A Singapore fan expresses his support for coach Raddy Avramovic. (Photo 2 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
The relatively small contingent of Vietnamese supporters were dominating throughout the game in terms of vocals. (Photo 3 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
The supporters of Singapore were also commendable in pockets, though they were more often than not echoing swear words. (Photo 4 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Noh Alam Shah (Singapore, #8) tries to go around Le Phuoc Tu (Vietnam, #4). (Photo 5 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Agu Casmir (Singapore, #11) lets loose a shot. (Photo 6 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Noh Alam Shah tries to keep the ball in play. (Photo 7 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Muhammad Ridhuan (Singapore, #2) goes up for a header with his Vietnamese opponent. (Photo 8 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Daniel Bennett (Singapore, #16) passes the ball out to a teammate. (Photo 9 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Shahril Ishak (Singapore, #17) runs down the flank unchallenged. (Photo 10 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
REDpoll
Loading ...Related stories:
Lack of depth in the Singapore squad meant the downfall of the team in the ASEAN Football Championship
Vietnam expose Singapore's lack of speed in the centre of defence
Vietnam break Singapore hearts at the National Stadium with 1-0 win in the second leg semi-final of the Suzuki Cup
@ lionsfan:
You don’t understand the meaning of the word ‘cheer’ then.
To cheer means to shout encouragement, to shout for joy.
The use of the Malay swear word does not constitute encouragement or joy.
A swear word is not a cheer.
@lionsfanNO1: to write “the butoh cheer is a classic” is an oxymoron. A swear word is not a cheer. A swear word is a swear word. Nothing more.
A lion? No. More like a hyena, not worthy of respect.
you guys have no pride… be a true supporter and quit whining. A football game is where you let all your emotions regardless by swearing or by simply showing the finger. Cmon the butoh cheer is a classic. Are you a true lion?
the swearing was our cheer, its some what good to shut the visitors up.I was a the stadium that night and was last year in the semi’s too, the atmosphere was exactly the same. the flag burning did go overbored but the swearing as cheers is perfectly normal
@mourinho
The culture of supporting our team is quite weak.
We don’t sing good songs, or chant nice cheers.
It will take generations, if ever, to have the kind of spectator culture you would not be embarrassed to bring your foreign friends to.
In fact, my friend and I decided not to bring our young children (under 10) to the football game because we decided we didn’t want to spend out time explaining to our sons what ‘butoh’ means time and time again.
It’s not like I am insulating my children of course. I’ve had to explain words like “f**k”, “c*** b**” and all the assorted swear words in our national vocabularly thanks to the school bus.
But no need to bring them to a football game to see that thousands will shout a Malay swear word together like they are singing christmas carols.
I agree wholeheartedly with this article.
Singaporeans, especially the younger ones, the gen-y or z, are a spoilt lot, and also arrogant bunch. Not just in football, go overseas and you will recognise a sinkee immediately with his/her endless condemnation of others. Surprisingly they also have no pride in their own country.
That night, i was sitting very close to the vietnamese supporters, behind the goal which Vietnam scored. Yes, I can hear all the positive songs and chants from them. Singaporeans could only reply with their typical swear word.
Interestingly, when the Vietnamese goal went in, many so called Sg supporters started to leave. Joke. Some malay boys who were singing Majulah Sg loudly before the match said to leave in order to beat the jam, need to catch arsenal vs liverpool.
Times have changed. Back in the good old days, we go to Kallang as fans, to support the team. Now, you get fairweathered supporters who only go to stadium to criticise and talk like they are experts, talk as if they are andy gray, richard keys, or even nearer home, Shebby Singh.
Hi Singapore Sports Fan,
The guy was sitting just outside the media box right in front of me at the 55-foot level.
Agree about the fairweather support some give. Pity.
Thanks, Mayhem.
les
The article says the Nazi salute guy was in front of the media box, not inside.
Someone I know wrote that he/she wasted his/her time watching Singapore at the National Stadium last night.
Which I thought showed how stupid he/she was to make that remark. I mean, what sort of Singapore fan are you if you consider all Singapore defeats a waste of time? What sort of fan are you if you can’t stick with the Lions through thick and thin.
My answer: the sort of bandwagon fan that we can truly do without.
Sure, sometimes the Lions are excruciatingly painful to watch, although thankfully such occasions are getting rare these days. But even then, these occasions should never be described as a waste of time.
Finally, I was quite disgusted to read about the twit who did the Nazi salute in the media box during the singing of the Vietnamese national athemn. Shame on him!
Do a favour, Les? Drop me a line to let me know who it is? I sincerely hope it’s not one of our friends from the mainstream media because that is such a stupid piece of behaviour.
Having said that, the media box is packed these days with many strange and unfamiliar faces – chaps who are brimming with self-importance and who clearly enjoy making a lot of noisy idle chatter during the game so as to draw attention to themselves.
Thanks Victor.
@BoHeng – I agree with you that Vietnam played well over two legs and deserve to qualify, difficult as it is for me to admit as a Singaporean.
Most Singaporeans are ignorant and will not learn from such an event, on and off the pitch they appears to be proud yet from the fans they dont have the ability to express their support, and from the players they dont have the ability to play proper football. Singapore played in a manner too afraid to lose, just look at the Vietnamese, they play soccer, good football. I guess too much shouting from the coaches just does not help.
A very truthful and well-observed report!