Chu Too
As the clubs' end-of-season clearout picks up pace,
Chu Xin Lee would follow Kalki Parvathaneni out of the door at the ripe old age of 37 years, as he joined Apache League San Marino-based club SC Kickers Sonneberg (Apache), for a round million dollars. An offshoot of the German originals, the Kickers are looking to stay competitive after their promotion from Division Four, and to that end have generously reinvested their takings from letting go of goalkeepers Spartaco Pansini and Paolo Valentini.
Chu is another of that select group who has won it all with the Birds, and he leaves as eighth all-time in competitive starts with the club at 260, and twelfth in goals at 116. "This was probably my last chance to play football elsewhere." he explained. "I'm sure some of you will say that it's a retirement league, but rest assured, I will not be taking it easy!"
Two Birds trainees would leave too, with 17 year-old wingback Fei Fu Teck ending up with Italian Hattrick Anniversary League side, Tiocfaidh ar la. He appeared fated to wind up in the land of pizza and Michelangelo, with both his other bidders - Sicily's Ghost Rider of the same league, and Atletico Casal of the seventh division of the regular league system - from the same country.
Fei's academy senior Michael Turner would also enter the new H.A. League, if for a nominal S$6000, compared to S$20000 for Fei. Romanian club Pattya made the 18 year-old their third signing after Ramazan Eti and Kalle Kumpu, after fending off interest from Belize's FC Tiger`s Special.
Tham Beng Li, who spotted both fullbacks, would admit that he was unsure about the longevity of this new league system, but also that the duo had to consider any offers that came along. "In a sense, they were lucky that it opened when it did." the chief scout mused. "Not to put them down, but others here that were no less promising, had to quit the field for want of a club."
This was indeed the case too for Farmer Bunnies' Tan Keng Ah and Karan Ho, as well as Grilled International's Amiruddin bin Zulhelmi and Hj Baha bin Hj Jaffar, all of whom found employment in the H.A. League. Tan, a defender and set-piece specialist, would go to Dutch outfit Just Breathe for S$22000, with competition from Chile's REPTAR F.C. and former Copa Chile winners Darkest Darkness, though contact with that last was fleeting. Playmaker Karan Ho went to Czech club FCBanana, with Albania's F.C. Dyrrachion also willing to give him a go.
There would be no options for the International lads, with 19 year-old winger Amiruddin bin Zulhelmi heading to Cameroon with Königin Luise von Preußen, and 18 year-old attacking midfielder Hj Baha bin Hj Jaffar joining up with Cape Verde's Soccer Wave, both on free transfers. Not that it bothered either overly; "In the end, you can only play for one club, and really one is as good as any at this stage in our career." - or so Hj Baha recognized.
