By Les Tan. Photos contributed by Jolyn Ang and Lai Jun Wei.
By most measures, having 28,750 fans turn up to support a Singapore sports team should impress. That was the number that watched Singapore play Uzbekistan in the 3-7 thriller on June 2. However, that was no ordinary game. It was historically the most important World Cup qualifying game for Singapore because no team in our nation’s short history has ever reached this far. We were lying second in the table on goal difference – above Saudi Arabia on third – and a positive result against Uzbekistan was crucial.
The local press took up the theme and encouraged the attendance of Singaporeans to fill the stadium, to make the 12th man. I left home early for the National Stadium, anticipating a jam at Kallang given the clarion call in the press. When I got to the stadium, the lack of a traffic jam was the first indication that it wasn’t a full house.
After putting on my photographer’s bib, I walked into the stadium at Gate 1 and the reality was stark – yawning gaps in the stadium at both ends. And so, sadly, on a night of significance for the Singapore national football team, there was no 12th man.
Yes, there were still 28,750 fans, but such is the National Stadium that the large open terraces devoid of human traffic stare blankly back at you with their concrete ugliness.
So after a display of awesome attacking and diabolical defending, Singapore lost that crucial tie 3-7. At the weekend, Singapore visited Tashkent and went down 0-1 to Uzbekistan, holding out until very late before conceding the winning goal. Then came the must-win game against Saudi Arabia, with the added historical significance of the final international that Singapore were to play at the National Stadium.
This time, even fewer fans – 22,500 – showed up to witness the eventual 0-2 loss that ended our World Cup qualifying campaign. The emcee did his valiant best to get the crowd to do a Kallang Wave at the start, but it turned into a Kallang Drip as the wave would die out at the near-empty sections. The Kallang Roar – well, it would not do justice to call it a roar.
The only thing loud and clear enough for everyone to hear, was the Kallang Swear. While you can’t get Singaporeans to stop littering or wait for each other to get off the MRT, you can count on them, at least those who show up at the National Stadium, to collectively swear at the sound of a horn like some Pavlovian dog. Sing the Majulah Singapura? Some do, most don’t. Sing an uplifting song or break out in a catchy cheer? The small but outnumbered group of die-hard fans seated every game opposite the grandstand do. But you can’t really hear it.
But swear loudly together? Not a problem. Regardless of race, language or religion, everyone joins in: “B***h!” Never mind that there are kids in the stands, turning to their dads and uncles, asking innocently, “Pa, what is “b***h?” (A Malay swear word that I shall not bother to translate.)
So that’s how it is, and I think it’s a shame. At our largest sports venue, in the presence of visiting guests, we reveal in 90 minutes what we are as a nation. And it’s not so pretty.
Related articles:
Match report – Singapore vs Saudi Arabia
Match report – Singapore vs Uzbekistan
Post-match press conference with Raddy Avramovic – Singapore vs Uzbekistan
By most measures, having 28,750 fans turn up to support a Singapore sports team should impress. That was the number that watched Singapore play Uzbekistan in the 3-7 thriller on June 2. However, that was no ordinary game. It was historically the most important World Cup qualifying game for Singapore because no team in our nation’s short history has ever reached this far. We were lying second in the table on goal difference – above Saudi Arabia on third – and a positive result against Uzbekistan was crucial.
The local press took up the theme and encouraged the attendance of Singaporeans to fill the stadium, to make the 12th man. I left home early for the National Stadium, anticipating a jam at Kallang given the clarion call in the press. When I got to the stadium, the lack of a traffic jam was the first indication that it wasn’t a full house.
After putting on my photographer’s bib, I walked into the stadium at Gate 1 and the reality was stark – yawning gaps in the stadium at both ends. And so, sadly, on a night of significance for the Singapore national football team, there was no 12th man.
Yes, there were still 28,750 fans, but such is the National Stadium that the large open terraces devoid of human traffic stare blankly back at you with their concrete ugliness.
