The arrival of two new foreign teams in the SLeague hasn't gone down too well in Singapore with some fans calling for a boycott of games in the upcoming season. A bit drastic that when no bugger goes anyway.
Etoille and Beijing Guoan have of course replaced DPMM and Super Reds. But why do we have to have two foreign clubs replace two domestic clubs?

SINGAPORE, 16 July 2010: S.League newcomers Beijing Guoan Talent will play host to the Malaysian Under -23 team for a friendly match at the Yishun stadium on Tuesday, 20 July, 7.45pm.

Match: Beijing Guoan Talent FC vs.

Lio Messi and Pep Guardiola did a press conference in Beijing today, and I can't say which of them looks more exhausted to be there. It's understandable that they're jetlagged and suffering from media headaches, but poor Lio was actually fighting to stay awake all through it.
Still, Lio managed to answer some questions through his yawns, saying that he's looking forward to playing alongside Cesc Fabregas someday and also revealing that he wanted Maradona to stay on as Argentina's coach.

Depite frosty relations between Indonesia and Malaysia Persisam are going to give a trial to Malaysian striker Stanley Bernard who played for Persibo Bojonegoro in an East Java League game the other day.
Previously he was with My Team and, according to Wikipedia, in India with Sporting Clube de Goa.

The following squad lists have been announced for the upcoming 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar. Squads will be added as they are announced:

Group A: Qatar, Kuwait, China, Uzbekistan
Group B: Saudi Arabia, Japan, Jordan, Syria
Group C: South Korea, Australia, India, Bahrain
Group D: Iraq, North Korea, United Arab Emirates, Iran

Australia Squad

Goalkeepers: Mark Schwarzer (Fulham), Brad Jones (Liverpool), Nathan Coe (SønderjyskE)
Defenders: Lucas Neill (Galatasaray), David Carney (Blackpool), Saša Ognenovski (Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma), Luke Wilkshire (Dynamo Moscow), Jonathan McKain (Al-Nassr), Jade North (Wellington Phoenix), Matthew piranović (Urawa Red Diamonds)
Midfielders: Tim Cahill (Everton), Jason Čulina (Gold Coast United), Brett Emerton (Blackburn), Harry Kewell (Galatasaray), Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar), Mile Jedinak (Gençlerbirliği), Carl Valeri (Sassuolo), Matt McKay (Brisbane Roar), Neil Kilkenny (Leeds United)
Forwards: Scott McDonald (Middlesbrough), Robbie Kruse (Melbourne Victory), Nathan Burns (AEK Athens)

Bahrain Squad

Not yet announced

China Squad

Goalkeepers: Yang Zhi (Beijing Guoan), Guan Zhen (Jiangsu Sainty), Zeng Cheng (Henan Construction)
Defenders: Wang Qiang (Changsha Ginde), Zhao Peng (Henan Construction), Du Wei (Hangzhou Greentown), Liu Jianye (Changsha Ginde), Zhang Linpeng (Guangzhou Evergrande), Rong Hao (Hangahou Greentown), Li Jianbin (Chengdu Blades)
Midfielders: Zhou Haibin (Shandong Luneng), Zhao Xuri (Shaanxi Zhongjian), Hao Junmin (Schalke 04), Deng Zhuoxiang (Shandong Luneng), Wang Song (Hangzhou Greentown), Yu Tao (Shanghai Shenhua), Huang Bowen (Beijing Guoan), Yang Hao (Beijing Guoan), Yu Hai (Shaanxi Zhongjian)
Forwards: Yang Xu (Liaoning Whowin), Qu Bo (Shaanxi Zhongjian), Gao Lin (Guangzhou Evergrande)

India Squad

Goalkeepers: Subrata Pal (Pune FC), Subhasish Roy Chowdhury (Dempo SC), Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (AIFF XI)
Defenders: Anwar Ali (Dempo SC), Deepak Kumar Mondal (Mohun Bagan), Mahesh Gawli (Dempo SC), Irungbam Surkumar Singh (Mohun Bagan), Gouramangi Singh (Churchill Brothers), Rakesh Masih (Mohun Bagan), Moirangthem Govin Singh (East Bengal), Manju (Mohun Bagan)
Midfielders: Naduparambil Pappachan Pradeep (No club), P.

