Adam Swandi leads the way for Lions

Adam Swandi leads the way for Lions

His reign as national coach has been a mixed bag thus far, producing three wins over teams from within the region and three losses to those from beyond.

But Bernd Stange still believes the Lions have to adopt a high-tempo, pass-and-move style of play if they are to keep up with the footballing world.

"It's not the Bernd Stange system," the German said.

"This is the international standard - a system that all the teams in the world are playing.

"Only very lowly teams play kick-and-rush football; Stoke City are one of them but they don't play on the international stage, so you have to separate them."

And the player he is looking to to lead his revolution is 17-year-old Adam Swandi, who was handed his first Lions start in last week's 1-0 friendly win over Laos at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

By his own admission, the attacking midfielder "did not perform as well as I had hoped" in the hole behind Shahfiq Ghani.

"I'm not match fit because I haven't started playing in the league," explained Adam, who in February joined the Under-19s of French second-tier side Metz.

"I still have a long way to go but it helps that in France, they play a similar style of football."

It is no wonder, then, that Stange already sees the youngster as a key member of his team.

"There are not many coaches in the world who have the b***s to put a 17-year-old boy in the same position that (Zinedine) Zidane and (Michel) Platini played," he remarked.

"But we risk such things, to take Singapore football to the next level."

That said, questions must surely be asked of his players and whether their fitness levels are up to the demanding nature of what their coach admits is a "difficult" playing style.

"To play this football, you have to run; you have to move; you have to help," said Stange.

"Unfortunately, we cannot play this for a very long time."

This was indeed the case in the win over the young Laotian team, when his men started brightly but began to fade after the break.

And it is clear that other Asian teams are well ahead in the pass-and-move stakes.

For example, Stange noted that in last month's 1-6 hiding at the hands of China, his side completed only 275 passes as opposed to their opponents' 675.

Nevertheless, the 65-year-old confirmed that the Lions "will follow our way" when they take on Syria in a 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualifier at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Tuesday evening.

Bottom of Group A after defeats by Jordan and Oman and without so much as a goal to their name, Singapore's hopes of making an impact on the continental stage are fast fading.

Their coach, meanwhile, admitted that his team - ranked 159th in the world - are clear underdogs against the 143rd-ranked Syrians.

"Syria, Oman and Jordan are one level above us," admitted Stange, who will have to do without defender Shakir Hamzah, who is out with a hamstring strain.

"It will be very tough; we will need more experience and players who can keep the ball."

To that end, captain Shahril Ishak looks set to be restored to the starting XI tomorrow, having come off the bench against Laos as Stange gave a run-out to some SEA Games-bound Under-23s.

Dead-ball specialist Shaiful Esah, meanwhile, is a natural replacement for Shakir at left-back.

fabiusc@sph.com.sg


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