0:00

This is the Silver Fox Hustle Football

0:02

Talk . Hello

0:31

, this is the latest episode of

0:33

the Silver Fox Hustle Football Talk episode . We've

0:36

got two guests in

0:39

the house and we want to commemorate Albrecht's

0:41

Niigata's championship

0:44

winning season in 2023

0:46

. They just one clinched the title

0:49

in the Singapore Premier League and we've got two

0:51

guests from Albrecht . One is I

0:53

think we don't need to introduce him any

0:55

further because I had him in one

0:58

of my episodes last year . He's

1:03

the goalkeeper , hassan Sani

1:05

Hassan . Welcome to the podcast .

1:07

Thank you , brother , for having me here , no problems

1:09

and we've got another special guest from

1:11

Albrecht .

1:12

He is Hiroki . He is the media

1:14

manager of Albrecht . Niigata Hiroki

1:17

welcome to the podcast . Thank you for having us . It's

1:20

a pleasure , my friend , and it's the first time I'm

1:22

speaking to you and I have to tell you your English

1:24

is brilliant . Thank you so much . You're

1:26

welcome . Now , before we go

1:28

on , congratulations to

1:31

both of you , to the club , and what

1:33

is the mood like at Albrecht . Sir Hiroki

1:35

, we start with you .

1:37

What is the mood ? The mood , the mood . Yes

1:40

, absolutely , it's

1:42

been 20 years

1:44

in Singapore , thanks to every fans

1:46

and staff , all players , especially

1:49

Japanese and local as well . Yeah

1:51

, yeah

1:55

, from this season , we are

1:57

aiming to get SPL title

1:59

, of course , to commemorate 20th

2:02

anniversary . So it's

2:04

really good for our clubs

2:06

.

2:07

How about you , haseb ? This is your first

2:09

year at Albrecht , niigata . What

2:12

is the mood like in the Obviously it's

2:14

very happy and all . But in

2:17

general , what has Albrecht

2:19

been like for you personally ?

2:22

I think I want

2:24

to echo what Saito

2:26

has just said Anniversary

2:28

I think we give

2:31

the perfect gift for the club , which

2:33

we think the SPL title . So

2:36

, of course , my fourth

2:38

title , spl title , and

2:40

that's the ultimate

2:42

goal overall , because

2:45

when I signed for the club , that's

2:48

one thing that we looked at , we discussed

2:50

on

2:52

the table yeah , my contract was on

2:54

the table . So I think , personally

2:58

, I think we

3:01

have done on the club level , I think

3:03

we have done so much for the club players , even

3:06

staffs , and I think

3:08

when we set the goal , we

3:10

know that it's going to be hard work

3:12

and a lot of sacrifices and

3:15

I think , yes , I think it's

3:18

just a perfect gift for the club

3:20

and we hope to win , especially

3:22

the next one in Singapore Cup .

3:24

Hiroki . Did you know that he's just won his

3:26

fourth title ? Yes

3:28

, of course , and I want to pick up on that as well . Fourth

3:30

title with four different clubs . Congratulations

3:34

, my friend . Are you the only one so

3:36

far ? You've created a record of something .

3:39

I've read somewhere . Yes , I'm the only

3:41

one .

3:43

So name me all the four clubs .

3:44

Tampines , warriors

3:46

, lion City , sailors and Abelix .

3:49

How special is this one compared to the other three

3:51

? This Don't

3:55

lie , because Hiroki is here .

3:59

But then again , I think this is very

4:01

much different as compared to others because

4:04

I think I mentioned this

4:06

I feel like I'm a foreigner in the

4:08

team of course in the club as well , because

4:10

most of them are

4:12

Japanese players , and of course , the

4:14

management as well . So

4:17

I think I relate . I spoke about this

4:19

a few weeks ago . It's

4:23

the same when I was in Thailand

4:25

. When I came , expectations

4:28

were there and

4:31

of course I know that I cannot

4:34

slack or even relax

4:37

for a day . And

4:39

of course , the Japanese players , they are just on

4:41

another level . Even

4:44

when you say recovery day after

4:46

a post match , match

4:49

day , we do our recovery

4:51

and you think , okay , finish , we can

4:53

go back , but they change their boots and they train

4:55

. So that is on

4:57

another level .

4:58

Was language a problem when you first joined ? Yes

5:01

, of course .

5:01

Especially first three weeks . And

5:04

you know when I'm

5:07

in a match or I'm in the game or I'm

5:09

on the field , I'm always

5:11

commanding . So imagine

5:13

I don't even know anything or

5:16

how to converse

5:18

what I want , my messages to

5:20

them , so it took like

5:22

hand signals on the field . Then

5:25

I had to take the initiative

5:27

to learn a bit of Japanese as well .

5:30

So now in the game do you converse like

5:32

normal stuff , but simple stuff ?

