Originally posted by red_amoeba:
i think maybe bcos earlier, the waterpolo sport was mired with some embezzlement right? So while under investigation, everybody no mood to send the team there.
In any case our waterpolo only good in SEA, go to Asia Games only play the role of whipping boys, we stand no chance against Korea, China or Japan not to mention Kazakhstan.
Soccer - I also fail to comprehend why we send them there, waste money waste time. I dare say that bcos although both are whipping boys, at least the water polo team is the king of SEA - where is the soccer team? Prove themselves first by winning the SEA gold medal, then we talk. Winning the Tiger Cup is nothing bcos both times, they won by fluke. Win convincingly, beat ppl like Thailand and Indonesia. If we cannot beat ppl like Palestine or Iraq, we can forget about playing against Korea or Japan, they are big boys who play in World Cup.
I rather they stay here and train and work something for all to see and not waste our money and time to go there, only to come back empty handed...
Its good for the soccer team to go there even if they return empty handed as it allows them to gain exposure with playing teams from other countries. You don;t improve a football team just by training at home unless your team is comprised of players who ply in oversea leagues (malaysia league not included). The biggest problem in s'pre football team is its mentality, technical skill, and experience. more money is needed to spend on the youth academy and pick out the young talents as soon as possible and have them send overseas for maximum exposure, however sadly in s'pore, education comes first and i doubt that s'pore will ever make it big in the international stage given the direction it is going since sports is secondary compared to education unlike the North Asia countries where you can be handsomely rewarded for exceling in sports at international level.
If you want to increase your country's profile and exposure, football is one of the best medium out there. with the largest spectator and most tv coverage on the globe, imagine if you have one single s'porean player plying in EPL...everytime he's subbed onto the field, the commentor states... "here comes..ABC.. the singapore international, a country in south east asia also known as the red dot.........blah..blah..blah..'
