“We want to go to the National Stadium,” declares the Lion City Sailors’ head coach, Aurelio Vidmar, as he sits down for an exclusive interview with Goal .
“I think you should be playing the pinnacle at the best stadium. You’re broadcasting to all of Asia, and probably outside Asia as well. You want to set the scene. You want to set the scene at the National Stadium with a great pitch, a great stadium with lots of fans.
"You have to create the atmosphere, so when people are watching on TV, they think wow, that’s really nice. Fans are crazy, supporting the team. Those are the special nights, when special things happen.”
He refers of course, to the Asian Champions League.
Sitting down with two of the Sailors’ big-hitters, you get the sense that he isn’t alone in dreaming of grand Asian matches under the lights. When the AFC confirmed that this year’s highest-placed local team in the Singapore Premier League would qualify directly for the group stages of the premier continental competition, the club’s collective eyes lit up.
It was an opportunity to move beyond the domestic league, and establish themselves amongst the region’s best. An opportunity to fulfil billionaire owner Forrest Li’s ambition of becoming a benchmark of footballing excellence not just in Singapore, but across Asia.
But the roads to Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney and Seoul, where they could play in front of close to 30,000, start at the 3,200-capacity Bishan Stadium, where LCS will complete the remainder of the 2020 campaign in front of approximately zero due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.
The Lion City Sailors were formally established in February 2020, when local e-commerce company SEA confirmed their takeover of Singapore Premier League giants Home United. It was news which took the local football community by surprise: a new name, new kits, a new crest, and essentially, a new club.
Lion City Sailors FC
With the year ‘2020’ adorned boldly in the middle of the new badge, the implication was clear: it was the end of the Home United era, which had begun way back in 1941, and the dawn of a fresh, exciting time.
“I think the Sailors project is obviously a brand-new one, with a brand-new outlook on things for Singapore Football. But in essence, it’s really about building on the existing culture of professionalism and sporting excellence from Home United before,” Sailors General Manager Badri Ghent explains to Goal .
“I think this can be illustrated by the fact that all the club’s staff and players were retained, so it goes a long way to show that all the stuff we did at Home United was the building block, and the investments being made are really taking us to the next level. We really want to set the tone for professionalism in Singapore Football, we want to be the trailblazers.
"I wouldn’t say we want to leave the history behind, it’s just about providing a new outlook. It’s by no means erasing any of Home United’s history or its illustrious past, and whatever its past successes were. It’s about building on that, and improving on what we did before.”
Having been at the club since 2014 and serving as GM since 2017, Badri is no stranger to the ins and outs of the Bishan-based outfit. Adored by fans and players alike, the affable 31-year-old has witnessed the club’s evolution first-hand.
“I think under Home United previously, it was all about doing things right. We built a very strong reputation for ourselves for making sure the players are being taken care of, for really doing things over and above what a club should be doing," he stated.
"For me personally, my personal mantra when I was team manager was that if I want a player to give 100 per cent on the pitch, the least I can do is give them 100% off the pitch, to make sure the conditions are right for them to perform and succeed with the club.”
With the club being based in the central district of Bishan for much of its modern history, it had done well to build up a strong affinity with the residents of the area, drawing healthy crowds at home matches, particularly during the S.League’s halcyon days of the late 90s.
Despite being controlled by the Ministry of Home Affairs for the most part, the Protectors, as they were then known, had the reputation of a relatively small-sized footballing institution, representing their community in the domestic league. However, with this year’s rebranding came a notable change - the name ‘Lion City’ being a nod to Singapore, rather than one specifically to Bishan, which left many questioning whether the club still saw itself as rooted in its original community, or instead as more of a national club in the mould of the Lions XII.
“I think it has to be both!” Badri chuckles. “There’s this saying, football is nothing without its fans, and that’s something that rings true especially when it comes to our community engagement efforts. As much as we are trying to do our best to service the immediate community around Bishan, it’s not something we want to be limited by either. At the Sailors, we have a responsibility now to play a larger role within the football ecosystem.”
And despite the outcries of the football purist, who can blame them?
One of the first acts of the new management following the takeover was to privatise the club, making the Lion City Sailors the first private football club in Singapore history. With the other local clubs existing as societies sustained primarily by yearly FAS handouts, the Sailors raised eyebrows nationally when they became the only club to turn down the Football Association’s yearly grant, while also closing down their jackpot operations, a huge source of income for most local teams.
It became clear that they would no longer be reliant on such avenues of income. The Sailors had serious money in the bank, and were not afraid to spend it.
“It was very exciting,” admitted Badri. “It was breaking new grounds. Where we were at Home United before, obviously we were always trying to gun for honours and win the title, but in the same breath, resources were always something which was taken into big consideration. Where we are now and with the investment we’ve had, it’s really about walking into unchartered territories for us. This kind of opportunity doesn’t happen too often, maybe once in a lifetime.”