5:35

Yes , of course Left right front back push

5:37

up . What's push up in Japanese

5:39

, lying

5:42

forward , I

5:47

think , national team March

5:50

, if I'm not wrong when we went to Hong . Kong . When

5:53

we were at the airport , the

5:55

coach came to me . You speak Japanese now

5:57

.

5:59

You say lying left right .

6:03

Wonderful wonderful .

6:04

Okay , for

6:07

those watching and listening as well . I

6:09

posed some questions to the

6:11

head coach of Elbrecht's , yoshinaga

6:13

Kazawaki Yoshinaga . Obviously

6:16

he's a little bit shy . We know from

6:18

Hiroki is shy . I don't know

6:20

whether he's shy on the ground I

6:22

don't think so , but in the media and

6:24

stuff I relayed some questions through

6:28

Saito Hiroki and then he

6:30

went up to Kazawaki Yoshinaga

6:32

and he's answered those questions . I think

6:35

, hiroki , you've done a great job . Obviously you speak brilliant

6:38

English , so let's go . So the

6:40

question for Coach Kazawaki

6:42

Yoshinaga was this is his fourth title

6:44

in Singapore . Altogether , elbrecht has won

6:46

six and he's won four

6:48

and he's

6:51

equal that of Richard Box record

6:54

of four . What is his feeling

6:56

like winning his ?

6:56

fourth Okay , I got a message

6:59

from Yoshinaga . Of course , it

7:01

was not easy to get SPL

7:03

title , but he's

7:05

really relieved that we were

7:07

able to win the league championship in

7:09

the club's 23rd anniversary . As

7:12

I mentioned , every season's players

7:14

have pressure because our

7:16

fans think that it's normal to get

7:18

SPL title

7:21

, so it's becoming a norm to

7:23

win and now the pressure

7:25

gets .

7:26

I'm just

7:28

following up on that and I think you would know , and

7:30

even Hasan would know Is there pressure from

7:32

the club as in because you won it ? Is there hunger

7:34

still ? Yes , of course .

7:35

To be honest , we defeated

7:40

by Tampines in

7:42

our home match . Maybe

7:44

our fans really disappointed

7:47

us .

7:47

The fans were disappointed . Which

7:49

game was that ? What was the score ?

7:51

I think the home match we lost 10 to Tampines . Oh

7:54

, that was earlier on , that very first

7:56

game .

7:56

I thought they were disappointed , right , and

7:58

I commented on that game as well

8:00

. It was a one-nail result and I think the last

8:03

part the Elbrecht fans were actually

8:05

attacking and couldn't get that result , but

8:08

you all still played well Again

8:11

. Just going back to that , what happens

8:13

after a result like that ? Because what's

8:16

the mentality like in the camp , in

8:18

the Elbrecht's camp ? I think , hasan , you can talk

8:20

because you've gone through all

8:22

the clubs in Singapore and what is it

8:24

like when you did lose that game against

8:27

Tampines you said it yourself . What

8:29

was the meaning of mood like ? And also

8:31

that game against LCS , when you

8:34

all were leading two-nail , they

8:37

came back , they won by 3-2 . Right Again

8:39

, I did that game as well . What was it

8:41

like for Elbrecht's ? Was it like okay

8:43

, you know , this is it . We are going

8:46

on a run again . So what was the you know

8:48

that feeling like ?

8:50

You see , coach Yoshinaga

8:52

, he has this winning

8:55

mentality , he

8:57

doesn't like to lose . So he instilled

9:00

that to the players . So

9:02

if let's say we play on Sunday and the next

9:04

game is on Sunday , we have off

9:06

some Monday . Let's say Tuesday is

9:08

when everything started , okay , like you know

9:10

, for the especially Tampines game , tuesday

9:13

, or like Tuesday first

9:15

transition . He knows that , okay

9:18

, we're going to prepare for this game , right ? So

9:20

if anything goes wrong , you know that

9:22

, okay , he has this bad feeling

9:25

. So immediately he will make sure

9:27

that he will . He will

9:29

speak to players . He said , okay

9:32

, I don't like to lose . You know I lose more

9:34

than you guys . You know , in my record , in my

9:36

history of coaching , I've lost

9:38

so many matches more than anyone

9:41

here , right ? So he

9:43

always I don't know , maybe he has that feeling

9:45

, you know . So

9:47

that's when I think , the

9:50

more he has that feelings , the more he

9:52

will make sure that he puts pressure on

9:54

the players . And you

9:56

know Japanese players , right , they're just totally

9:59

different and and and

10:01

you know every little thing on training they

10:04

don't like to lose man Right , even when you see

10:06

first level against the reserves . Yeah

10:08

, you know the reserve will win

10:11

. You know like minus one , like we

10:13

do side pieces yes , Like usually you know in

10:15

local context , when

10:17

the first level , you know they're going to prepare for tomorrow

10:19

. Probably the reserve will take it easy

10:21

, you know , give the players the first level players

10:24

some confidence . But this no

10:26

, this club no . They make sure they make things

10:28

difficult for them because they want to make sure

10:30

that during match days it

10:32

will be easier for them .