So, DC United has gone out and signed MLS' first ever Australian, forward Danny Allsopp from Qatar's Al-Rayyan club.
Earlier, I tweeted that I hated the move. Maybe that was a bit harsh. Let me restate it this way instead. I am hugely worried about this move. Here's why.
First off, I don't know what his salary is yet, so this is just speculation on my part.

Defending Chinese Super League champions Beijing Guoan F.C. have officially unveiled the Nike 2010 home kit. Owned by the Chinese government and its subsidiaries, Beijing Guoan have long been a powerhouse in Chinese soccer. Their team roster features several Chinese internationals along with players from Australia, Bosnia, Cameroon and Scotland.

Referee Abdul Malik officiated this historical match
INTRODUCTION
It was a historical day at the Jalan Besar Stadium, as the season 2010 welcome the both Etoile FC and Beijing Guoan into the foray of the S.League.
For the record, the French-based Etoile is the first European-based club, while the feeder club from the Chinese capital is the fourth Chinese-based club to be feature in our league.

After some surprising results of late, has the early doubts cast on Beijing Guoan Talent removed?
They scored their first victory over the AFC Cup qualified Geylang United 3-1 at the Jalan Besar.
Talents had a lengthy de-briefing after their loss to Tampines earlier this week
Following that, they took the lead in their home fixture against another traditional powerhouses - Tampines Rovers but only succumbed to a Khairul Amri-inspired fightback in the second half which saw many of their players suffered from muscle cramps towards the end of the match.

Indonesia Super League
Persija v Persitara 1-0 (Serge Emelau)
SLeague
Beijing Guoan v Geylang United 0-1 (Peter Tomko) 934
It's not often we see an attendance in the SLeague better anything in Indonesia but Beijing Guoan pulled more paying punters to Yishun Stadium last than the Jakarta Derby did on the same day.

The Singapore up kicks off tonight with Young Lions taking on Home United at Jalan Besar. The 12 SLeague teams are joined by four foreign invitees and the 1st round, or is it now the round of 16, is spread over eight nights.
24/05 Young Lions v Home United25/05 Balestier Khalsa v Geylang United26/05 South Melbourne v Gombak United27/05 SAFFC v Bangkok Glass28/05 Phnom Penh Crown v Etoile29/05 Sengkang Punggol v Albirex Niigata30/05 Tampines Rovers v Woodlands Wellington31/05 Beijing Guoan v Kitchee
Quarter finals scheduled 27/9 - 4/10 two legs while the semi finals, also two legged are 25/10 - 29/10.

(Managed to take a breather while my house's upgrading work still in progress, how could I possibly miss the "Uniform Derby" between SAFFC and Home Utd?)
Anyway, it was the first time in months since I last saw the Protectors in action.
Since then things have been improved for the MHA-linked club by offloaded some mis-fitted players in the transfer window, while making some shrew recruitments that totally transformed Home United into a force to be reckon with.

SINGAPORE, 20 July 2010: The Malaysia Under-23 team overcame a determined Beijing Guoan Talent team 3-0 in a friendly match played at the Yishun stadium.

The reigning SEA Games Gold medal winners opened the scoring through striker Norshahrul Idlan Talaha after he pounced on a mistake by goalkeeper Yan Hai in the 22nd minute.

Tampines Rovers returned to the top of the SLeague after Aleksander Duric's 10th minute goal was enough to defeat Albirex Niigata last night. The stay may only be 24 hours as toinght Etoile take on Beijing Guoan.

Chinese football is, as we know by now, fraught with seemingly limitless issues, paramount among them a sporting culture that is overly violent. So forming a team made up entirely of Chinese players, those from the youth system of Beijing Guoan, to travel overseas and develop in another country would appear to be, at least on the surface, a very good idea.

Before the 2006 World Cup, it was Archie Thompson. In between, there were Bruce Djite's delusions of grandeur. Now, a recalcitrant Joel Griffiths has become the latest to attempt to hold his A-League club to ransom over a career move of doubtful value.
Griffiths' indiscipline in China has cost him precious game time, but even had he starred at Beijing Guoan, would a 30-year-old striker with a record of blowing his top in pressure situations really come into consideration for Pim Verbeek's final 23?

