Pinoy Overwhelm Local Support at Jalan Besar Soccer Match

[CKP]

New heroes of the Philippines

 

Over 5,000 Filipinos pack Jalan Besar to cheer on football team

 

 

It may have been an 'away'friendly for the Philippines, but their fans turned out in force (above) to give the match a home feel for the visiting side. The small contingent of Singapore fans had to sing extra loud to make their voices heard. -- ST PHOTOS: DESMOND WEE

 

 

By Lee Min Kok

 

ONE would hardly have known that the Lions were the home team last night, given the overwhelming support that their opponents received from the Jalan Besar stands.

 

Singapore's international friendly against the Philippines - the Lions' final tune-up before facing Jordan in a 2014 World Cup qualifier next Tuesday - was watched by a near-6,000 horde of Filipino fans.

 

Save for a loyal band of around 150 Singaporean supporters, a blue tide engulfed the stadium as the Filipinos displayed unrivalled passion in cheering on their countrymen despite the 0-2 defeat.

 

BACKGROUND STORY

 

'A lot of women are watching football now, just to ogle at the pretty faces on display.'

 

Rosie Villaflor, an IT manager from the Philippines, on why her country's football team are currently the rage back home

 

Even the drizzle throughout the game failed to dampen the spirits of the crowd, who came armed with umbrellas and more importantly, their cameras.

 

The Azkals - as the Philippine national team are popularly called - have benefited from an influx of players holding dual citizenship, such as half-English brothers Phil and James Younghusband, Neil Etheridge and Dutchman Jason de Jong.

 

And there was no mistaking who was the ladies' undisputed darling, as high-pitched screams of 'Neil, Neil, Neil' greeted the reserve goalkeeper for English Premier League football club Fulham as he stepped on to the pitch for his pre-match warm-up.

 

'He's so handsome!' gushed Mia Fe Carig, 24. The nurse was at Jalan Besar with 15 other female friends, all straining to catch a glimpse of the 21-year-old.

 

IT manager Rosie Villaflor, 30, admitted as much: 'A lot of women are watching football now, just to ogle at the pretty faces on display.'

 

Etheridge is said to have attained near-superstar status in his adopted country, with his face - and chiselled body - gracing everything from underwear ads to billboards promoting painkillers.

 

Indeed, swooning female fans made up a large portion of the Filipino crowd, but there was a healthy pinch of guy power as well.

 

Sales manager Jaron Genota flew in from Manila together with 20 fellow supporters yesterday, spending about 15,000 pesos (S$443) on the trip.

 

Said the 28-year-old: 'Football in our country is enjoying a real buzz at the moment. It's not in the same league as basketball yet, but we're slowly getting there.'

 

Interest in the sport, according to Genota, had picked up significantly after the Azkals created history by reaching the semi-finals of last December's AFF Suzuki Cup - which is the equivalent of the South-east Asian championship - in Vietnam.

 

Filipino television networks, most of whom had largely ignored football, suddenly began to telecast live games from the German Bundesliga, English Premier League and Spanish Primera Liga this year, he said.

 

And the fledgling United Football League - the country's professional competition - recently signed a historic TV deal with local agency AKTV Network, which will air the league's third season later this year.

 

Midfielder James Younghusband paid tribute to the partisan support after the match, saying: 'It definitely felt like a home game for us. The fans here were fantastic.'

 

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Everyone too busy/disinterested to support own national team? Why?

 

And what's with the surname of "younghusband"?

 

Edited October 8, 2011 by CKP

[Ahtong]

Just add a few pinoy players to the lions and the team will gain an extra 6k new FT supporters.

 

Simple right?

[CKP]

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[CKP]

Just add a few pinoy players to the lions and the team will gain an extra 6k new FT supporters.

 

Simple right?

 

The People's association (RC/CCC) can always charter buses to dispatch senior citizens to "support" the match.

 

[Booboon]

i wonder who will that teacher support?

[Darthrevan]

where's the support for the local team?

[Eighttales]

fwah the NSF wear red t-shirt over his no.4

[1fast1]

where's the support for the local team?

 

Still local meh? Thought it's one FT team vs another? Philippines vs League of Nations.

[Latio2005A]

i wonder who will that teacher support?

 

I wonder instead what happens to the teacher? After his so-called ICT and MOE's investigation. The silence is deafening.

[CKP]

Still local meh? Thought it's one FT team vs another? Philippines vs League of Nations.

 

Article states Pinoy team have FT too

 

[Meanmachine]

The news is to ' Suan " local fans, shying away from supporting the lions, can one imagine if the Lion lost the friendlies !!

 

To be honest, I'm one of those who has died on local soccer, Only English Premier excites me, nothing less

[Fireball0088]

Nevermind. Singapore still win

[CKP]

I wonder instead what happens to the teacher? After his so-called ICT and MOE's investigation. The silence is deafening.

 

It was reported that "MOE takes a serious views on such matters and that disciplinary actions were taken".

 

 

 

[CKP]

The news is to ' Suan " local fans, shying away from supporting the lions, can one imagine if the Lion lost the friendlies !!

 

To be honest, I'm one of those who has died on local soccer, Only English Premier excites me, nothing less

 

Premier league excites Pinoys too but they turned up en masse for their national team.

 

[CKP]

Nevermind. Singapore still win

 

Hmm, it is one thing to say the "team" fielded by Singapore won, and another matter to link that with Singapore as a nation/country winning.

 

[Darryn]

Singaporeans are a sad lot - would rather watch a bunch of pommies in a different time zone than cheer on their national team.

It's no wonder that the team needs to be populated by foreigners - Singaporeans don't even care about the team so why should our sons and daughters even aspire to wear the national colours?

You have no pride in the national team, people won't chase the dream - so you will ALWAYS have to import talent. And you have only yourselves to blame..

 

New Zealand in the greatest rugby nation in the world - they have won 75% of all the test matches they have played, tehy have only been defeated by 5 other rugby playing nations in the history of the sport. And you know (one reason) why? To grow up and "be an All Black" is one of the biggest dreams in the country - the pride in the shirt, the support, the absolute love is palpable - so of course every kid does their best to join. If you to a primary school and asked 100 ten year olds - "Do you want to be an All Black when you grow up" - 95 of them will say yes.

 

If you asked 100 Singaporean kids "Do you want to be a Lion" - 56 of them will ask "How much are you going to pay me", 35 will ask "can i join the Premier League instead", 10 will say "I have to ask mummy first" 4 ask "who are the lions" and the remaining 5 will answer yes.

 

That is the problem with the local game - and you only have yourselves to blame.

 

What an embarrassment to be outnumbered almost 40 fold IN YOUR OWN STADIUM

[Tarzan666]

since singapore withdrew from malaysia cup. support for singapore soccer was never the same.

[Acieed]

This is the hard truth.

 

If you asked 100 Singaporean kids "Do you want to be a Lion" - 56 of them will ask "How much are you going to pay me", 35 will ask "can i join the Premier League instead", 10 will say "I have to ask mummy first" 4 ask "who are the lions" and the remaining 5 will answer yes.

 

That is the problem with the local game - and you only have yourselves to blame.