Tampines Rovers FC

Tampines Rovers Football Club
Full name Tampines Rovers Football Club
Nickname(s) The Stags
Founded 1945
Ground Jurong West Stadium
Jurong, Singapore
Capacity 4,000
Chairman Teo Hock Seng
Manager Clement Teo
Coach V. Sundramoorthy
League S.League
2014 3rd
Website Club home page

Tampines Rovers Football Club (nicknamed the Stags) are a professional association football club based in Tampines, Singapore, that play in the S.League. Founded in 1945, Tampines has won major trophies in Singapore football, including the Singapore Cup and the S.League. They have won the national league championship seven times, the Singapore Cup thrice, the S.League five times and the ASEAN Club Championship once. Their temporary home ground is the Jurong West Stadium[1] as their traditional home ground, the Tampines Stadium (opened 1 April 1989), is being replaced by the Tampines Town Hub. The Stags are also known for boosting a considerably high attendance at away games. Their main rivals are Geylang International, with whom they contest the Eastern Derby. Tampines Rovers is one of the richest clubs in Singapore football.

History

Several football enthusiasts from Tampines decided to form a football club in 1945. After many name changes, they finally decided on "Tampines Rovers" as the official club name. The Stags spent the 1950s and 1960s competing in the Singapore Amateur Football Association League, where they were among the top teams, until they were placed in Division II of the newly formed National Football League in 1974. 1975 was a watershed year for Tampines, as they were promoted to Division I after winning all their league matches and reached the President's Cup final, where they lost 0-1 to the Singapore Armed Forces Sports Association in front of a national record crowd of 30,000. They continued to challenge for honours for the next decade, reaching another President's Cup final in 1978, then emerging as national champions in 1979, 1980 and 1984. The Stags were relegated to the second tier in 1988, but under a new management team, won their league in 1994, and were one of eight clubs selected to compete in the newly formed S.League.[2]

However, Tampines did not finish higher than sixth place in the first six seasons of the S.League. In 2002, the Stags secured the services of Malaysian coach Chow Kwai Lam,[3] who guided them to the Singapore Cup and two fourth-place finishes.[4] Under the next coach, Vorawan Chitavanich, Tampines achieved the S.League and Singapore Cup double in 2004.[5] The following season, they successfully defended their S.League title, were named the 'S.League Team of the Decade' and became the first Singapore team to win the ASEAN Club Championship.[6] The Stags were Singapore Cup champions in 2006, but finished runners-up to SAFFC in the S.League.[7][8] The Stags was also the champion of S-League in 2011 and 2012. They were also runner-up in the 2012 Singapore Cup after losing 1-2 to SAFFC.

2013 Season

S.League

The Stags started the 2013 season with an opening day 5-0 win over Geylang International. They then beat the Courts Young Lions 2-0 but were awarded a 3-0 win as the Young Lions had fielded ineligible players for the game. The Stags then went on a 9-match unbeaten run spanning about 3 months before being beaten 1-0 by Tanjong Pagar United at the Queenstown Stadium on 5 May 2013. They next stumbled away to Balestier Khalsa, losing 4-0 at the Toa Payoh Stadium. Tampines were themselves punished for fielding an ineligible player against Harimau Muda B.

On 20 October 2013, the Stags were announced as the 2013 S.League champions after closest challengers Albirex were beaten 1-2 by Balestier Khalsa. Albirex, left on 40 points, were unable to catch Tampines on 52. The Stags were then given the trophy on 26 Oct 2013 after the 1-1 draw against Tanjong Pagar.

Singapore Cup

Tampines' head coach Nenad Baćina was sacked just days before the first round of the RHB Singapore Cup after disappointing results in the AFC Cup and the club General Manager Tay Peng Kee took charge. The Stags were eliminated in the first round after losing 2-1 against Hougang United despite having beaten them 3-0 in the league just days ago. Many supporters were furious at the result and the club's decision to sack Baćina. Some even stopped attending games for some time.

Crest and colours

The club selected the stag as its animal mascot as the animal is a symbol of wisdom, its antlers are associated with the tree of life and in Chinese culture, it is a symbol of virility.[9]

Stadium

Since 2012, Tampines Rovers have played their home games at the Clementi Stadium, as their traditional home ground, the Tampines Stadium (opened 1 April 1989), is being replaced by the Tampines Town Hub. The stadium had a grass football pitch, an 8-lane running track and partial athletic facilities. The stadium can hold up to 4,000 spectators. The stadium is currently managed by the Singapore Sports Council(SSC).

Supporters

The Yellow Brigade is the official supporting group for the club. It is one of the largest supporters group in the S.League dedicated to the club. They are also known for its fanaticism and their support towards the club. The Yellow Brigade main colour is black and yellow with mainly yellow football Scarf and Yellow Banners to represent the beloved colour of the club. They will also appear at the Clementi Stadium for the home match. The Yellow Brigade also bring drums, trumpet and flags to every match.

