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Straits Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Lion City Sailors score coup with two-time J1 League top scorer Anderson Lopes
Anderson Lopes, Lion City Sailors' new signing from Yokohama F. Marinos, at the Lion City Sailors training centre on July 15. SINGAPORE – The Lion City Sailors' unprecedented run to the AFC Champions League Two final in the 2024/25 campaign made clubs in the continent sit up and take notice. And ahead of the new season, Singapore's only privatised football club are not resting on their laurels. The Singapore Premier League and Singapore Cup champions on July 17 confirmed that they have signed Brazilian forward Anderson Lopes from five-time J1 League champions Yokohama F. Marinos on a three-year contract. While the Sailors did not disclose the transfer fee, The Straits Times understands that it is lower than the club's record fee of €1.8 million (S$2.69 million) that it paid to sign Brazilian midfielder Diego Lopes from Portuguese Primeira Liga side Rio Ave in 2021, and the reported €1.5 million fee to Dutch Eredivisie side Utrecht for attacking midfielder Bart Ramselaar. The signing of Lopes, 31, from the Marinos is a coup for the Sailors and Singapore football. Lopes had rejected interest from Brazilian giants Botafogo and clubs from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, ST understands. Lopes who primarily plays as a centre forward but can also operate as a second striker or as a winger, told ST that the ambitious project outlined by the Sailors' management, along with Singapore being an ideal place for him and his family played a key role in his decision. Lopes, who has two children – a five-year-old son and one-year-old daughter – with his wife said via a translator: 'When the proposal came, of course, I didn't know too much about Singapore, but I started to ask around about the country and then I realised it's a good place for the family. After speaking to the club as well (about their project), I decided this was the right move. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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He was then loaned out to South Korean team FC Seoul in 2018, before returning to Japanese football the following year after completing a permanent move to Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. In 2021, he signed for Chinese club Wuhan FC but returned to Japan a year later to sign for Marinos. Since joining Marinos in February 2022, Lopes had established himself as one of the best players in the Japanese top tier. In his first season, he scored 11 goals in the club's league winning season. In the following two seasons, Lopes would win consecutive top scorer awards in the J1League. In 2023, he was joint-top in the scoring charts with Japan international Yuya Osako with 22 goals before he netted 24 goals the following season to finish as top scorer. I n the current season, Lopes and his club have struggled amid some managerial changes. Marinos are bottom of the 20-team league, with the Brazilian finding the net only twice in 20 matches. But it is his prowess on the continental stage that Sailors will hope to reap rewards. In the 2023–24 AFC Champions League season, Lopes was top scorer for Marinos – six goals in 11 matches – as the Japanese side reached the final, where they were defeated by Al Ain from the United Arab Emirates. In the inaugural season of the 2024-25 AFC Champions League Elite, Lopes finished joint-second in the scoring charts with nine goals in 10 matches, sharing the spot with Al-Ahli winger Riyad Mahrez and Gwangju FC's Jasir Asani. Saudi Arabian captain Salem Al-Dawsari claimed the Golden Boot with 10 goals, but Lopes outscored several high-profile names including Al-Nassr's Portuguese icon Cristiano Ronaldo (eight goals), Al-Hilal's Aleksandar Mitrovic, and Al-Ahli duo Ivan Toney and Roberto Firmino, who each scored six. Lopes arrives in Singapore with a clear ambition. 'I came here to score goals and win titles. I want to grow with the club, and make history together and help the club to do even better and better,' said the Brazilian. The signing of Anderson Lopes, 31, from the Marinos is a coup for the Sailors and Singapore football. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG Beyond that, Lopes vowed to put in relentless hard work. He credited this work ethic to his upbringing in the favela of Recife, Brazil, and the values instilled by his family. Football helped Lopes to purchase a flat for his family and build a future he once only dreamt of. That same drive and determination still remains. 'What they (fans) can expect from me is that I will give everything on the pitch, whether it is in training, the games, and I will score the goals to make everyone happy,' he added. Sailors head coach Aleksandar Rankovic, who recently inked a two-year contract extension with the club, will now have added ammunition in his front line, which already includes 2023 SPL Player of the Year Maxime Lestienne – who is contracted to the club till December – German forward Lennart Thy, Ramselaar and Lions hitman Shawal Anuar. Rankovic said: 'To reach 100 goals in a league as competitive as the J1 speaks volumes about his quality. But it's not just about his goalscoring. Anderson is excellent at holding the ball up and just as capable of creating chances for his teammates. I'm confident he'll be a tremendous asset to the team this season.' The Sailors have also bolstered their squad since they made a historic run to the ACL 2 final, where they lost 2-1 to Emirati side Sharjah FC in May. The Sailors are the first team from Singapore to feature in a continental final. National team stalwart Safuwan Baharudin has joined on a season-long loan from Selangor, they have added Croat custodian Ivan Susak from Croatian top-tier side Slaven Belupo, and beefed up the midfield with former German Under-20 player Tsiy-William Ndenge. The Sailors who are competing on four fronts again – the SPL, Singapore Cup, Asean Club Championship and ACL2 – and will kick off their season with the Singapore Community Shield match against BG Tampines Rovers on Aug 16.
