He might have flown under the radar, but make no mistake - all that brouhaha around Burung Memorial Stadium is centered around one man, and a seventeen year-old newbie at that: Chua Jun Long.

International head coach Roar Olaisen had certainly gone to great pains to ensure that Chua wouldn't be poached from under their noses, by how he had personally turned up at Chua's doorstep this morning with his contract. Now that he's put pen to paper, however, Olaisen would be first to get on the hype train, and he wouldn't mince words either.

"I think he has to be the best talent out of Brunei, in these past few years." Olaisen said matter-of-factly. "Chua has basically got it all. Speed, control, an eye for the flow, a winning mentality and even the ability to tackle, all built upon a base of hard work. The only knock you could have on him is that he hasn't been tested on the wings, but that's only because we couldn't bear to keep him on the fringes. He's just that complete."

Indeed, his fellows at the Busy Bees all had a similar estimation of Chua. "He's magic in a bottle." defender Eun-Ik Hoo offered. "I'm not particularly humble or anything, but he is just clearly a class above the rest of us."

"We have been spoilt." Hj Helmi bin Hj Mohd Altermizi, himself a much-followed talent, chipped in. "Any time we ran into a problem during a game, the answer was just, get it to Chua, he'll fix it!"

As it was, the Busy Bees currently being joint-top of the Special One International World League at its halfway point must owe much to this incredible youngster, who left on a high note with a hat-trick against Villano Junior. Olaisen would however make it clear that U-20 matches were no longer a good reflection of his abilities. "He will start against FC Omani Hammers on Wednesday, and I can't wait!"

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