Gritty Ong
Coaches told him that he would probably not make it in pro soccer, but Ong Shi Feng persevered and landed a contract with Polish Division Seven club Moc Bialej Gwiazdy. Grilled took in S$6000 from the deal, but this small change was nothing compared to Ong's living the dream.
"No-one wanted me at first," the 18 year-old defensive midfielder said, "and the coaches all advised me to play recreational football and enter a poly. I begged them to put in some good words for me, and the second time around I had bocz family (Hungarian Division Five), Borussia Ballzauber (German Division Eleven) and Gwiazdy ready to give me a chance."
"That was one lad who didn't want anything but to play soccer," one of his youth coaches said. "He really isn't skilled, but you can see that he really wants to be out there, and stays back for extra training."
