They made the S-Leap

A JAPANESE and a Canadian were chatting during a Danish SuperLiga club's training trip to Turkey a week ago.

Guess what the conversation was about?

Singapore football.

Over a cup of tea, Issey Nakajima Farran and Suguru Hashimoto, both players at Vejle Boldklub, were reminiscing about a country thousands of miles away.

The duo played two seasons in the S-League with Japanese club Albirex Niigata.

The Canada-born Farran, whose family moved to Japan when he was three years old, was Albirex's star striker in 2004 and 2005, before he moved to Vejle.

Hashimoto donned the Japanese club's colours in 2005 and 2006, and at the end of last year signed for Vejle, who play in Denmark's top league.

The pair are grateful to the S-League and Albirex for providing them with their first taste of professional football.

So grateful that they intend to retire here when their playing days are over, according to 25-year-old Hashimoto.

Before arriving in Singapore, both played for youth sides in Japan.

If not for the S-League, they could still be languishing in Japan's semi-professional football.

They are, however, just two of the S-League's more successful exports.

Striker Grant Holt, who spent four months with Sengkang Marine in 2002, is now at English League One side Nottingham Forest.

He played against Chelsea in the FA Cup fourth round on Jan 28 - a match Forest lost 0-3.

'It was a shame I had to leave Singapore, as I got an offer from an English club,' the 26-year-old said on Monday.

Another Albirex alumnus, 24-year-old midfielder Hidetoshi Wakui, is currently at Slovenian Division One side Interblock Ljubljana.

The S-League's most famous products, however, are three Iranians who represented their country in the 1998 World Cup Finals.

The coach Jalal Talebi, the defence linchpin Mohammad Khakpour and the playmaker Hamid Reza Estili were with Geylang United in 1996, the S-League's inaugural year.

The club predictably won the league and the FA Cup double that year.

They had come to Singapore towards the tail end of their careers.

But Farran, Hashimoto and Holt played here at the prime of their youth.

'It was a good chance for me to experience a different culture and style of football,' said Holt, who was 22 when he played here.

Before flying to Singapore, the Englishman had played for only English non-league sides.

It was only after his stint here that he began playing for league sides Rochdale, Sheffield Wednesday and Forest.

Said Farran, 22: 'The S-League gave us a chance to hone our skills when we were still very young.

'And, who knows, Hashimoto and I might even return to play in Singapore later in our lives.

'That was where we began our professional careers, so it is a very special place for us.'

The S-League's 2005 Young Player of the Year still follows Albirex's fortunes through the club's website.

He made some eye-catching performances here, scoring 12 and 14 goals in the 2004 and 2005 seasons.

He caught the eye of former Singapore Armed Forces FC coach Kim Poulsen, now head coach at Vejle.

Poulsen convinced him to continue his career in Denmark, and Farran signed a contract with them last February.

Hashimoto followed in Farran's footsteps at the end of last year.

Farran has scored 12 goals in 29 appearances at the club where former Everton and Real Madrid midfielder Thomas Gravesen started his career.

The player, who has a Canadian father and Japanese mother, also played for Canada in a friendly against Hungary last November.

But his ultimate dream is to play in the Champions League and the World Cup.

'For now, I hope to play in the Concacaf Gold Cup this summer, if Canada makes it through the qualifying rounds,' he said, referring to the soccer championship for North and Central American countries.

If he realises his dream, the S-League would truly celebrate with one of its biggest exports.

And, hopefully, get another advertisement on the world stage.

limze@sph.com.sg

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Petulant, pathetic, pointless

WALKING off the pitch when you disagree with a referee's decision is no way to behave.

Lille players were wrong to protest against Ryan Giggs' winner in Manchester United's 1-0 Champions League first-leg win, which was played in Lens.

It was petulant, pathetic and pretty pointless.

Giggs' goal - from a quickly taken free kick - had already been permitted by Dutch referee Eric Braamhaar.

After the game resumed, he could not subsequently disallow the goal. Though Lille swiftly returned to the pitch, the damage had been done.

And, emulating their errant players, the French crowd behaved badly. United captain Gary Neville was struck by missiles thrown from the stands.

Little wonder, then, that Alex Ferguson said: 'Uefa have got to do something about that.

'The Lille staff encouraged their players to come off the ground. It's intimidation of the referee. It was a disgrace. It created a hostile atmosphere.

'Gary was struck by an object thrown from the side of the pitch, and all sorts of objects were thrown at our bench. It should not be allowed.

'I have seen a lot of bad behaviour in football. It is an emotional game. But, usually, everything settles down the next day.

'I have never seen anything like this. It creates an intimidating environment and it was wrong.'

The Lille coach Claude Puel insisted: 'I have heard this before from Sir Alex Ferguson because he likes to influence the referee.'

Perhaps so, but Ferguson is an innocent man on this occasion.

Puel had two grievances during the match: 'There were two dubious decisions during the game, which we could've well done without.

'We had one goal disallowed, and then a free kick like that. It was a real shame. We didn't deserve that.'

Perhaps not, but their reaction deprived them of sympathy.

Their striker Peter Odemwingie had a goal disallowed for a shove on Nemanja Vidic, even if it was hardly the most powerful push ever seen on a football field.

Combined with Braamhaar's later decision, it makes Lille rank outsiders to progress to the last eight of the Champions League for the first time.

That is assuming that Uefa do not, as some suggested in the immediate aftermath, expel them.

There is a maxim that decisions even themselves out over the course of a season. In knock-out competitions, that is rarely true.