Players

Current Squad

As of 27 March 2015 [10]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
2 Singapore MF Ismadi Mukhtar
3 Singapore DF Jufri Taha
4 Singapore MF Fahrudin Mustafic (captain)
5 Singapore DF Zulfadli Zainal
6 Singapore DF Ridhuan Mohamad
7 Singapore DF Shaiful Esah
8 Singapore MF Firdaus Idros
9 Croatia FW Mateo Roskam
10 France FW Eddy Viator
11 Brazil FW Rodrigo Tosi
No. Position Player
12 Singapore DF Fabian Kwok
13 Croatia DF Predrag Pocuca
14 Singapore MF Indra Shahdan Daud
16 Singapore GK Ismail Yunos
17 Singapore MF Jamil Ali
18 Singapore FW Noh Alam Shah
19 Singapore DF Aqhari Abdullah
20 Croatia MF Robert Alviž
21 Singapore MF Joey Sim
22 Singapore DF Siddiq Durimi

Prime League Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
23 Singapore FW Cameron Ayrton Bell
24 Singapore GK Rosyam Rosli
25 Singapore GK Kenny Loh
26 Singapore DF Ashada Muhammad
27 Singapore MF Zulfadhmi Suzliman
28 Singapore MF Muhelmy Suhaimi
29 Singapore DF Sadik Said
31 Australia MF Naeem Rahimi
32 Singapore MF Aidil Yusof
33 Singapore DF Faizal Roslan
No. Position Player
34 Singapore DF Kenneth Lee
36 Singapore MF Bryan Tan
37 Singapore MF Izzat Hamzah
38 Singapore MF Danial Razali
39 Singapore DF Taufik Suparno
40 Singapore FW Iqram Rifqi
41 Singapore DF Divesh Rajendran
42 Singapore MF Ashshiddiq Misban

Out on Loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
15 Singapore MF Firdaus Kasman (To LionsXII till 31 December 2014)

Club Officials

Management

Reference:[11]

Technical Staff

Reference:[12]

Managers

Honours

Domestic

League

  • 1979, 1980, 1984

Cup

ASEAN Competition

  • 2005

Performance in domestic competitions

Season S.League Singapore Cup Singapore League Cup
Pos P W D L F A Pts
1996-1 8th 14 3 3 8 18 27 12
1996-2 7th 14 2 2 10 10 28 8
1997 6th 16 4 3 9 22 38 15
1998 6th 20 8 5 7 41 40 29 Group Stage
1999 10th 22 4 8 10 25 39 20 Quarter-Finals
2000 7th 22 7 6 9 30 27 27 Quarter-Finals
2001 6th 33 14 6 13 60 55 48 Group Stage
2002 4th 33 16 11 6 67 39 59 Winners
2003 4th 33 17 3-2 11 63 40 59 Quarter-Finals
2004 1st 27 20 3 4 76 29 63 Winners
2005 1st 27 18 3 6 77 35 57 Semi-Finals
2006 2nd 30 16 9 5 70 42 57 Winners
2007 3rd 33 24 5 4 77 32 77 Runners-up Quarter-Finals
2008 4th 33 20 5 8 66 37 65 2nd Runners-up Quarter-Finals
2009 2nd 30 16 8 6 47 25 56 Quarter-Finals Quarter-Finals
2010 2nd 33 21 6 6 68 30 69 Runners-up Quarter-Finals
2011 1st 33 25 3 5 71 25 78 Quarter-Finals 2nd Runners-up
2012 1st 24 16 4 4 49 24 52 Runners-up Semi-Finals
2013 1st 27 17 5 5 59 36 56 Preliminary Quarter-Finals
2014 3rd 12 6 4 2 25 19 22

Last updated on 18 May 2014

Performance in AFC competitions

2014: Group stage ( Group H )
2013: Group stage ( Group H )
2012: Group stage ( Group F )
2011: Round of 16 ( lost to Arbil 0-1 )
2007: Quarter-finals ( lost to Al Faisaly 3-7 on Argegate )
2006: Quarter-finals ( lost to Al-Wahdat 0-5 on Argegate )
2005: Quarter-finals ( lost to Al Faisaly 0-2 on Argegate )

References

  1. "S.League: Uniformed giants move North, Asia One". AsiaOne. Retrieved 5 Feb 2015.
  2. Malathi Das and Palakrishnan (1996), "S.League: the kick-off", Singapore Professional Football League Pte Ltd, p. 50
  3. Fariq Rahman, "Kwai Lam helming S-League club", The Malay Mail, 11 April 2002
  4. "Tampines Rovers beat Jurong FC 1-0 to win Singapore Cup", Channel NewsAsia, 14 October 2002
  5. "S.League champs Tampines make it double with Singapore Cup win", Channel NewsAsia, 3 October 2004
  6. Alvin Foo, "Tampines are S-League Team of the Decade", The Straits Times, 21 November 2005
  7. Atsushi Fujioka, "Singapore - List of Champions", RSSSF, 8 November 2012.
  8. Erlan Manaschev, "Singapore - List of Cup Winners", RSSSF, 8 November 2012.
  9. "S.League: the kick-off", p. 18
  10. "Tampines Rovers FC - Team Players 2015". S.League. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  11. "Management - Tampines Rovers FC". Tampines Rovers. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  12. "Staff - Tampines Rovers FC". Tampines Rovers. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  13. 13.0 13.1 Dan, Guen Chin (28 April 2014). "Rafi Ali to lead Tampines Rovers". Today.

External links