Chances Taken
Two youngsters got their start in the pro world today, with Farmer Bunnies' Chia Min Jian and Grilled International's Azri bin Azizi taken up by other clubs on free transfer offers.
Chia, a 19 year-old goalkeeper, has been regarded as something of a late bloomer at the Rancher Rabbits, after his youth career took off only after stumbles with rejections by Ragazzi United and Mother Of Pearls, youth outfit of his beloved Pearl Divers.
He became known as a safe pair of hands at the Rabbits, moreover with good decision-making as to when to rush out, and this caught the interest of recently-promoted Division Four champions Huntsmen FC. They had an opening available pending the imminent departures of 37 year-old former FC Colonia II e.V. mainstay Azrul Hisyam Khairul Annuar and 32 year-old backup Ho Tse Chu, and Chia hopes to fill the vacancy.
"It'll be challenging, they warned me of that, but Huntsmen have great prospects." Chia said. "Head coach Mah Dong Tze is restructuring his squad from top to bottom, and after that's over, we should have a young and energetic team."
International forward Azri bin Azizi was more in the conventional mould of an obviously promising trequartista, and it is not yet certain in what role Les Magicien F.C's Alain Dequidt will seek to build him in. Certainly, many things are open at the newly-founded French Division Seven side, who have just acquired Turma do Gianni's Gilmar Branco and Sztk_1's Genadiy Bezumniy alongside Azri.
Unlike those two, Azri has yet to make his debut at the senior level, but he's eager to get back into the fray after scoring in his final competitive U-20 appearance, a 2-5 away loss to Indonesia's Pemuda Jatiasih.
