Lion City Sailors strengthen side with new head coach, more foreign signings incoming
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Former Dutch Eredivisie club FC Utrecht assistant coach Aleksandar Rankovic will be looking to help the Sailors win their second SPL title.
PHOTO: LION CITY SAILORS
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SINGAPORE – In a sign they mean business in wresting back the Singapore Premier League (SPL) title, the Lion City Sailors have boosted their ranks both in the backroom and on the pitch.
The club, the SPL’s only privatised outfit, announced on Wednesday they have appointed Aleksandar Rankovic, a former assistant coach at Dutch Eredivisie club FC Utrecht.
He is unlikely to be the only new face, with the club busy ahead of the SPL’s mid-season transfer deadline of 11:59 pm on Wednesday.
The Serb, 44, has signed a two-year contract to fill the hot seat vacated by compatriot Risto Vidakovic, who left the Sailors by mutual consent
Speaking to The Straits Times at the club’s headquarters in Mattar Road, Rankovic offered a glimpse of what fans can expect.
He said: “I’m a Serb by origin, but I’m a Dutch coach. So I love to have a dominant style of playing. I love to keep the ball and attack a lot.
“The style of play at the Sailors has to be recognisable. When we step on the pitch, people must know that there will be a certain style.
“It’s not going to be perfect all the time nor is it going to happen immediately, but our goal is to arrive there.”
The former defensive midfielder with Vitesse Arnhem and Partizan Belgrade, who had a brief spell as head coach of ADO Den Haag in the Eredivisie during the 2020/2021 season, added: “We are going to compete for the title as long as we can.
“Not everything is in our hands, because we are four points away (from the top). So my first goal is to try to melt that down.
“We will do everything we can just to make the title race interesting for our fans and for the league.”
The Sailors are third in the nine-team SPL after 15 matches, four points behind league leaders and reigning champions Albirex Niigata and one adrift of Tampines Rovers. There are nine games left.
They will also make their second foray into the Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) in September.
In their debut in 2022, the Sailors did not progress from the group stage but surprised with two wins and a draw, including a 3-0 victory over South Korea’s Daegu FC.
Rankovic can look forward to some reinforcements. Potential arrivals include a former Dutch youth international who played in the English Premier League, an Australian centre-back who featured at the 2022 World Cup and a Portuguese central midfielder.
SPL rules state that all local clubs, excluding Japanese side Albirex, are allowed to register a maximum of four foreign players.
Sailors’ quota is currently filled by Brazilian playmaker Diego Lopes, Belgian winger Maxime Lestienne, Spanish centre-back Manuel Lopez and Australian striker Bernie Ibini.
Brazilian defender Pedro Henrique, who signed a three-year deal in 2022, was not registered for the 2023 SPL season due to injury; likewise 2022 SPL Player of the Year Kodai Tanaka, who joined the club in December 2022, but suffered a season-ending knee injury in March.
Lopez and Ibini are expected to be deregistered to make way for the recruits. The final ACL foreign quota of 5+1 (five players of any nationality and one from an AFC member association) is undecided.
Rankovic will take charge of Saturday’s match against Tanjong Pagar United at the Jurong East Stadium. He wants three points and said: “I want to see a team that looks really organised and tries to play football and dominate the game.
“Nothing is going to happen overnight. But every little step that we can take is going to bring us where we want to be and help to build the foundation for the ACL.”