Lion City Sailors FC
One of the first acquisitions the club made was off the pitch. Australian manager Aurelio Vidmar, an Asian Champions League finalist with Adelaide United, was brought in to lead the team in this exciting new era.
“What convinced me to come here was speaking to Badri and the management. To be honest, I wasn’t really sure in the beginning, but then I came here and met them and you know sometimes you have that attraction, and within a few minutes I could tell there was a lot of good energy and synergy between the two groups, so it became a very easy decision at the end,” said the former Australia captain.
“The holistic type of project here for the club was something that excited me, and there’s no point signing for a club and just going through the motions. You can see we’re trying to lay some strong foundations now and hopefully in the next 10, 20, 30 years, it can become a club that is completely different from anyone else.”
With a top-class manager through the door, it was time for the Sailors to buckle down and begin a revamp of their operations, with the aim of establishing new levels of professionalism previously unheard of in Singapore.
One of the main criticisms of the SPL and its predecessor, the S.League, is that unprofessionalism is rife. Most clubs were unable to offer playing contracts of more than a year at a time, due to uncertainties over funding, which inadvertently led to players’ focus being affected due to uncertainty over their futures. It also resulted in local teams regularly losing their best players for free to foreign clubs, and players jumping between clubs in the SPL on an almost yearly basis, making it difficult for fans to build a relationship with their teams. Badri was having none of it.
“Longer term contracts are just one aspect of the higher level of professionalism that we strive towards,” he affirmed. “But in the same breath, it also means we expect and demand a lot more from our players and staff. Aiming higher also means we have to work together, there has to be common commitment, right down to the academy. Loyalty also means investing back into the players. At the Sailors, it’s something we aspire towards, but at the same time we demand a much higher level of expectation from the players and staff. Everyone has to deserve their place in this club.”
Another aspect which has irked local fans for years is the perceived ill-discipline of many players when it came to looking after themselves. In order to remain in peak physical condition, strict diets are often required, as well as not smoking, which remains a deep-rooted issue in the local game. With reports of players smoking in the dressing room or during breaks in training not uncommon, it is essential that any club looking to aim higher than domestic success stamps this out, or risk being left behind by regional rivals.
“I think it is something we have to enforce within the club, moving forward it’s something we have to look at very strongly,” Badri conceded. “It’s something we are actively looking into. It’s part of the education for the younger players as well. As professional players and role models, whether they like it or not, they have a big responsibility to play towards the younger guys, and at the end of the day on a personal health basis, it's only for their own good. As professionals, we demand a high level of fitness and exertion from them during matches and training sessions, and anything that is counter-productive to that needs to be looked at.”
“At the end of the day it’s about setting the standards for professionalism. Getting things done in-house correctly, and paving the way to ensure that moving forward we have a structure we can all be proud of. This is multi-faceted, in terms of the technical aspect, the horizontals like psychology, nutrition and sports science, things that would help to elevate the standards and professionalism of the players in Singapore,” he continued.
As if to demonstrate the seriousness with which the club looked at the aforementioned issues, head coach Vidmar revealed that they are looking at implementing a fine system for players caught smoking, as well as introducing more punitive measures over time. With a dietician set to arrive at Bishan Stadium too, it is hoped that the playing staff will be able to align more closely with their European counterparts in terms of professionalism.
With the SPL having resumed, the Sailors will look to get their quest for glory back on track, following a couple of poor results before the league was suspended. With both the SPL title and the Asian Champions League spot still very much up for grabs, the Sailors are as focused as ever.
“Qualifying is pivotal. As we mentioned before, one of our objectives is to try get in the Champions League position. We have that direct slot, and that’s what we should be vying for every year,” said Vidmar.
“It’s a very prestigious competition. If and when we get there, we’re going to be competing against one of the richest clubs in China, one of the richest in Japan. The group stage is very, very hard. But we do want to get there. There’s nothing better than playing international teams on foreign soil or having them come here. Some of the greatest nights of my football career were in the Asian Champions League. We want to be up there with the best teams in Asia.”
-
From missing Messi to training from home - How Gabriel Quak survived Singapore's Circuit Breaker
-
From Ilhan Fandi to Farhan Zulkifli - Meet the future of Singapore
However, should the Sailors succeed in qualifying for AFC’s flagship tournament at the first time of asking, serious upgrades to the playing squad might be needed. With an ageing squad and just three foreign players on their roster, reinforcements could be required in order to compete at the highest level.
Both Badri and Vidmar remained tight lipped on any prospective transfers targets, but one gets the sense that the poaching of striker Stipe Plazibat, signed from rivals Hougang for an undisclosed fee, would not be the last of their moves in the market.
