Brunei DPMM may not have enough to stop a resurgent Tampines Rovers from stealing the S.League title next season
The Brunei DPMM beat Balestier 4-0 to win their first-ever S.League title on home soil. (Photo: S.League)
Brunei DPMM FC secured its first-ever S.League title in 2015 but Steve Kean’s charges will need to crank it up a few levels if they are to defend Singapore’s most coveted football trophy.
DPMM’s biggest rival is the star-studded Tampines Rovers, which has brought in a slew of star players from the Singapore national team.
We look at how the two giants match up.
DPMM’s weakened defence a worry
With the new rules in place DPMM can only keep three foreigners — Rafael Ramazotti, Stuart McLean and Paulo Sergio — which means the breakup of last season’s top centre-back pairing, McLean and Boris Raspudic.
Without this stalwart defensive partnership, Kean will need McLean to lead by example, and that could be too much on the 30-year-old’s shoulders.
Nonetheless, salvation for the Wasps comes in the form of Brazilian hitman Rafael Ramazotti. The towering striker won the Golden Boot in 2015 with 21 goals.
Coupled with the wing wizardry of Sergio, the duo must work in tandem to have any chance of winning back-to-back titles.
Lions’ depth for resurgent Stags
With Tampines Rovers having finished runners-up, coach V Sundramoorthy has left nothing to chance and revamped the playing roster to include almost half of the national team’s starting line-up.
In Shakir Hamzah and Afiq Yunos, the Stags have a strong backbone, while the midfield quartet of Izzdin Shafiq, Christopher Van Huizen, Shahdan Sulaiman and Firdaus Kasman will provide creativity in going forward.
In the top two signings, Warriors FC’s Fazrul Nawaz and Lions XII’s Izwan Mahbud, the former is a veteran forward who can find the back of the net, while the latter can repel anything that comes his way.
If Sundram can find a solution to keeping his stars happy in rotation, the 2016 S.League title looks set to return to Singapore with the Stags.
By Kelvin Leong
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About Kelvin Leong
Kelvin Leong is Associate Editor for ESPN FC, and a former media officer for the Singapore national football team.[/su_note]
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