SINGAPORE (2 Dec 2014) – The AFF Suzuki Cup journey may have ended for Singapore, but as far as Head Coach, National Teams, Bernd Stange was concerned, this is just the beginning for his team.
Only requiring a draw to progress to the semi-finals as Thailand were leading Myanmar 2-0 at the same time, the Lions were undone by a penalty in additional time.
With the score at 1-1, a successful conversion by Safiq Rahim saw Singapore falter to concede yet another goal by Indra Putra Mahayuddin minutes later to seal Malaysia’s spot in the AFF Suzuki Cup semi-finals.
Singapore may have exited the tournament prematurely, leaving Stange a heartbroken man, but he was adamant that this was the start of a new dawn, especially after seeing youngsters such as Sahil Suhaimi and Amirul Adli performing admirably in their debut in the regional tournament.
“I have only praise for my team for their attitude and commitment. I saw that we were a little bit tired in the second half and we had some problems, we have to improve that,” Stange added.
“We should step forward and have the right conclusions. It is a young team, it is a bright future; seven, eight players can play in next year’s SEA (Southeast Asian) Games.
“I’m not so disappointed with the performance. Of course with the result tonight, that is a big disappointment and we are all (feeling) empty at this moment, but I think we should take the right conclusions from that.”
Stange was willing to concede that the squad lacked experienced heads, with more than half the squad below the average age of 25.
Nevertheless, he was adamant that for Singapore’s football to prosper, fielding the youngsters was a necessary move.
“We lacked a little bit of backbone in our team. We had this backbone two, three years ago when the foreigners like Duric and Mustafic played. But we played with a local team, we can be proud of what they delivered,” Stange asserted.
“The game is faster and faster, you see teams like Vietnam and Thailand, how quick and fast they are and I personally believe it’s a young man’s game.
“We have a strategy planned and part of this plan is to rebuild the national team. It’s a process, I’m one and a half years in. I’m disappointed we couldn’t take the cup; (we were) very unlucky today I think but to change the policy… what we have to do (is) we have to work very hard on youth development here in Singapore.”
