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Only three points separated the top two teams as the Singapore Premier League (SPL) title race was decided on the final day of last Saturday, and the Singapore Football Association Awards Night appears to be so disputed today.
Unsurprisingly, with a collection of stars on their team, Lion City Sailors produced two of the three nominees, Stipe Plazibat and Gabriel Quak, for the Player of the Year award despite finishing behind champions Albirex Niigata and Tampines Rovers. in the SPL. White Swans forward Tomoyuki Doi is the third candidate.
The choice of Geylang International coach Noor Ali for the top prize is his former player Quak, as he put it: “Tomoyuki stepped up and was more prominent in the second half of the season, and Stipe was doing his scoring job. very well before getting injured.
“But Gabriel was the one who did the most throughout the season with a more complete game. I coached him at Geylang in 2017, and the season in Thailand that he had in 2018 really changed him mentally, and he’s become a different player afterwards. of that”. . “
Soccer consultant Khairul Asyraf also tipped Quak to win, but saw the merits of the other two nominees.
He added: “Stipe found new life after being reverted to his No. 9 position instead of the midfield role he played at Hougang last year. As a benchmark, he went back to doing what he does best: scoring a lot of goals. Goals. to become the league’s top scorer (14 goals).
“Doi also did well to get into double figures (11) but, as an inside forward, he is a different player from Stipe, who has been a fox in the area.”
BEST COACH
While the Coach of the Year award features three nominees: Keiji Shigetomi from Albirex, Gavin Lee from Tampines and Aurelio Vidmar from the Sailors, local soccer watchers feel it will be a two-horse race between Japanese and Singaporeans.
Khairul is supporting Lee, who he believes did well on a limited budget compared to Vidmar, who led the better-resourced sailors.
He added: “Gavin has shown tactical maturity and flexibility, fluidly alternating between a three and a four behind.
“His team was more measured and disciplined, and you see him defending better on central blocks, with players like Jordan Webb coming back to defend rather than waiting for the ball to go on attack.
“Other than that, what many don’t see is how well he has timed the training load in the different phases of this coronavirus-affected season; there were not many muscle injuries to his team despite the tight schedule.”
Hougang United manager Clement Teo had kind words for Shigetomi, but also leaned towards Lee, who was the only manager to plan the double over Albirex this season.
He said: “Shigetomi is a dedicated coach who uses his players according to their strengths and manages to bring out the best in a group of young players, some of whom were just college players with no professional soccer experience.”
“He also has tricks up his tactical sleeve: Hiroyoshi Kamata was an attacker last season and played as a left back this season.
“But Gavin surpasses me in how he stayed true to his philosophy, got his players to buy and created a possession-based passing football identity in Tampines. They raced Albirex nearby but were unlucky enough to drop points elsewhere. . “
But for Balestier Khalsa’s coach Marko Kraljevic, who won the Singapore Cup and Coach of the Year gong in 2014, the award has to go to the Japanese.
He said: “Shigetomi recognized that physical fitness was key and he worked on that, his team was at least 20 percent fitter than anyone else, and he managed to instill professionalism and teamwork in his players that took them to the next level .
“He deserves the award because he led a group, which was not the best team in the league, to win the title.”
The other awards to be presented at the ceremony include SPL Team of the Year, Goal of the Year, best referee and assistant referee.
NOMINEES FAS AWARDS NIGHTS *
PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
- Gabriel Quak (Lion City Mariners)
- Stipe Plazibat (sailors)
- Tomoyuki Doi (Albirex Niigata)
* Selected
YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
- Harith Kanadi (Geylang International)
- Jacob Mahler (Young Lions)
- Saifullah Akbar (sailors)
COACH OF THE YEAR:
- Aurelio Vidmar (Sailors)
- Gavin Lee (Tampines Rovers)
- Keiji Shigetomi (Albirex)
OBJECTIVE OF THE YEAR:
- Khairul Nizam (Geylang), a strike near the midline against Tampines on November 7
- Luiz Junior (Tanjong Pagar United), shot from outside the penalty area against Tampines on November 22
- Reo Nishiguchi (Albirex), acrobatic shot from an acute angle against Young Lions on October 18
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