseph twisted his knee chasing an opponent, and had to receive treatment from the ambulance crew. We wish Joseph a speedy recovery! Meet-and-Greet with Sailors and Dortmund Players After the friendly game, we washed up and went on to the meet-and-greet. Sailors’ representatives were captain Hariss Harun, and Gabriel Quak. For BVB, they sent Julian Rijkhoff and Antonios Papadopoulos – I must be very honest and say I had never in my life heard of them. I have since done some checking and it seems Rijkhoff has not made a senior appearance yet, while Papadopoulos has had a few cameos. Through the interviews, they did seem like pretty approachable and humble people – people committed to making it in the Bundesliga. I wish them the best in their careers. However, the highlight of the meet-and-greet for me at least was the chance to see Hariss and Gab, especially Hariss before he flies off soon to national team training ahead of the AFF ME Cup. When asked about the team’s chances, he let on that the team was looking to at least repeat what was achieved last edition – a semi-final position, or even better. He also agreed with the comment made by the moderator that Jalan Besar Stadium is a unique venue because of how intimate it is with the supporters being so close to the action, especially when both sides are sold out. After a few more questions that were unremarkable, it was time for photo-taking and autograph-signing. Once again, smiles all around. Preview to Dortmund game Obviously, given that this is a friendly game, the result isn’t really gonna matter. However, I feel that with the gloomy end to the season and all the uncertainty surrounding whether our players will be extended, I really hope that we put up a respectable showing. I am confident we will get this. I think it’s also good that our Sailors get to say a proper goodbye to us. So far, we know that Faris Ramli is gone, because of his Instastory that announced it was his last day at the LCS Training Centre a few days back. The official website has also confirmed that Shahdan Sulaiman is gone (https://www.lioncitysailorsfc.sg/friendly-only-in-name-sailors-vow-to-be-competitive-against-bvb/), and he isn’t the only one. Here’s the relevant quote – With this being the final match for some in the Sailors class of 2022, Hafiz expressed a tinge of sadness. “We know that there will be departures within the ranks, including experienced players like Shahdan (Sulaiman) whom I’ve played with since I was 12,” he said. “We have many memories together and unfortunately, some of them won’t be with us for the new season. It’s going to be emotional for sure, but it is a day that we will remember and hopefully we can end it off with a bang.”  Rumours have been floating around of us losing players like Gabriel Quak, Hassan Sunny, Izwan Mahbud, Amirul Adli, etc, and I guess my hope is that it’s not a complete clear-out because it will certainly take a while before we can get used to supporting new players, chanting new names etc. We will also miss the memories we shared with these players, many of whom were part of the title-winning squad last season. It will perhaps be interesting to see which players say prolonged goodbyes to the fans, which are usually indicative of them having played their last game for the club. I’ll try to enjoy the game tomorrow, and then deal with the sadness later. For those of you heading down tomorrow, see you for the final Post-Match Interview of the season! Come up and say hi please, don’t be a stranger!