Frustration - you can't deny that as we are less than ONE month away from the season 2010 kick-off and we are still clueless when the league fixtures because the identities of the "11th and 12th" teams are yet to be announced.
It's nothing dissimilar like last year at this round of time and patient on the ground are running thin, as the league authority has been kept mum other than "the reviewing and assessment" of those biding clubs.

The SLeague will finally announce tomorrow the identity of the two new teams that will participate in the new season that commences 1st February.
DPMM Brunei were of course kiced out by those FIFA bullies with just a handful of games remaining while Super Reds are looking to rebrand themselves as a local side and not a Korean import.

(P.S:The Chinese text in the title says - "Beijing Guoan confirmed as the 12th team of S.League")
The logo of Beijing Guoan FC (picture credit : Wikipedia)
The dust had settled as it was declared CSL club Beijing Guoan will join Etoile FC as the debutantes for Season 2010, which is scheduled to kick off on 1st February.

The good folk at Kallang Roar are more than a little peeved to see that Chinese side Beijing Guoan have been successful in their application to join the SLeague which kicks off in less than two weeks.
Indeed they have been going so far as saying will boycott the Chinese team's games. Not that anyone would notice I don't suppose.

The SLeague starts next Monday and most of the teams have been busy this last few weeks training and playing friendlies, usually against each other.
But two teams have failed to arrive. The new teams, controversially selected to replace DPMM and Super Reds were due to arrive over the last few days.

(Media information by Football Association of Singapore)
SINGAPORE, 9 February 2010 – Of the top four S.League clubs to receive a bye to the quarter-finals, Home United, Gombak United and Tampines Rovers find themselves facing with a challenging League Cup journey after they were drawn in the same half of the competition's quarter-finals.

It turns out that ‘Koreaphobia' is a condition not easily cured. For South Korea and China, this week is the ‘decider'. The two neighbours have crossed swords twice this year already with the score resting at 1-1. Events over the next 48 hours will determine which nation emerges as the winner.
The Koreans have long had the upper hand when it comes to the beautiful game.

SINGAPORE, 04 May 2010: The Preliminary Round of the 2010 RHB Singapore Cup will take place from 24 May to 31 May, with the Young Lions kicking off this year's campaign against Home United at the Jalan Besar stadium on Monday 24 May.
Geylang United will begin their RHB Singapore Cup defence away to Balestier Khalsa at the Toa Payoh stadium on 25 May while debutants South Melbourne will take on Gombak United at Jalan Besar on Wednesday 26 May.

(Media Information by the Football Association of Singapore)
The Singapore Cup
SINGAPORE, 04 May 2010: The Preliminary Round of the 2010 RHB Singapore Cup will take place from 24 May to 31 May, with the Young Lions kicking off this year's campaign against Home United at the Jalan Besar stadium on Monday 24 May.

Long-time readers of this blog will know that I'm not exactly Pim Verbeek's greatest fan, but some of the criticism coming his way over the selection of the provisional World Cup squad is frankly excessive. SBS's blogger-in-chief has continued to champion the cause of Eddy Bosnar and Sasa Ognenovski in somewhat hyperbolic terms, and now we have a Milicevic-style spray from Beijing Guoan's Joel Griffiths.

No-one can explain football. Where you have a relatively even playing field where a team's finances and quality cancel each other out then anything can happen. And that has to be a good thing surely? Or Shirley?
It's boring when the same teams dominate year after year. Teams like Chelsea, Manchester United, Barcelona, SAFFC.

Liverpool FC's race ace James Walker strengthened his position in the Superleague Formula racing Championship by moving up two places to eighth after round four in Jarama, Spain, on Sunday.
In the opening race there was frustration for Walker after a tyre puncture disrupted his chances.

The NSC Minnesota Stars will announce soon that Leilei Gao, the 29-year old midfielder from Beijing, China has been released by the team. Gao requested a transfer in order to move back to China. Goa was said to have never really settled in with the team or Minnesota and was still living in the NSC dormitory up until he left the club last week.

Dear World,

While you were away to the World Cup festival (pictured above - a common sight everywhere in Singapore), some interesting events actually took place during your absence.
Several procrastinating issues were pushed onto the table top after the media probed on matters pertaining the security and the crowd attendance.

