Goalkeeping

I used to hate soccer when i was a kid, i thought that its such a silly sport where twenty-two chased after one ball. Who would have thought that i would fall in love with it soon.

The first time i watch soccer on tv was during the 1993 SEA Games held in singapore, I saw the kallang wave and the 60,000 fans wearing our national coulours singing "ole ole ole oleo" the atmosphere was eletrifying for a then 12year old primary school boy.

Whenever we score, everyone went crazy jumping up and down and the commentators were screaming at the top of their voices :GOOOOAAALLL!!!", for that one moment we were one. I remember while watching in my living room, i soon join in screaming and shouting and not realising it. I was simply overwhelm by the exprience, The Lions thrashed the Philipines 7-0.

I would play soccer almost everyday after school at the void decks, running away after we break public properties like poles, lights, pillar corners and also car alarms that went off. It was simply the best thing that happen to me during my childhood.

Can say that i discovered my potential be a goalkeeper by accident, when playing small goal post no one dare to block shots with their body but i was the only one thats not afraid of it so i volunteered it. After every shot block, my malay friends would say "Bagus lah", "Baik lah" or "Steady lah. My team always wins because i was the only one that block shots.

I asked my friends if they could train me in goalkeeping, they say they will try to think and find ways to train me as they dont know how. I started doing stupid things like bouncing the ball around like a basket ball player would do, throwing the ball against the wall and catching it on the return and throwing the ball high up in the air and catching it on the way down, it was really getting to no where.

In those days there were no such things as youtube metacafe etc as computers was not as fast and advance as now, the modem speed was 56k dial up line. So to observe and learn how a goalkeeper plays, i began to tape the games with VCR (Video Cassette Recorder) and watch the games over and over again, rewind back and forwards to see how they dive, how they catch and how they play.

Without any proper training, i tried diving around and its was a bad mistake, i hurt myself naturally, i became the goalkeeper that cant dive for quite a while. So to keep myself in the game, i played defensive positions (center back, right back, defensive mid) from time to time until i find a way to train.

One day, help came from an very unlikely source, when i was just practicing catching the ball at void deck, a bangladesh worker approach me and asked if he could join in. I hesitated for a while before i said ok. After a few times of catching, he said if i wanted, he could train me as a goalkeeper.

I was thinking at the back of my head "come on man, how would a bangladesh worker know anything about goalkeeping?" and my friend give me the "No, dont trust him." look. I thought what the heck, just see what he can do first as i got nothing to lose anyway.

He knew that we dont think he can help much, so he told us in broken english "come, we go field, i show you real goalkeeper". I thought to myself "He is seriously going to make a laughing stock of himself", he amazes me with diving again and again, we tried everything we know of at him and he still manages to save it, my mind went "OH MY GOD!!!", i apologise to him immediately after that.

Just like that, he trained me for 3-4 months everyday at the "Mango Field" which everyone name it after the mango trees surrounding the field at Tampines st 81. It used to be open to public until they fence it up by the community centre

After a while he shared with me his story, he told me that he was an international player for his country from when to when i cant remember, he then showed me his broken finger to prove to me that he was not lying, he broke his finger during a match but carried on playing until the final whistle.

I ask him why did he even end up at a construction worker? he told me back then in his country, you cant really earn a living just by playing soccer, and also he sort of got con into the job by a friend, he also told me that his friend said that he could come to singapore if he signed some papers, not knowing what it was he signed it and before he knew it, he was on his way to singapore.

My biggest regret was that i never had a chance to say "Good Bye" and "Thank You" before he left, i also never got the chance to know even his name. He told me that once the construction of Temasek Polytechnic was complete and he will need to go home.

He said that he wanted to take pictures with me before he left, we arrange a day to meet at the field but he didnt turn up, i waited for him from morning til late at night just hoping that i could see him one last time. I waited for him again the next day but still i didnt see him.

I dont care what other people say, some will say that i am lying or that i am trying to elevate myself by linking myself to an international player. Some will even say what if he lied to me? i will never believe that he lied to me because liars dont share family problems with people and also i am the goalkeeper that i am because he trained me.

I just want to say to my nameless coach "Thank You!"

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