10:34

Right , the general feeling

10:36

? No , no , not general feeling . Is there a general

10:38

feeling ? Like you guys or the players and

10:40

whatever you respect him . Obviously

10:42

Is there fear as well .

10:44

Of course he just see his face . He

10:46

doesn't smile .

10:48

No , yeah , yeah , does he smile at all at

10:50

?

10:50

training . But we know we

10:52

can feel if he is not happy . He

10:55

does in training , right , yeah , but if

10:57

you know he , you know when you see him

10:59

from outside

11:02

people , you see him . He doesn't smile .

11:03

Right , but yes , I think , when

11:06

you see him every day he does smile

11:09

but , probably lesser

11:11

than his . I can , I can , I

11:13

can his default face . I

11:16

can imagine the local young

11:19

players coming in .

11:20

I think they must be scared shit out of him . Of course

11:22

, of course , I think , I think .

11:23

Then again , he sets the standards and of

11:26

course , Hiroki , I want to ask you right

11:28

how special is Coach Yoshinaga ?

11:30

How special yeah Micro

11:34

management . I think Maybe

11:39

I

11:41

think he's different people

11:43

, different person when he speaks

11:46

to Japanese player , especially

11:48

starting , and he changed

11:50

to mindset to speak to

11:52

local young player .

11:54

OK .

11:55

And also I

11:57

admire him .

11:59

He go every COE

12:01

under the great to

12:04

watch to watch the game training also

12:06

. Wow , yeah , brilliant man I've

12:09

seen . I've seen him in one of those games

12:11

where we had a friendly . You know the school team

12:13

had a friendly with Albrecht's under 17 and

12:15

he came for that game as well . It's a friendly game and he

12:17

did come . Yeah , you're right about that . You

12:20

want to add on anything in terms of how special

12:22

Yoshinaga is ? Because I think

12:25

kudos to him , right , you know , fourth championship

12:27

, you know , and I think he's

12:30

great , not for the media , wise , before games

12:32

at all , I know , you know , with his interviews and all he

12:34

gives one word answers .

12:35

But how special is he in

12:37

terms of , you know , football wise and you

12:41

know I've , I've , when

12:43

I came to the club , and you know

12:45

, he , he , he's , he makes sure every

12:47

little thing , every little detail is

12:49

, it's well taken care of .

12:50

OK .

12:51

So what I'm trying to say is every little

12:53

thing you do in life , daily life , he

12:56

makes sure that you cannot do this , you cannot

12:58

do that .

12:58

It's not so strict , but

13:00

he'll make sure .

13:01

Yes , like everything , let's say you

13:03

pour something . Make sure that you take

13:05

care of your image .

13:06

On media , on the social media . He says that to the place , he

13:09

makes sure that okay .

13:10

You know there's one incident happened . I'm not

13:12

sure you know . I sorry , no disrespect

13:14

to Tanja Baga , but what happened ? Right Because

13:16

we shared the same thing the smoking thing Right

13:18

, the vip thing or whatever

13:20

. So so after

13:22

that happened , he made sure he speaks , he

13:25

spoke to the place , he made sure this will

13:27

never happen in this club . Because he

13:29

made sure that it won't happen in this

13:31

club because he wants to take

13:33

care of the player's image . So I think that's

13:35

very important as well , not only

13:37

on the field .

13:38

Yeah , yeah , listen

13:40

, you guys are watching and you guys are

13:42

listening to this . This is absolutely brilliant

13:44

, because this is what we are talking about professionalism

13:47

, and you , yeah , you know

13:49

, as players , as , as whatever

13:52

you know , the image of the club is so

13:54

, so important , and when you go out nowadays , the

13:56

phone is everywhere .

13:57

Yes .

13:57

The phone is your camera , the phone is everything to

13:59

you , right , and just one shot of you doing

14:02

something and that's it . You're gone . The image is gone . And

14:04

brilliant , you know , and kudos to the club

14:06

. It's brilliant . Now , a

14:09

question posed to Yoshinaga as well

14:11

, about recruitment of players . Now , every single

14:14

year , albrecht seemed to

14:16

change players , right , not seem . They always change

14:18

players . You know , maybe out of 20 , 18

14:21

goes . They retain maybe two . The

14:23

other 18 are new players coming in . And

14:25

every single year , the 18 new

14:28

players come in . They are top notch , brilliant

14:30

tactically , technically , they're brilliant . They

14:32

seem to gel together , I

14:34

don't know how , and they win league

14:37

titles , right , how does this work ? And

14:39

, and you know , I know Coach Yoshinaga

14:41

don't want to go into the details of how

14:43

he goes out getting players , fine , no problems , but

14:45

you know how does this happen .