Tampines Rovers came from behind to stun Beijing Guoan 5-2 last night at Jalan Besar. Wang Hao gave the home team the lead from the spot before Aliff Shafaein equalised on the half hour mark.
Duric scored his first with about 20 minutes on the clock and Shahdan Sulaiman made it 2-1 minutes later.

SLeague
Woodlands Wellington v Beijing Guoan 0-1 (Zhang Ye)
Thai Premier League
Sisaket v Army 0-1 (Tatree Singha)Samut Songkram v Buriram PEA 0-0Bangkok Glass v BEC Tero 2-2 (Chatree Chimtalay, Wichaya Dechmitr; Wuttichai Tathong, Naret Kapkraikeow) 4,230Bangkok United v Police United 0-4 (Surapong Tamwongsa, Felipe Ferriera, Pichet In-Bang 2)TOT v TTM Phichit 1-3 (Georgi Tsimakuridze; Narong Jansaywek, OG, Valci Junior) 1,520Raj Navy Rayong v Pattaya United 1-1 (Wuttichai Asuchiwan; Kengne Ludovick) 3,363Thai Port v Osotsapa 1-1 (Mario Cesar Da Silva, Cleiton Silva) 3,445Chonburi v Muang Thong United 0-0 12,180
VLeague
Da Nang v Ninh Binh 1-1 (Merlo; Ngoc Huy)
HAGL v Navibank Sai Gon 0-1 (Opara)
Hoa Phat v Hai Phong 4-3 (Isaac, Timothy Anjembe (3); Lazaro (2), Victor)
Thanh Hoa v Khanh Hoa 3-2 (Xuan Hop, Bao Khanh, Mauro; Agostinho, Nogues)
DT Long An v Nam Dinh 1-0 (Antonio)
SLNA v Dong Thap 2-0 (Quang Tinh, Trong Hoang)

Not that long ago, I came across one posting from an online forum.
The posting on the online forum detailed a fan's frustration over the state of the game in this country, with one of her grouses targetted the presence of the feeder squads of both Albirex Niigata and Beijing Guoan, which she felt had deprived some local talents from playing at the top level.

For immediate release
SINGAPORE, 7 September 2010 - The Great Eastern-YEO'S S.League match between the Young Lions and Beijing Guoan Talent tonight was abandoned at the 89th minute after a scuffle broke out between players from both sides.
The FAS takes a serious view of this gross misconduct by the players.

The Great Eastern-YEO'S S.League match between the Young Lions and Beijing Guoan Talent tonight was abandoned at the 89th minute after a scuffle broke out between players from both sides.

The FAS takes a serious view of this gross misconduct by the players. We are conducting an investigation into this matter and the perpetrator will be dealt with severely.

Following the handbags at 20 paces between Young Lions and Beijing Guoan in the SLeague the game's governing body, the FAS, is looking to act quickly with both teams told to file reports by the 14 September.
Young Lions manager Eugene Loo said that 'such incidents are unacceptable and the players are very remorseful for their actions.

Representatives from Young Lions and Beijing Guoan Talent FC met at "Carousel" at Royal Plaza of Scotts for a luncheon for the first time since the mass brawl that took place on the 7th of July at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
This luncheon session allowed both parties to make their stand on the unpleasant incident that caused quite a stir in both Singapore and China with both Young Lions and Beijing Guoan Talent reiterated that tough disciplinary actions will be shown to those perpetrators.

Liverpool FC's new Superleague Formula race star Frederic Vervisch produced a stunning performance to claim the top prize in Portugal.
In only his second drive in the red car of Liverpool, Vervisch claimed the €100,000 prize for winning the dash-for-cash Super Final.
What made the victory more impressive was the Reds driver had tyre problems but he showed all his quality to win the race.

It was a long, lengthy wait as expected, as the main media outlets and
the concerned parties descended at the Jalan Besar Stadium for the
Disciplinary Committee (DC) hearing for the mass-brawl that took place
between Young Lions and Beijing Guoan Talents on the 7th September.

The DC panel is a independent body from the FAS and they are formed by
a group of lawyers who presided over the hearing.

SINGAPORE, 22 September: The FAS Disciplinary Committee arrived at their verdict today with regards to the charges of gross misconduct laid on Young Lions and Beijing Guoan Talent during their Great Eastern YEO'S S.League match on 07 September 2010 at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

Both clubs have been docked five points and fined $5,000 each.