Straits Times
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Singapore U-16 girls given footballing lesson in first match of inaugural Lion City Cup girls' tournament
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Singapore's Nur Ain Salleh trying to dribble past South Korea's Kang Gyu-eun during the national Under-16 girls' 9-0 loss in their Lion City Cup opener at the Jalan Besar Stadiun on July 8. SINGAPORE – Singapore's Under-16 girls' team were handed a valuable lesson on the football pitch during their debut in the Lion City Cup (LCC) on July 8. Their maiden appearance turned out to be a harrowing experience as the girls were outclassed 9-0 by South Korea at the Jalan Besar Stadium, with five goals coming in the first half. The match – which was not livestreamed locally – saw the South Koreans dominate from start to finish and exposed the gulf in standards between the hosts and the visitors, who were third in the 2024 U-17 Women's Asian Cup and qualified for the 2024 U-17 Women's World Cup. For the first time since its inception in 1977, the LCC features a girls' tournament, and Singapore's U-16 girls' coach Yeong Sheau Shyan was satisfied despite the lopsided result, highlighting the benefits of letting her team 'feel the difference between us and them'. Yeong, who is also the Lion City Sailors' head of women's football, said: 'We knew that South Korea are a top team... So for us to be able to play them and feel the difference between us and them is a good wake-up call for all the girls who maybe don't get enough chances (to play an opponent like South Korea). 'To play them now in our first match will give us a very good idea of how hard we have to work.' While South Korea were physically superior, confident in their passing and had the individual ability to take on their opponents in one-to-one battles across the pitch, the Singaporeans were unable to establish any kind of traction in the game and were often looking to clear the ball into space rather than to build an attack. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore NDP celebrations to be held at 5 heartland sites, including Bishan and Punggol, on Aug 10 Singapore Keep citizens at the centre of public service, Chan Chun Sing tells civil servants Singapore Man arrested for allegedly throwing bottle at SMRT bus, injuring passenger Asia As Trump plays tariffs hard ball, Asean has little choice but to play on Asia PM Anwar called out by his own lawmakers as Malaysia's judicial crisis heats up Singapore SIA flight from Brisbane to Singapore diverted to Perth due to technical issue Sport Speeding likely cause of Diogo Jota car crash: Police Business Great Eastern could resume trading after delisting vote fails to pass; OCBC's exit offer lapses Only a string of saves from goalkeeper Chantale Lamasan, a Singapore Sports School student, kept the scoreline down. Yeong was cheered by the spirit of the girls at full-time. 'When we came back to the dressing room, (the feeling) was not negative. They are still ready to go. They are thinking of good things to come in the next match. And that's something that is heartening to see,' said Yeong. South Korea scored the opener in the 11th minute when midfielder Jeon Ha-eun's near post shot trickled in, despite the best efforts of Chantale. In the 18th minute, the Koreans added a second with a shot from outside the box from Ko Jie-un. In the 26th minute, forward Cho An scored the first of her three goals of the night when she was released through on goal and fired into the bottom of the net. Just four minutes later, South Korea's Park Na-young made it four. Cho scored her second in the 38th minute before completing her hat-trick three minutes into the second-half. Substitute Kim Hee-jin scored a brace, with strikes in the 68th and 74th minute, before another substitute Son Seoh-yeon added the ninth in stoppage time. Coach Kim Eun-jung, who has been involved in South Korean women's football since 2009, having served as a coach for the U-17, U-20 and senior women's national teams, said the scoreline was not unexpected and praised her team for their performance and commended Singapore's mentality. Kim said: 'It was a big win but the Singapore players kept going till the end. 'That kind of mentality is a positive step for women's football in Singapore.' Meanwhile, Yeong is hopeful of a better showing in their remaining two matches – against Hong Kong on July 10 and Cambodia two days later. She said: 'The mistakes that we made today, we will have to correct it and we want to be able to show a bit more of our style in the next two matches.' In the day's earlier kick-off, Hong Kong secured a 4-0 victory over Cambodia. The team who are top after the single round-robin stage will be crowned champions. The Republic's U-16 boys will kick off their campaign on July 9 against the Philippines, before facing off against Cambodia (July 11) and Hong Kong (July 13). All matches are played at the Jalan Besar Stadium with Singapore's games kicking off at 8pm.