14:47

You know , in general , Actually

14:50

the method is secret

14:52

from the club perspective . But

14:54

the goal is to get ambitious

14:56

players who are likely to adopt

14:59

our playing model , having

15:02

good skill to voltage , and

15:06

we

15:10

just want to get ambitious

15:12

player . It doesn't matter the price

15:14

Right .

15:18

I understand what you're trying to say . The how

15:20

, the how he gets the players is a different

15:22

story , fine , but you know , you

15:25

said it right . He picks players based on the

15:27

hunger , obviously , and technically

15:29

good players as well , and you have millions

15:31

in Japan . So obviously

15:35

he has a plan , as in , you're going to play

15:37

4-3-3 , for example , and then he

15:39

builds from that . Right , hazan

15:41

, how do you see this ? And you , you , you've

15:43

seen this for a while now . So when

15:45

they come in , maybe in the during

15:47

pre-season , have you seen how they

15:49

have improved in terms of gelling

15:52

?

15:53

You know , I played against them since , like 2000

15:55

, when I made my debut 2003

15:58

, you played against them right yeah

16:00

, and since then

16:02

and now , they always have the number

16:04

nine , they always have number eight , and

16:07

you know number nine , you know score goals .

16:08

Yes .

16:08

You know , number 10 , you got to score goals , Right

16:10

. And number eight , please , that dominates

16:13

the midfield . We

16:16

know every year that they will have the same type

16:18

of players but probably different

16:20

personalities . But

16:22

you know , that is from outside

16:25

point of view Right . But when I , when I came

16:27

to the club and when I see them , I said I

16:30

don't think we have only one number eight . We

16:32

have three or four , number eight I don't think

16:34

we have one number nine .

16:35

We have more than one number nine .

16:37

Okay . So the recruitment

16:39

, I don't know , I don't know what's the method as well , because

16:41

when I see the players , I

16:43

see they are just university

16:46

players , you know , Yep , yep , yep . So imagine they

16:48

are in the top players , like those professional

16:50

players , right ? So I said

16:52

this is crazy , man , because you know , and

16:55

then again I learned a lot from them as well . Right

16:57

, because for them it's it's

16:59

a yearly contract , right , yep , yep , when they

17:01

, when they're in , especially in this year they're in

17:03

Singapore . They know that they're going to go somewhere

17:05

after this . So , this is the platform for them

17:08

, Right ? And it's like for us

17:10

locals . We have one year . We don't sign more than one

17:12

year contract , Right ? So imagine the kind of effort

17:14

we put in , the kind of sacrifices we would make .

17:16

It's like a . It's like a survival as well .

17:17

Right . Right so so imagine for them

17:19

, all they want to , all they

17:21

want are numbers . They'll make sure they want to score goals

17:24

, they make sure they want to assist more , they want to

17:26

make sure they run at this distance of

17:28

speed . So one

17:30

good example so we do have GPS

17:32

results after every session , right

17:34

? So they will look at that and they always

17:37

compare to the previous days and

17:39

usually for us we just say , oh okay , I

17:41

just want this just close , book , finish

17:43

, but for them it's to make sure they improve

17:45

themselves every now and then . So , and

17:48

what they do every day , on a daily basis

17:50

, is just amazing

17:53

. Because we don't like

17:55

we don't see a defender

17:58

trying to take free kicks and score goals . We

18:00

see , what I see in every

18:02

day is like hey , we

18:05

have a Rico number nine

18:07

.

18:07

Who's good at ?

18:07

really so , my centre-backs of my

18:09

defender and come in one against one with me on

18:12

their own , on their own , yeah , yeah . They just

18:15

remove their shirt and go one PM

18:17

on the hot sun . They do that every single

18:19

day and we cook number nine will

18:21

just make sure he improves his dribbling technique

18:23

. So they compete each other to improve

18:25

, to make sure that they reach a

18:27

certain level . So when I see that , it's

18:31

like oh , after what ? How

18:34

many years in this country

18:36

? I feel this is one of those periods

18:40

. I feel , you know , there's a lot of things

18:42

that we locals need to do to improve

18:44

ourselves . So even

18:46

myself , I had to stay behind , and you know , when I

18:48

see them , okay , that motivates me to even

18:50

improve on myself as well .

18:52

Because there's pressure as well . And you're looking and you

18:54

say , oh , if they are doing it , I

18:56

got to do it , man . Yes so that's how they

18:58

are . On a different level and you

19:00

were talking about , you know , there are a couple of number eights in the

19:02

team . There are a couple of number nines when you actually

19:04

train with them , and they have the ability it's what

19:06

they call it versatility as well . And

19:09

one example this season has

19:11

been the captain , yoko Kawa , number six

19:13

. He started the season in Central

19:15

Midfielder as a Central Midfielder and then

19:17

now he's like a full-time right back , right

19:20

. That is one example , and he's just gone to

19:22

his right back like he's played there his whole life and

19:26

yeah , so that's one example as

19:28

well , and that is he

19:30

speaks testament . He's a testament of how

19:32

the club is managed and whatever , and he's like

19:34

a machine now you know .

