Reborn winger finds his feet

In December, while spring cleaning his home, Christopher van Huizen was close to throwing away a pair of boots that he had kept for a few years. White and customised with red laces, the boots were meant for his next outing with the Singapore national team.

Having briefly toyed with the idea of quitting football after a forgettable season with Geylang International last year, van Huizen was sure that he would never get the chance to don that special pair.

"I picked those boots up and told myself it's not going to happen," the 29-year-old told The Straits Times. "I told myself to just forget about it."

After making a U-turn on retirement, van Huizen has since been rejuvenated at Tampines Rovers, who signed him on a one-year deal this term. His performances this season helped earn him his fifth cap - and first since March 2016 - last Saturday when Singapore beat Malaysia 2-1 in a friendly.

Just as he had promised himself, he took to the National Stadium pitch in the boots he had saved for the occasion.

Confidence soaring, van Huizen is now turning his focus to tomorrow's Singapore Premier League (SPL) game where he will face former side Geylang at Our Tampines Hub for the first time since his departure.

Van Huizen, who spent three years with the Eagles, said: "The last few years, I had not enjoyed my football at all. In fact, I was going through the motions. It was a case of turning up for training, get it done with and repeat that cycle each day.

"In football, you can't play for the sake of it and hope to do well. If you don't play with purpose, it's hard to perform."

Van Huizen, who first made his name in local football with an appearance on reality TV series FirstXI in 2014, declined to elaborate on his disillusionment with the sport, only saying it was a "mix of personal reasons and the environment I was in".

SPL rules on mandatory fielding of age-group players also played a part, as he was limited to just seven starts in 19 matches for Geylang.

But with teams required to field just one instead of three Under-23 players this season, and a determination to not end his career on a negative note, van Huizen decided to rejoin Tampines after talking to former teammate Fahrudin Mustafic - now Tampines' assistant coach - and Stags coach Gavin Lee.

Van Huizen, who previously played for half a season with the Stags in 2016, said: "My priority this year is just to focus on my club and start enjoying my football again. A national call-up did not even cross my mind.

"But now it's proof to me that if I keep working hard and improve my game, I can get the rewards. I know that there is a lot more I can achieve in my career and I don't want to waste it."

Another reason for his renaissance is van Huizen's transformation from a classic take-on-his-man, chalk-on-his-boots winger into a wing-back.

Said Lee: "We know his strengths and felt he could contribute to our build-up play from a full-back position. He has taken this chance but there is more to come from him."

The coach, who saw his side thump Hougang United 7-1 in their last outing before the international break, wants his charges to pick up from where they left off.

He said: "(Geylang) have a very different side to what they had last season and I am looking forward to seeing how we match up with them."

Geylang coach Noor Ali said: "We have to bring the intensity. Against Hougang, they had too much time on the ball and we know Tampines are a good side when in possession. We need to be aggressive and close them down. My boys are ready for this challenge."

By the time Hougang kick off against Albirex at the Hougang Stadium today, it would be exactly two weeks since their last SPL match when they were thumped 7-1 by Tampines.

The Cheetahs would have been smarting from that defeat and will be itching to put things right against Albirex. The form guide, however, favour the Japanese side, who have won all of their last five meetings.

The Lion City Sailors have yet to convince in their first four matches of the season with performances that have hardly made them look like champions.

But at the Jalan Besar Stadium, they have a chance to show how prolific they can be when they face the league's worst defence against Balestier, who have conceded 16 goals in four games. There are good memories to lean on for the Sailors, who lifted their first SPL title last October after they beat the Tigers 4-1 in the last match of the season.

Young Lions head coach Nazri Nasir enjoyed a good international break as the interim coach of the Singapore national team where he steered the Lions to wins against Malaysia and the Philippines.

He will be targeting his third victory in seven days tomorrow against leaders Tanjong Pagar, who are undefeated in four games. The Young Lions, however, have lost both their matches this season and conceded nine goals.

S'PORE PREMIER LEAGUE

TODAY

Hougang v Albirex

Hougang Stadium, 7.45pm

Sailors v Balestier

Jalan Besar Stadium, 7.45pm

Young Lions v Tanjong Pagar

Jalan Besar Stadium, 5.30pm

Geylang v Tampines

Our Tampines Hub, 5.30pm

All on Singtel TV Ch111/112, StarHub Ch201/202 & SPL Facebook and YouTube pages.