So after a display of awesome attacking and diabolical defending, Singapore lost that crucial tie 3-7. At the weekend, Singapore visited Tashkent and went down 0-1 to Uzbekistan, holding out until very late before conceding the winning goal. Then came the must-win game against Saudi Arabia, with the added historical significance of the final international that Singapore were to play at the National Stadium.
This time, even fewer fans – 22,500 – showed up to witness the eventual 0-2 loss that ended our World Cup qualifying campaign. The emcee did his valiant best to get the crowd to do a Kallang Wave at the start, but it turned into a Kallang Drip as the wave would die out at the near-empty sections. The Kallang Roar – well, it would not do justice to call it a roar.
The only thing loud and clear enough for everyone to hear, was the Kallang Swear. While you can’t get Singaporeans to stop littering or wait for each other to get off the MRT, you can count on them, at least those who show up at the National Stadium, to collectively swear at the sound of a horn like some Pavlovian dog. Sing the Majulah Singapura? Some do, most don’t. Sing an uplifting song or break out in a catchy cheer? The small but outnumbered group of die-hard fans seated every game opposite the grandstand do. But you can’t really hear it.
But swear loudly together? Not a problem. Regardless of race, language or religion, everyone joins in: “B***h!” Never mind that there are kids in the stands, turning to their dads and uncles, asking innocently, “Pa, what is “b***h?” (A Malay swear word that I shall not bother to translate.)
So that’s how it is, and I think it’s a shame. At our largest sports venue, in the presence of visiting guests, we reveal in 90 minutes what we are as a nation. And it’s not so pretty.
Related articles:
Match report – Singapore vs Saudi Arabia
Match report – Singapore vs Uzbekistan
Post-match press conference with Raddy Avramovic – Singapore vs Uzbekistan
i was there to witness the loss. we had lost nothing, as the saudi were much better than us. i felt proud as a singaporean as singapore made it to the round three of the qualifiers, eventually losing to favourites uzbekistan and suadi arabia. 20, 000 croud showing up is already a great number.
sorry to be rude.
but did the team that played against the saudi needed sorry did they deserve the 12th man?
after all they were playing with no spirit
okay they did in the first 10 mins or so
after the weak clear shot at goal by amri
that was the only shout spore team had in the whole game
in the 2nd half they were literally ball watching
Fas should not have really given duric who is 35+ a chance to play
he was there to make up the number
tumbling easily a weak pass.
he is beyond is peak and he needs the whole team effort he is not someone like latiff or alam shah who can turn the game around
if you asked me
spore team dint deserve the 20 ,000 odd fans on that day
as they played with no spirit
comeone
you have an aussie two englishmen a chinese
4 men occupying almost in every section
striker midfielder defender
would they have the strong bond or the national pride like alam shah latiff ridwan or even hassan
hassan was a real class that day
if not for him
it would be much more worst
Thanks for your thoughtful comments, singaporesportsfan.
Dear Les
IMHO, I don’t think a 22,000-strong crowd was a disappointing figure. In 1993, a full house turned up to watch Singapore take on Myanmar in the SEA Games semi-finals. We lost 4-5 on penalities.
Three days later, a paltry 2,000 fans turned up to watch Singapore beat Indonesia 3-1 for the bronze.
So, to have 22,000 die-hards turn up for a match which Singapore’s chances of winning were very weak, is to me a positive sign of how the Singapore football fan has matured over the years.
But I agree on one thing – we don’t seem to know how to cheer anymore.
So yes, the 12th man was there but he seems to have forgotten how to make Kallang Roar
Thank you Dawn. 🙂
[…] stories: World Cup journey ends for Singapore as the boys go down 0-2 to Saudi Arabia in qualifier So what happened to our 12th man? Redha Fallatah (#3, Saudi Arabia) and Aleksandar Duric (#9, Singapore) face off in a header. […]
Jolyn, I LOVE that picture with the birds – makes the point brilliantly.