19:36

He does overlaps in trainings , man

19:38

On his own . So make sure he sent it back . So just

19:40

pump the ball to the corner flag and he does

19:42

overlaps sprint one , walk back , sprint two

19:44

, walk back , sprint three . On his own .

19:46

On his own .

19:47

my friend , when I see that I say this guy

19:49

, he should be in J1

19:51

or something or somewhere . And

19:53

when you say when he's at number six he

19:55

does different job , you know he's

19:57

box to box midfielder . So I

20:00

full , full respect .

20:01

You know you want four titles , right

20:03

, and with four different teams . How

20:05

do you rate this one

20:07

?

20:07

To me . This is not quite

20:10

similar , but the playing style , more

20:12

or less like the one I was

20:14

with Tampa , because

20:17

that team we had full of quality

20:19

players , but different

20:21

because back then

20:23

we had a lot of senior players , but

20:26

it was more of a quick one to passing

20:28

, you know but this is the opposite

20:30

. We have probably 17

20:33

or 18 young players

20:35

so , but this is with speed

20:37

. Back then it was more about being

20:40

smart yeah , being experienced and

20:42

all about how you manage

20:44

the game , but this is you go

20:46

at a certain speed .

20:50

Hiroki . The question for Yoshinaga

20:52

was there . There are a couple of young

20:55

, young local players in the

20:57

Elbrecht side and obviously they you try to do

20:59

that every single year and we've seen in the past

21:02

a couple of players have done very well for Elbrecht

21:04

. One was Adam Swandy a couple of years ago , un

21:07

. He was

21:09

brilliant for them and this season

21:11

as well . Melvin Singh was doing well until

21:13

he got called up and the way you all celebrated

21:16

his goal was brilliant as well . He's got a brilliant

21:18

goal as well . How does

21:20

Coach Yoshinaga apart

21:23

from instilling fear in them

21:25

, you know welcome

21:27

them into the team ? How does he adapt

21:29

?

21:32

Actually we have this

21:34

season . We have a role model Hasasani

21:37

, right , right . So

21:39

Yoshinaga , they're all

21:41

local players to

21:44

be professional like Hasasani . Okay

21:46

, just follow Hasasani , yes .

21:49

Just follow him . That's the message . Yeah , yes

21:51

, and anyway , how is ? Because

21:53

you've got a couple of local senior

21:56

players in there and officials . You've got Hyrule

21:58

, as well as the goalkeeper . Fadil Salim is the

22:00

coach as well , so they've probably helped

22:02

the local players assimilate

22:05

as well right into the team . Yeah

22:08

, Is he hard on the local players , Especially

22:12

the young ones ?

22:12

The young ones ? Yeah , he I think

22:15

he's never happy with them . Yeah , he makes

22:17

sure he tells them every day

22:19

that this is not good enough . This is not good enough . You

22:21

need to be better with it to to

22:24

run more . You need to think more .

22:27

So have you seen them improve

22:29

?

22:30

Of course you know , after like what ? Eight

22:32

months right . I think there must

22:35

be improvement because , if there's no improvement

22:37

there's no progress right . So

22:39

I think one good example is Junkie

22:44

. Yes when I first came , and

22:46

Nikkie was playing .

22:48

I didn't . I didn't know that he was Singaporean

22:51

until late , late on , you know , and because

22:53

he's got a Japanese name obviously yes , yes

22:56

, and I think Shakti , shakti

22:58

, like good example for Junkie .

23:00

he was not playing when when Nikkie was around

23:02

Right , so he was more of like

23:05

because we can play one local

23:07

right .

23:07

Yes , yes .

23:08

So he was not in the first level , but

23:11

he's one player , young player , that doesn't talk

23:13

much , very quiet .

23:15

Junkie , you mean Junkie ? Yes , doesn't talk

23:17

much , but he speaks the language .

23:18

No , Probably he understands

23:21

.

23:21

He can understand , but he can't speak Chinese

23:23

. Yeah , right , right , right .

23:26

So when Nikkie left for national service , I

23:28

think he stepped up and

23:30

and and we see the improvement

23:33

there after game by game , and he

23:35

improves .

23:36

And he's been starting all the games anyway , right , rightly

23:38

.

23:38

Yeah , but one good

23:40

thing about him he has these defensive qualities

23:42

in him which other players

23:44

, other local players , they don't have , right , so

23:47

that is one advantage he has . So

23:49

so I hope that , moving

23:51

forward , I hope he will give , or he will be given

23:53

, a possibility to represent Singapore , right , right

23:55

right and , and I think mentally

23:58

as well , I think they're a little bit stronger than our

24:00

local boys .

24:00

Yes , yes , mentally , yeah .

