February 4, 2024

In a week where Diego Lopes is rumoured to be joining a Chinese Super League team, we thought it’d be a nice time to pay tribute to him. Diego arrived on our shoes in January 2021, 3 years ago. In that time, he won every Singaporean trophy available, and was a fan favourite because of what he did on and off the pitch. When he came, Forrest said that having a top-quality player like Diego will not only give us a boost, but also hopefully give Singapore football a lift. One thing he did not say was that Diego was gonna win our hearts. And as we read on, we’re gonna find out that he really, really did. Strap in, buckle up, and let’s take a drive down memory lane as we discuss Diego’s short but eventful time with us. The Recap Arriving with a hefty price tag of S$2.89 million, Diego’s performances were always going to be intensely scrutinized. In the romantic after-glow that often accompanies the departure of fan favourites, supporters sometimes forget the tougher times – it was not always smooth-sailing for the brilliant Brazilian. In his first season (2021), despite the title win, Diego found himself starting just 10 of the 21 games in the league, coming on after half-time in 9 games. Whether this was down to fitness, tactical or other issues, your guess is as good as mine. I remember thinking at the time that his omissions from the starting line-up were very glaring – you do not pay that much for a foreign player just to sit him on the bench half the time. 2021 was also the only year that he did not make it to the SPL Team of the Year. Things got significantly better in 2022. He started 22 times in the league, only missing some games due to injury. It was also Diego’s first experience of the AFC Champions League – and the stand-out of course was the historic 3-0 win over Daegu FC, a game in which he scored a goal. He was sorely missed in some games nearing the end of the season due to injury. That, coupled with Pedro Henrique’s injury at the same time, probably put paid to our title chances. Then the final year came. Once again, he started almost every game in the league, but was conspicuously absent in half of our AFC Champions League games. Considering he was available for all our games in the Singapore Cup run which took place around the same time, his absence was tactical, and not injury-related. That was perhaps the biggest clue about what the club thought of Diego, and whether he was going to be retained. Our historic 2-0 win over Jeonbuk was achieved without Diego, and it seems a pity that he was not part of the momentous occasion. Daegu was a huge win, but the only Sailors fan up there watching it live in Buriram was me. The day we beat Jeonbuk saw a packed Jalan Besar Stadium with the Crew out in full force. It felt weird not to have one of our most important players of the past few years in the team. But, there was no lack of important memories in our club’s history with Diego. I mean, he did rack up 34 goals and 31 assists in his 85 appearances for the club. Let’s talk through some of them. THAT Goal Against Hougang Take your mind back to April 2021. We were second in the table, at the halfway mark of the season. We faced a tricky trip to Hougang Stadium – tricky not just because of the pitch condition but also because they had already defeated us 3-1 earlier in the year. It was the first game in a while that the SPL allowed supporters to attend without producing an official ART or PCR test  result. There was also an increase in the number of allowed supporters – 250. It led to one of the better atmospheres in the Covid era before kick-off, and the tension was palpable. In a game of few chances, Hougang had a few half-chances in the first half and at half-time, I remember feeling it was gonna be one of those days where Hougang would grab a result against us. And then, the magic moment arrived. In the 69th minute of the game, there seemed to be very little on when Faris took a routine throw-in from the left side of the pitch. It reached Diego Lopes just inside the box, and with a little swivel, he let the ball drop across him and hit a magnificent half-volley towards goal. It rocketed away from his foot, but then swerved and dipped just under the bar and into the far corner. The Hougang goalkeeper could only watch on helplessly. A magnificent strike by the mercurial Brazilian player, and what a crucial goal it was too. We eventually won the title by 2 points, so yes, if the math is mathing, maybe not an exaggeration to say this was a goal that won us the title? That Moment That Clinched the Championship The final match-day of the 2021 SPL season was a tense one. Both Albirex and the Sailors started the day on equal points. On paper, it seemed simple – beat Balestier Khalsa and hope Albirex would not rack up the goals to make up the goal difference against Tanjong Pagar. It was very tense during the second half because we were only 2-1 up against Balestier, and reports of goal after goal filtered through from Jurong East Stadium – could Albirex make up the goal difference and leapfrog us in the table? Or worse, would Balestier grab an equalizer? Nerves were eased when in the 78th minute. Faris Ramli swung in a pin-point low cross and no prizes for guessing who was at the far post. Diego Lopes stooped low to head it in, to really start the celebrations in the stands.