SINGAPORE (13 Nov 2012) – His on-field displays may be a thing of poetic beauty, but when asked to speak, it turns out that Wan Zack Haikal is a man of few words.
That did not stop the Harimau Muda winger from becoming the biggest individual winner at the Great Eastern-YEO’S S.League Awards Night 2012 this week when he walked away with the YEO’S People Choice and YEO’S Young Player of the Year awards.
Wan Zack’s first season in the S.League has been an impactful one, as he often drove his team on from either flank and earned both the adulation of his fellow Malaysians and the respect of others.
The 21-year-old duly paid tribute to those who have supported him as he spoke of his achievements.
“I am very happy to win these two awards,” expressed a grateful Wan Zack.
“Thank you to the fans who voted for me (for the People Choice Award); I could not have won this without the Harimau Muda fans. I don’t think there is a lot more I can say!”
Speaking on his feelings on winning the Young Player of the Year crown and his future directions, he revealed pride on the Harimau Muda’s achievement for managing fourth place in the S.League.
He added that his focus is now on the Malaysia national team’s preparations for the upcoming AFF Suzuki Cup, from which he was granted special permission to leave so that he could come to Singapore for the Awards Night, held this year at ITE College East.
The Great Eastern Player of the Year award went to veteran forward Aleksandar Duric of Tampines Rovers, the third time he has won this prize since doing so in 2007 and 2008.
As Duric is currently in Tokyo with the Singapore national team training for the Suzuki Cup, Stags team manager Zulkarnaen Zainal collected the award on his behalf.
Zulkarnaen revealed that he had a hunch one of the three nominees from his club would win the award, as midfielders Jamil Ali and Ahmad Latiff Khamarudin were also in contention.
“I got a feeling one of them would win; we were 60% there already and we’ve cornered the market!” he laughed.
“I feel very happy that Aleks won the Player of the Year. If the S.League can provide 3 trophies, I want to give the award to all three of our players!”
Vjeran Simunic, the flamboyant figure guiding Bruneian side DPMM FC, proved true to form as he spoke to the media after receiving his recognition in the form of the MIKASA Coach of the Year award.
“I feel very nice and emotional,” remarked the Croatian.
“We bravely targeted making the top five, and the top five teams were all very strong until the last moment. My opinion is we are one of the best teams in the S.League.
“I want to thank especially the Bruneian players in the team, they have shown that people should not look down on Bruneians. Yes, we have import players, but the Bruneian players have done so much of the work for the team to make me win this award.”
There were moments of humour at the Awards Night as well, the most memorable of the lot being Norihiro Kawakami’s acceptance speech for the Singapore Pools Fair Play Award, which went to Albirex Niigata (Singapore).
Pushed into going on stage by club chairman Daisuke Korenaga, the 25-year-old took much effort to keep a straight face as he read out his speech.
“Thank you, S.League,” he said, haltingly.
“Thank you, Singapore. Thank you, Singapore Pools, for this award… And thank you, S.League, again!”
Waga Assistant Referee of the Year winner Eugene Chan gave special mention to his wife in his acceptance speech, noting that it was the first time in five years she was attending the event.
“We have to spend a lot of time training and refereeing, and that means the family’s had to make sacrifices in terms of having less time with me,” he said, before adding “Thank you.”
Quizzed on the spot by Awards Night host Colette Wong about the abuse he has to take from fans while on duty, a cool-looking Chan showed no hard feelings at all.
“We usually try to block the jeers out and make it just part of the noise,” he commented.
“But after some time, it has become an inspiration, a motivation for us to keep going. So I should say thank you to the fans!”
The FAS Special Award went to Maniam Murugiah, who was the former deputy chairman of the Referees Committee until he requested to relinquish his position recently.
Mr. Maniam, who has extensive experience in refereeing and referee development, shared his proudest moment in his career.
“It was the day that I got a call from the AFC saying that my referee was selected for the World Cup in 2002. That was the happiest moment for me.”
Having spent so much time working for others, Maniam is looking forward to having some time for himself now that he has stepped down from his post.
“What I am going to do is to play golf!” he quipped.
SOURCE: S-League.com
