Lions, come out swinging

The Lions go into this year's AFF Suzuki Cup on the ropes, staggering.

Defeats by Vietnam, Syria, Bahrain, and even Cambodia - once upon a time whipping boys in the region - over the last six months have left V Sundramoorthy's boys bruised and shaken.

The naysayers are already saying they are down for the count, predicting a swift group stage exit.

After all, Asean football's top-ranked team Philippines, defending champions and perennial powerhouses Thailand, and unpredictable Indonesia lie in wait over the next 10 days.

But, as history has shown, the Lions are capable of finding a second wind, especially when others start letting their guard down.

In 1998, the team went to Vietnam as no-hopers.

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A gut-wrenching exit in the 1993 SEA Games semi-finals on home soil and a group-stage exit at the inaugural AFF tournament in 1996 (then known as the Tiger Cup), meant public confidence in the Lions was low.

While there are about 10 pressmen in Manila to chart the progress of Sundram's team, only one - the late Santokh Singh - made the trip to Hanoi to follow Barry Whitbread's charges in 1998.

Five matches and one "Shoulder Blade of God" goal by R Sasikumar later, Nazri Nasir hoisted Singapore's first piece of international silverware.

Six years later, the Lions repeated the trick, this time under Raddy Avramovic.

The Serb was handed the job six months after a disastrous 2002 Tiger Cup, which included the painful 4-0 hammering by Causeway rivals Malaysia at the National Stadium.

He headed into the 2004 assignment with hardly the best results - they lost 2-1 to a Malaysian Selection at the Jalan Besar Stadium a month before the tournament.

But, with a mixture of youth, grit and tactical nous, the Lions pulled off another sweet triumph.

Raddy would lead Singapore to another two Suzuki Cup titles, in 2007 and 2012 - the latter coming after a group-stage exit two years earlier, which prompted calls for former FAS president Zainudin Nordin to replace the coach and sack the whole team.

Singapore rarely do things the easy way, do they?

BELIEF

As Hariss Harun and Co lace up their boots and prepare for a slugfest against the co-hosts at the Philippine Sports Stadium tomorrow, they must believe the impossible is not beyond their reach.

Considering the squad are staying just next door to the Araneta Coliseum where Muhammad Ali defeated Joe Frazier in the legendary "Thrilla in Manila" fight 41 years ago, perhaps they can take some inspiration from The Greatest.

Among Ali's many jabs outside the ring, he once said: "I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was."

The Lions must believe they can match every team, pound for pound, tackle for tackle, shot for shot, if they hope to beat the odds again.

Of course, there is a fine line between ambition and delusion, and on paper, the Lions are heavy underdogs.

The Philippines have home support - plus the handy ability to call upon foreign-born stars.

Thailand look in fine fettle and were unlucky to be held 2-2 by Asia's No. 2 side Australia on Tuesday in a World Cup qualifier in Bangkok.

And Indonesia, despite a year in the international wilderness after a ban by Fifa for government interference, have posted some decent results, most notably thumping Malaysia 3-0 in September.

But, as Hariss said before leaving for Manila, the Lions know they are not as bad as their results suggest. They are joint record four-time winners of the Suzuki Cup (along with Thailand), and that's no fluke.

They've taken a massive amount of criticism on the chin since a group-stage exit on home soil in 2014 and the uninspiring results since, and they're wobbling.

But they're still on their feet.

And, as we know in football, as in boxing, it takes just one inspired moment to produce a knockout blow. That moment might just come soon.

Everybody’s talking about the Group of death. Looking at past and present results, people will think we are underdogs in this group. But i think it bodes well for us as nobody will write Singapore off. the thais, the Philippines and indonesia will not say they are going to walk all over us. We cannot — and will not — let that happen.

— Singapore skipper Hariss Harun

The Lions must believe they can match every team, pound for pound, tackle for tackle, shot for shot, if they hope to beat the odds again.