Yet, greater miscarriages of justice have been perpetrated without drawing a similar reaction, and certainly without it being prompted by members of the coaching staff.

A quarter of a century ago, the France side were the victims of a gruesome assault by German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher on their defender Patrick Battiston.

It was during a World Cup semi-final that was also refereed by a Dutch official.

Their spirited reaction endeared them to many.

While the taking of set-pieces before the referee has blown his whistle remains a grey area, there are precedents.

Another Frenchman, Thierry Henry, is an expert at quick thinking when it comes to free kicks. He has scored from them against Aston Villa and Chelsea.

Both teams, if disgruntled, proceeded with the game nevertheless.

Giggs' imitation of Henry was evidence of a sharp footballing brain. It also earned United arguably their finest result away in Europe, since the Welshman himself struck twice in the 3-0 win over Juventus in February 2003.

Under different circumstances, Tuesday's game would prompt discussions about different topics.

Whether Ferguson's Indian summer could yet bring a second Champions League. Whether he is right to persevere with a five-man midfield in Europe. When Wayne Rooney's long wait for a goal on the continent will end. Or the impact of Henrik Larsson's decision to return to Helsingborgs next month.

Instead, the focus will be on Giggs' 83rd-minute winner, Lille's response, and the subsequent crowd trouble.

Inevitably, attention will switch to the footballing authorities after a moment that Uefa should prove unable to ignore.

Remarkably, the only disciplinary sanction against Lille was the caution goalkeeper Tony Sylva received for his protests about the goal.

There are likely to be more repercussions for the French side for their display of petulance.

stsports@sph.com.sg

Smaller property projects sell fast even with little marketing

SMALL residential developments in suburban areas are selling strongly despite putting out almost no publicity - in some cases, not even a show-flat.

Property consultants say this is a sign that upbeat home buying sentiment is trickling down from the luxury segment to the mid- and lower market tiers, supported by strong economic growth and rising wages.

One such quick-selling project is Axis @ Siglap, a 40-unit boutique condominium that sold out in a matter of weeks.

About 35 units were snapped up even before the project's show-flat was completed two weeks ago, said Savills Singapore, which marketed the development.

'People just drove by the project site, saw the contact number on the hoarding, and called our office to make inquiries,' said Mr Ku Swee Yong, director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore.

He added that 'by the time the marketing brochures for Axis @ Siglap were printed, almost all the units had already been sold'.

Demand was strong despite the relatively high price of the freehold project, located in East Coast Terrace. Its average price was close to $800 per sq ft (psf), compared to between $600 and $700 psf for most other properties in the vicinity, said Savills.

Another fast-seller is The Mint Residences in Joo Chiat Terrace. Since last month, Savills has sold about 75 per cent of the 26 units.

The freehold development has no show-flat and there are no plans to construct one as sales are strong, said Mr Ku.

The Mint is fetching about $700 psf on average, at a premium over the average $630 to $650 psf for neighbouring projects, he added.

Closer to the city, Robertson Edge off Mohamed Sultan Road was recently sold out within three weeks at its preview, also without a show-flat.

Prices averaged $1,000 to $1,100 psf for the 70 units.

A side benefit of not building show-flats is that developers get to spend less on marketing, said marketing agents.

Putting together a show-flat for The Mint, for instance, would have cost developer Oaktree Properties between $500,000 and $1 million, Mr Ku noted.

In some cases, these cost savings are passed on to the home buyers.

One example of this is Tessa Lodge in Mountbatten Road, where 11 of the 13 units have been sold in the last three weeks.

The remaining two units have also already attracted interest from buyers, said property agency PropNex, which is marketing the project.

Tessa Lodge has no show-flat. Saving on the few hundred thousand dollars that would have gone into building one has resulted in lower prices for the project, said Mr Eric Cheng, senior division director at PropNex.

'We have only a sales gallery for the development, where we show buyers things like the floor plans, site plans, and tile samples,' he said.

This has allowed developer Ohayo International to price Tessa Lodge at about $620 psf, down from the original plan of $640 psf, added Mr Cheng.

Marketing agents say the strong buying for these low-key, boutique projects comes mainly from locals intending to live in these homes themselves.

Many are first-time buyers or Housing Board upgraders. Some are long-term tenants looking to buy their own home, while others are young couples or families moving out of their parents' homes.

But most of the buyers have this in common: They are making faster purchase decisions now where previously they would have been more cautious.

'The buying sentiment is much stronger now compared to just 12 months ago,' said Mr Ku.

'Last time they would just come in to have a look-see. Now if they see and they like it, they make a commitment to buy immediately.'

Because of this keen demand for suburban properties, Mr Ku believes mass-market homes will rise in prices, with some hitting $800 psf.

'There are still many undervalued areas outside the city centre, such as Marine Parade, Joo Chiat, Siglap, Thomson, Holland Road, Bukit Timah and West Coast up to Clementi Stadium,' he said.

Prices of new launches in these areas are therefore likely to outstrip those of existing homes, Mr Ku added.

fiochan@sph.com.sg



Strong demand

Interest in many fast-selling, low-key, boutique projects comes mainly from locals intending to live in these homes themselves, say property executives.

Many of these buyers are making faster purchase decisions now where previously they would have been more cautious.

The buying sentiment is much stronger now compared to just 12 months ago, according to Mr Ku Swee Yong, director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore.

Many recent smaller launches have even done away with show-flats altogether, with the effect of lowering the project's development costs. In some cases, these savings are passed on to the home buyers.

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