24:02

When you play with Japanese players , you have

24:04

you tend to , you know , improve

24:06

on your mental side as well .

24:08

So what's the plan , hiroki , for the Singapore

24:10

Cup ?

24:12

Singapore Cup . Cup as a club . Yeah , as a club

24:14

. What's the plan to win it all ? Tomorrow is

24:16

the draw , right ?

24:16

Yeah , tomorrow is the draw , yes of the Singapore

24:18

Cup . So the plan is obviously to win it right

24:20

. Yeah , yeah and and very confident

24:23

of it is Coach Yoshinaga very confident .

24:27

Actually , from

24:29

Yoshinaga's perspective , he

24:31

forced to get Singapore Cup

24:34

title as well . It's at least

24:36

level .

24:37

Oh , at least . Oh , okay , to get all titles

24:39

this season . Okay , and

24:43

looking good .

24:44

Yeah , looking good . And also

24:46

we have two weeks' day off for

24:49

vacation terms and I was

24:51

Japanese player going back to Japan

24:53

and take rest a bit , right

24:55

, and coming back to here as

24:58

a refresh , nice , nice .

25:01

I want to ask you as well about Yoshinaga . Does

25:03

he have plans , maybe in the next

25:05

five years or so , I don't know To

25:07

coach the Singapore side ? I don't know . This

25:09

is an idea that I feel that could be a

25:11

good one , you know , because he knows the players , he

25:15

knows the culture now by now , he

25:17

knows the do's and don'ts , he

25:20

knows what the players do . You

25:23

think that's a chance Any time

25:25

soon .

25:27

He hasn't decided the future , but

25:29

as a coach , his goal

25:31

is to stay on the pitch and keep challenging

25:33

. He really likes to

25:36

contract with players

25:38

on the pitch it doesn't matter

25:40

Singaporean or Japanese players . And

25:43

he hasn't decided to stay here

25:45

or go to another country .

25:47

But he likes .

25:48

Singapore . Yeah right , he

25:50

really likes Singapore as a country and also

25:52

football , singapore

25:54

SPL League , and he's

25:57

in Japan now For two weeks

25:59

. Yeah , for two weeks he's

26:02

consulting with his

26:04

family .

26:05

What do you think , azan , for

26:07

the Singapore national side ? No , obviously

26:10

I don't want to burn bridges or whatever , but

26:12

obviously you've got a coach right now , but I'm

26:14

talking about in the future , maybe in two , three years , I don't know . Do

26:17

you think he would be a good ?

26:19

fit For someone who knows the

26:21

local culture , ns

26:23

issues , school issues ? I

26:25

think he is , if

26:28

you talk about a foreign coach

26:30

. I think he knows it all . Yes

26:33

, and

26:37

, like I said , it's not easy when you have a team

26:40

of youngsters and

26:42

who say national service in school . I think

26:44

you know the commitment

26:47

they have . They have to balance both national

26:49

service or school and football

26:51

. So I think he understands

26:54

it well . I

26:57

think he goes through quite a lot Because it's

27:00

quite difficult for him to manage Because

27:02

we have probably 7

27:04

to 8 young local players

27:07

who are in school

27:09

.

27:09

Right .

27:11

And it's difficult because we don't know whether they are coming

27:13

tomorrow or not for tomorrow's training

27:15

session .

27:15

It's tough isn't it .

27:16

It's tough , it's tough to plan . So sometimes

27:18

last minute , they say oh , I have a class , I

27:20

have to stay back for a day for that . And

27:23

he needs to change

27:27

his training plan . So it's quite difficult

27:29

to understand the coaches

27:31

over here .

27:34

Even the local team . It's ridiculous . You don't know

27:36

who is coming for the training .

27:37

Sometimes , when you see under 21 players , you

27:39

only have probably less than 7 , less than 8 . Because

27:41

of school you cannot attend . So it's

27:43

quite difficult , but I think

27:46

for a foreign coach he manages well .

27:48

Nice . Now , before we go

27:50

, before we leave , I just want to have a couple of

27:52

questions to each of you and just answer off

27:54

your head , and anyway , these questions are coming off my head as

27:56

well . I haven't written anything and I'm just going to sum

27:59

it up Right About the club and about players

28:01

, and , well , hiroki , the most

28:03

skillful player at the club .

28:05

Skillful player in the club , obviously

28:11

local player . Really like number 9 , liku

28:14

Fukashiro his dribbler Right

28:16

.

28:16

How about you , Hassan ?

28:17

Yeah .

28:18

I'm talking about Albrecht Riku Riku , the

28:20

most skillful , I think , from the outside people can tell

28:23

as well .

28:23

Yeah , to me , riku Right .

28:24

Okay , the most versatile player

28:27

. That means he can play in many positions . Hassan .

28:29

Number 6 , Asahi .

28:31

Number 6 , Yoko Kawah .