Straits Times
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Singapore to face Cambodia, S. Korea and HK in inaugural U-16 girls' competition for Lion City Cup
Yeong Sheau Shyan, who won back-to-back Women's Premier League titles with the Lion City Sailors in 2022 and 2023, will lead the Singapore Under-16 girls at the 2025 Lion City Cup. PHOTO: FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE SINGAPORE – Supported by the Asian Football Confederation's Enhance Programme, the Lion City Cup's first Under-16 tournament for girls will see hosts Singapore take on Cambodia, South Korea and Hong Kong at the Jalan Besar Stadium from July 8-13. In a media statement on June 26, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) also announced that the 29th edition of the youth tournament will continue to feature an U-16 boys' category, with Singapore, Cambodia, Hong Kong and the Philippines taking part. The teams that finish top after three matches in the round-robin tournament will be crowned champions. FAS general secretary Chew Chun-Liang said in the statement: 'This year's edition marks an exciting new chapter in the Lion City Cup story. We are excited to have our girls involved in what is an important platform to showcase their ability to Singapore. 'Introducing the girls' tournament not only raises the profile of the women's game here, it also ensures that the Lion City Cup remains at the forefront of regional youth development.' The Singapore U-16 girls' team will be led by Yeong Sheau Shyan, the Lion City Sailors' head of women's football. Yeong, who won back-to-back Women's Premier League (WPL) titles with the Sailors in 2022 and 2023, said: 'We are making headway in improving the women's game here, and I'm delighted that we are expanding the space to include our young girls, and provide them an opportunity to compete at this level, in front of their family and friends. 'I'm looking forward to putting in the work to prepare our girls to grab that opportunity with both hands. Despite their tender age, some of our players already have a couple of seasons' experience in the WPL and I look forward to them displaying their quality in the Lion City Cup.' Calling it a huge honour to be part of the first competition for girls at the Lion City Cup, Singapore U-16 girls' captain Tyan Foong said: 'This is a fantastic platform for us to show what we're capable of, and we're really excited to play in front of our friends, family and local fans at Jalan Besar Stadium.' The girls will kick off the competition on July 8 with Cambodia taking on Hong Kong at 5pm, before Singapore play South Korea at 8pm. The following day, the boys will take to the pitch with Hong Kong meeting Cambodia at 5pm before Singapore face the Philippines at 8pm. Ashraf Ariffin, who is the Lion City Sailors' academy manager, will be the Singapore Under-16 boys' coach at the Lion City Cup. PHOTO: FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE Ashraf Ariffin, who is the Sailors' academy manager, will be the Singapore U-16 boys' coach. He said: 'We have some exciting talent coming through the ranks and this tournament is a platform for them to showcase their abilities. Results are important of course, but what will be most important is the team growth and individual development during the tournament.' Singapore U-16 boys' captain Zaki Jumlan said they are looking forward to testing themselves against quality opposition and see how far they have come as a group, adding: 'It will also be a good gauge of where we stand as we prepare for the AFC U-17 qualifiers.' While both coaches are from the Sailors set-up, FAS deputy president Desmond Ong said in a separate statement announcing their appointments that they have earned their place. 'They're there because they're the best in class here, and the Sailors had the resources to bring them to the club,' said the former BG Tampines Rovers chairman. 'If they can do with our national teams what they have done with their own teams, we should lean on them so we can get our teams up to a competitive level quickly, then build from there.' Tournament tickets, priced at $12 for adults and $6 for concession card holders, are available through Ticketek and the FAS website. First staged in 1977, the Lion City Cup was the world's first international youth football tournament for national teams, and was widely recognised as the inspiration behind the U-16 World Championship, now known as the U-17 World Cup, which was introduced in 1985. Over the years, the Lion City Cup has attracted youth sides from national teams as well as top clubs such as England's Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam and Brazil's Flamengo. Players who have gone on to become top professionals include Manchester United defender Noussair Mazraoui, Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones and Girona midfielder Donny