Rido Alamsah
“We don’t know what’s going to happen between now and December, but it’s already in our thinking about what we’re going to do next year. Midway through the season, I’m already thinking about what we need to do for next season. Who we need to recruit, where we need to strengthen, who do we keep, it’s all part of managing a football club,” says Vidmar.
“The ACL is very difficult. It’s a different level, and if I had to be really honest, we don’t have what it takes to compete right now. If you go like for like, player for player, yeah we have a lot of good players, but it is a different level. You see JDT for example, Diogo their number nine, compared to our number nine, their number 10 compared to ours. It’s a different level of salary, physically they’re at a different level, although technically it wouldn’t be too different. We’re always trying to reinforce every single year, and we’re no different to any club in the world in that respect,” he continued.
“We have to look at it objectively,” added Badri. “In discussions with the coach, we have to look at targets that are within reasonable means, but the most important thing is to ensure the footballing ambitions of the club and the player are aligned. Having said that, living and working in Singapore isn’t the worst thing in the world, so that is counting in our favour, but it’s always about ensuring that the players coming in will elevate the standard of our team.”
It has to be said, qualification for the competition could potentially bring about a sizeable windfall for the club. For example, one away win in the group stage would net them an eye-watering S$150,000, which is the same amount as winning the SPL would generate. Of course, winning away from home against one of Asia’s top teams is easier said than done, but with the mindset and positive energy around the club, it only seems a matter of time before they reach that level.
One club in the vicinity which has reached that level is Johor Darul Ta’zim, located just north of the border and a mere 36-minute drive from Bishan Stadium. The takeover by SEA has seen many fans and netizens compare the Sailors to the Southern Tigers, who were languishing in the second tier of Malaysian football when they were taken over by TMJ in 2012. It took them two years to win their first MSL title, and have now won the last six in a row, an AFC Cup, and compete regularly in the Champions League.
When quizzed on whether the Sailors could replicate JDT’s astronomical rise, Vidmar was pragmatic, but revealed his belief that it could be possible, albeit in time.
“When you look at JDT, spending a hell of a lot of money for years, they’ve only just been able to start really having a big say in the ACL. They had a great game against Vissel Kobe, but it’s taken them such a long time and a lot of money to get there,” he analysed.
“But you have to dream for it, you have to set standards, and you need everything to go well. We have great owners, great management, great coaching staff, great other staff that complement the team. So setting the foundation is the most important, that’s what we’re doing right now, and having the stomach to challenge yourself and try get through this whole period. You always have some bumps up and down during the road to the top, and it probably won’t be any different here, but you just gotta stay focused. You can’t just throw everything out the window if it isn’t working after seven months or so, you have to be very strong-willed and strong-minded to say this is the road, this is the direction we’re going, and sticking to it.”
Away from the club’s ferocious desire to reach the top, a soft spot remains for their loyal supporters, with the Sailors going to great lengths to bring them back to the stadium, once restrictions are lifted. Following the rebranding of the S.League to the SPL, the FAS placed greater importance on clubs’ social media and outreach programs, and the Sailors, as ever, are looking to go one step further.
“At the end of the day, football is nothing without the fans. Fans are at the core of what we do. Before the Circuit Breaker we actually had very big plans in terms of engaging our fans and the wider community to come to our matches, and that has been exemplified by lowering some of the barriers. For example, we’re pricing our jerseys at $40, which is comparatively low compared to what it was historically under Home United,” Badri explained.
“We have very big plans moving forward, hopefully once the restrictions are lifted it’s something we can do in terms of engaging the community and leveraging on our players’ profiles. What we want is to create accessibility for our fans. For a new brand like the Sailors, we have a responsibility to show the masses what we stand for as a club, and what is our aspiration moving forward. Hopefully we can take onboard like-minded fans, and once the matches come around, they come watch our games and they have a good sense as to what the club stands for and can achieve. We’ve been conducting some clinics for schools, but we also want to reach out to the wider footballing eco-system and see what we can do as a club to help them as well,” he concluded.
“We want to be seen as role models for the community,” stated Vidmar emphatically. “I want every kid to know every single player in our team. I’ve seen our guys, whenever there are kids around, we’re always available for them, and that’s how we need to be. When players come with their kids, I love it because it creates a family atmosphere. We need that close affinity with the fans, there’s no question about that, but also the broader community, and if there are no football fans there, by showing and setting an example of what a professional team looks like, we are going to get people outside of football to be proud to join us by coming to games and having that connection.”
Indeed, it’s an exciting time to be a fan of the Lion City Sailors. With significant financial backing from SEA, a proven manager at the wheel and most importantly, a solid foundation being built to last for decades, the possibilities are endless.
The base is definitely there for the Sailors to build something incredible, but as always, the management will keep their feet firmly on the ground. As we know, the ultimate dream might be to take on and compete with Urawa Red Diamonds or Shanghai SIPG, but it all starts with seeing off domestic competition first.