28:32

Sorry , I know from their names because

28:34

of the commentary .

28:36

Yourself Sorry .

28:37

The player . He can play in many positions , many positions

28:39

.

28:39

Yeah , yeah , I

28:43

have to say Asahi .

28:44

Asahi as well , yeah .

28:48

Number 7 , shuto Komaki Komaki . Yeah

28:51

, okay , he can play four . Yeah , he's brilliant

28:54

man .

28:55

Brilliant , okay , the

28:57

most hardworking player

28:59

.

29:02

To me , number 14 , Shodai Yoko

29:04

Kawah , Shodai he .

29:06

Sorry , Yoko Yama Yoko .

29:07

Yama , outstanding , outstanding

29:09

, probably his last player to

29:11

leave .

29:12

Really .

29:13

Yes , he will make sure he improves

29:15

on a certain level , every single day

29:17

.

29:18

And now I know why . Because you just look at his performances

29:20

on the field . He's just like a dynamo going

29:22

. See , when he springs , man , he springs , his face

29:25

will look up and that's what he

29:27

does every single session , even

29:29

minus one man .

29:30

When you say sometimes I get the ball

29:32

from Komaki for high ball

29:34

, I just play Because I just want to practice

29:36

. Yeah , right , right , right , for out of

29:38

nowhere he will spring .

29:39

Yeah , I say , relax , we have a game tomorrow , but

29:42

that's why ?

29:42

I know that when you do that to

29:44

make sure that when you do it during match days

29:46

, it will be easier for you .

29:48

The most you gonna

29:50

give him magical magic . Worst

29:53

dress in the club . Worst dress player

29:55

in the club .

29:57

Japanese or .

29:58

Japanese , Japanese .

30:04

Worst dress Maybe

30:09

.

30:10

What is ?

30:11

the last dress , worst dress , fashion .

30:14

No fashion . Yeah who , If local , I say

30:16

Allah or Hyrule .

30:18

He is sloppy . Okay , I think we'll

30:20

take him as a Japanese now , because he's been there for

30:22

ages , Okay . Allah , you are

30:24

officially the worst dress player at

30:27

Albrecht . The best dress .

30:30

Maybe , To

30:32

meet Asahi .

30:34

Asahi .

30:35

Also why ? What does he ? He

30:38

has this skater-like

30:40

fashion .

30:41

The cool type .

30:43

He's into vans and stuff the

30:45

cool . So you know , because

30:47

they don't do much right .

30:49

Every single day , it's all about training session .

30:51

Football , everything , but sometimes Asahi

30:53

comes and he's going to some skating

30:55

session after that .

30:57

So yeah , I think the player who

30:59

eats the most Goji

31:02

, who's Goji Godzilla Number

31:04

what ? Number five Number five

31:06

is Kishi or Kishi .

31:07

Moto Kishi .

31:07

Moto .

31:08

Kishi Moto he eats a lot , I

31:11

think we had to monitor him for a bit , because

31:13

when he first came he was at a certain weight . Ah

31:16

, so I think Coach Yoshi was the

31:19

first one to highlight this . Easy , he

31:22

had to run every session after

31:24

training session .

31:25

Okay , this

31:27

is also another example . Right , you've got

31:29

to maintain a certain I don't know

31:31

right , and that's what I feel that the local

31:34

teams and local players should do as well . You

31:36

know that the weight part , I think you've seen

31:38

the sport , is important .

31:39

How you carry yourself on the field .

31:40

Yeah , exactly .

31:41

And , of course , off the field . Whatever

31:43

you do off the field reflects what

31:45

you do on the field , exactly , and

31:47

I think that was one thing

31:49

that was being highlighted by

31:51

Coach Yoshi Naga . Okay , so

31:54

I think the Japanese players understand .

31:57

And how good is Tadena Rili to

32:00

play with someone of his

32:02

stature and caliber , and

32:04

you know the experienced

32:06

man .

32:07

He has this fine

32:09

and class when he gets the

32:11

ball ?

32:12

Is there an air of arrogance as well ? Like

32:14

the ?

32:14

way .

32:15

No , not as in personality , but the way he plays

32:17

.

32:18

You see , when I first came and I was my

32:21

sitting position just across and

32:24

when he sits left

32:26

and right , when you say Japanese players , they just stand

32:28

up and walk away Because that's the level

32:31

of respect they have for him . They

32:33

don't want to be next sitting , next to him it's

32:36

more like respect . Lisa

32:38

. Lisa is in brother , right , lisa

32:40

, they say so . They just walk . Probably take

32:42

two to three steps away . So till now

32:44

they don't even dare to speak

32:46

anything to him .

32:47

Till now , yeah , no . So

32:50

does he have friends or not ? He

32:52

?

32:52

speaks to everyone , especially to me

32:54

, but the level of respect

32:57

the players have for him is just incredible

33:00

. Make out the voice .

33:01

Make out the voice every day .

