Sailors pursue Asian and Asean success but local supremacy remains key objective

SINGAPORE – Singapore Premier League (SPL) champions Lion City Sailors will begin the 2025-26 season with a target on their backs.

On top of the domestic double with triumphs in both the SPL – where they secured 22 wins in 32 games to finish eight points clear of BG Tampines Rovers – and the Singapore Cup, the Sailors also made a dent in Asian football after an unprecedented journey to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Two final, as they saw off teams from China, Japan, Australia and Thailand along the way.

But, while they eye another deep run in the ACL 2 and also improve on an Asean Club Championship group-stage exit, the Sailors cannot afford to take their eyes off the local prize, with the 2025-26 SPL set to provide a stern test for the privatised club.

SPL clubs will be able to field up to seven foreigners per match – an increase of one – in the coming season.

Sailors coach Aleksandar Rankovic has already sounded the warning.

“It’s a totally different competition and you cannot compare it,” said Rankovic, who pointed out that some teams have registered more than seven foreigners.

“I think for the SPL, it’s great. But (for us), it’s not going to be easy. I think you’re going to have a lot of teams very close to each other and the games are not going to be like last season where we saw some lopsided scorelines. I think it’s going to be much more competitive this season.”

With Brunei DPMM’s departure and the competition now being an eight-team, three-round league, each side will play 21 matches – something that Rankovic was eager to point out.

He said: “The strength of our competition is getting better, which is excellent. When you have more foreigners, there are (tougher) games. So for me to gamble like last season, and remove seven or eight players after an ACL 2 match, it’s not going to be like that. With fewer matches, the margin for error is even smaller.”

On top of retaining the bulk of their title-winning squad, the Sailors have signed two-time J1 League Golden Boot winner in Brazilian striker Anderson Lopes from Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos, central midfielder Tsiy-William Ndenge from Swiss side Grasshoppers, 2.03m goalkeeper Ivan Susak from Croatian top-tier side Slaven Belupo, and Lions centre-back Safuwan Baharudin, on loan from Selangor FC.

Rankovic, who inked a two-year contract extension in July, said that winning the SPL remains the No. 1 priority, adding that he wants his team to “go as far as possible” in the other competitions.

And if the Sailors had not already been warned by their head coach’s words about possible choppy waters ahead, their 4-1 defeat by Tampines in the Community Shield on Aug 16 surely would have sounded the alarm.

All four of the Stags’ goals came from their new imports.

Sailors captain Hariss Harun said there is zero room for complacency as his side prepare to face Hougang United in their first match of the season at Our Tampines Hub on Aug 25.

“Defending the title is so much harder than winning it,” said Hariss, 34. “Because you have won it, it is human nature that you try to relax a little bit.

“But you cannot do that in football, especially as everybody’s gunning for you this season. Even continentally, I think a lot of teams might have sat up and taken notice. So we have to be on our toes no matter where we play.”

Hariss added that the Sailors must be also driven by the desire to build a lasting local legacy, similar to what Tampines and the now-defunct Singapore Armed Forces FC (SAFFC) have established.

SAFFC, who were later known as Warriors FC, have nine league titles, followed by Albirex Niigata (six) and Tampines (five). The Sailors – formed in 2020 – were champions in 2021 and last season.

Hariss said: “The more you win, the more people recognise you as a club. The likes of Tampines and Warriors won many league titles, and they’ve set a benchmark in domestic football.”

In the short term, Australian defender Bailey Wright believes that if they are to secure back-to-back titles for the first time, the team must improve defensively.

While they conceded the fewest goals in the 2024-25 SPL season, the Sailors kept only 12 clean sheets in 32 matches.

Wright, 33, said: “Personally, I didn’t feel (we) kept enough clean sheets last year, and that’s something that I personally pride myself on and as a team, we want to improve on that.

“We know that if we do that, given the quality in our team to score goals, then we’ll always get points and have a better chance of winning games. That’s pressure I’m putting on myself and as a collective, it’s something we want to strive towards as well.”