van de Beek. Singapore Under-16 hat-trick hero Ikhsan Fandi shooting at goal in a 3-3 draw against Liverpool U-15 in the 2015 Lion City Cup. PHOTO: THE NEW PAPER On the home front, the tournament also served as a launchpad for many Lions including Fandi Ahmad, his sons Irfan and Ikhsan, Hariss Harun, Safuwan Baharudin and Izwan Mahbud. After an eight-year hiatus, the competition returned in 2023 with Thailand's BG Pathum United beating Malaysia's Selangor, Indonesia's Borneo and Singapore U-15s to the title. The Thai side lost to Japan's Tokyo Verdy in 2024, with Johor Darul Takzim and the Singapore U-16s also taking part. David Lee is senior sports correspondent at The Straits Times focusing on aquatics, badminton, basketball, cue sports, football and table tennis. 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Straits Times
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Forum: Sailors' valiant run should spark lasting revival in local football
The Lion City Sailors' narrow 2-1 loss to Sharjah FC in the AFC Champions League Two final was heartbreaking, but their historic run is something Singapore can be proud of . As the first local club to reach a continental final, the Sailors have shown that with belief, discipline and teamwork, Singapore teams can stand toe to toe with some of Asia's best. Their campaign, marked by victories over regional powerhouses and a dramatic semi-final win, is a testament to their resilience and hunger. The final was a roller coaster of emotions. Still, the electrifying atmosphere was a rare and heartening sight for the local football scene. Let us not allow this momentum to fade. The Sailors' inspiring journey has rekindled belief in the potential of Singapore football. I hope this level of support continues and spills over into our domestic league. With stronger promotion and sustained investment in local talent, we can build a solid foundation for the future. Perhaps one day, a Singapore team will go all the way and lift a continental trophy. Gabriel Chia More on this Topic Forum: What readers are saying Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Lion City Sailors denied at final hurdle as Sharjah FC clinch AFC Champions League Two title at Bishan
Lion City Sailors' Bart Ramselaar has his shot closed down by Sharjah FC's Shahin Abdulrahman and Khaled Ibrahim in the ACL2 final. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR Lion City Sailors denied at final hurdle as Sharjah FC clinch AFC Champions League Two title at Bishan SINGAPORE – The Lion City Sailors' bid to become the first club from Singapore to win a continental title came to an agonising end on May 18. Despite fervent support from a capacity crowd of 9,737 at the Bishan Stadium, the Sailors were edged out 2-1 by Emirati heavyweights Sharjah FC in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Two final. The tight encounter saw the Sailors enjoy most of the chances, but it was Sharjah who made the breakthrough in the 74th minute. Brazil-born attacker Caio Lucas was afforded enough space and time to pick out the overlapping Khaled Ibrahim at the far post who then pulled it back for Tunisian international Firas Ben Larbi to finish past Izwan Mahbud. Belgian winger Maxime Lestienne looked to have sent the game into extra time when he stepped up in the second of 11 minutes of added time with a strike from just outside the box. But Sharjah restored their advantage with Marcus Meloni dribbling past Sailors' defenders and finding the far corner of Izwan's net in the seventh minute of added time, as their 500 travelling fans erupted in sheer delirium. The Sailors, who became Singapore's first privatised football team in 2020, had already made history by being the first team from the Republic to ever feature in a continental final. Their journey to the final started with them topping Group F ahead of 2023 Chinese Super League second runners-up Zhejiang Professional, Thai League 1's third-placed Port FC and Indonesia Liga 1 champions Persib Bandung. In the knockout rounds, there was a convincing aggregate win over Muangthong United from Thailand in the round of 16 before lady luck shone on them, as they were able to turn a 6-1 quarter-final, first-leg loss to Sanfrecce Hiroshima into a 3-0 win after the Japanese side fielded an ineligible player. They then held the Japanese side to a brave 1-1 draw at home. In the semi-finals, the Sailors came through with a 2-1 aggregate win over Australia's Sydney FC. Having clinched the 2024-25 Singapore Premier League title on May 10, they are still on course for a double, though. They will face DPMM in a two-legged Singapore Cup semi-final on May 21 and May 27. Full match report to follow. Deepanraj Ganesan is a sports journalist at The Straits Times focusing on football, athletics, combat sports and policy-related news. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
