Legend Induction
Hovaness Noubaryan publicly announced an updated nomination process for Grilled's Hall of Fame, and welcomed 60 year-old Dutch hotshot Maikel Rotteveel as only its ninth member.
"It's a part of our heritage that has honestly been neglected for a while, and it's high time we set it right." Noubaryan said. "From here on, we will strive to strike a balance between exclusivity and consistency, by allowing one new member every two seasons - other than very special circumstances."
"The inductee should, it goes without saying, have contributed immensely in his personal capacity to the club, and ideally towards significant tangible achievements. A long tenure naturally helps, given these basic criteria."
Rotteveel definitely qualifies by any measure, given his nearly-unmatched resume, as Grilled's main striker for most of his ten seasons here. Three of his Golden Boots - two in the S-League, and one in the Singapore Cup - were accompanied by Player of the Season recognition, and his final tally of 214 competitive goals, behind only Ola Martinsson when he left, has only been surpassed by Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim and
Tian Yonghang since. He still holds the club hat-trick record.
After leaving for renowed Andorran club Orabidoo Vox at nearly 36 years of age, he would play briefly for Argentina's asmdre FC and Italy's Libertas Robbio, before ending his striking career in Israel with macbii haifa. He would then head home to take up a coaching job with Amsterdam semi-pro team The Dappere Strijders, a position he has held since.
The now-shaven Rotteveel was all smiles as he received the commemorative plaque from Noubaryan. "It's nice to be remembered."