33:04

And okay , who's the biggest joker , who

33:07

makes a lot of jokes in the dressing room ? Make people

33:10

laugh . Besides Alaw Shoudai

33:14

, who's Shoudai Sotam Show ?

33:17

Shoudai also Shofu , shofu

33:20

.

33:20

Left back Koki Kawachi

33:22

.

33:24

They're very funny , fodio Saling .

33:26

Fodio is always funny . Good

33:28

thing he draws the line when it's time to play . Play

33:31

when something's wrong Brilliant .

33:35

I wanted to ask you , hassan , and

33:37

this could be a little bit sensitive , but I'm

33:40

just going to ask you anyway Last year

33:42

, at the end of the season

33:44

, you were released . Were you

33:46

released ?

33:47

Yeah , yeah .

33:48

You were released and this

33:50

season you won the league

33:52

with Albrecht . How

33:55

does it feel ? Is there satisfaction ? Because

33:58

I don't know Seriously and I'm

34:00

not saying this because you're here , I've

34:03

been saying this on commentary as well you

34:05

, at the present moment , you are still the best goalkeeper in

34:07

Singapore . I don't know how

34:09

many foreign goalkeepers are there in Singapore , anyway , so

34:12

you're the best .

34:14

Do you think , firstly , it was the wrong decision

34:16

to let you go , and how does

34:18

it feel overall , in general , that you

34:21

won it and it's like a I

34:26

was a bit skeptical at first when I

34:29

talked about this , but

34:31

I think now it's not a time to open

34:33

up , but I think it's time to just

34:35

share .

34:36

By the way , this wasn't planned . Yeah , right

34:38

.

34:39

So I think I

34:42

was supposed to stay in the club line stay

34:44

sellers . But there was a turn of

34:46

events Midway

34:48

, I know , end of the season and

34:51

I heard H factor

34:53

was all about H factor . But and

34:56

then when we played them in Juno East , we

34:58

won , I think , our second game right , we won 3-0

35:01

4-0 . Yeah , I think that was

35:03

one game that I felt so

35:07

relieved .

35:07

He was a clean sheet as well .

35:08

Yes , because they told me

35:10

that about my age and

35:13

then and here I am like you

35:15

know we won 4-0 and it

35:17

was like it was like a cup final

35:19

for us , of course , for me as well , when

35:21

you play against your old club

35:23

who suddenly tell you you're not needed

35:26

anymore and you're finished , and

35:29

having won the title ahead

35:32

of them , if you know they

35:34

spend so much , look at the quality

35:36

. They have to be honest . Look at the quality

35:38

Max have and Diego , and you have

35:40

Diego Max , you have Kodai

35:43

, you have Shawal

35:45

, all that players and and

35:47

we have probably less unknown

35:50

players and the youngest players as well

35:52

. Yes , Of course , and

35:54

and we won a title . It was like

35:56

I don't need to tell people a

35:58

, you know , I know it's better

36:00

here than there . But people

36:03

came to me and said , oh , you won

36:05

. And of course they don't want

36:07

Lainz to say let's win , as much

36:09

as I don't want them to win . As well because that's

36:11

not . It's not much of a hatred

36:13

, it's a professional reason , right ? Because

36:16

oh , you don't mean , okay , probably

36:18

they are lost someone

36:20

else again . So I had

36:22

to do my part first .

36:24

Yeah , I have to know .

36:26

I Know I I kept quiet

36:28

for so many months , yeah .

36:30

I don't , I don't think you open up at all .

36:32

Yes , no , no , never . So is this the

36:34

first time ? Probably this is my first time . I'm

36:36

so glad and honored man , but I feel because

36:39

, because , why the reason why

36:41

? Because most of the people , most of the fans

36:43

, they thought that I left . And

36:45

they thought I'm

36:48

a traitor , you know .

36:49

I left the club for arrival right club , so

36:51

it's not what it is . And then and

36:54

I feel that people have to know

36:56

this , and I was being released-

36:58

yeah , wonderful , you heard it first

37:00

, I think , and anywhere on social

37:02

media or anything like that . So , yeah , so it's

37:05

been a wonderful season for

37:07

yourself personally , for the

37:09

club and and any

37:11

last words you know from Albrecht's , a message from Albrecht's

37:14

, your to the fans of Albrecht's

37:16

, or whatever . You want to say something , hiroki

37:18

.

37:21

Thank you for your Passionate

37:24

support for this season . But we have

37:26

also , of course , we have Singapore

37:28

Cup as well , and

37:31

I'm looking forward to 16th

37:35

September , final match at

37:37

Juin's . We can celebrate

37:40

it's a together .

37:41

Yeah , I spent , I thought together who you're

37:43

playing again , how go , how go and and

37:45

you know to all the fans Albrecht's

37:48

fans die hard fans , and local

37:50

and foreign fans , it doesn't matter come on down to

37:52

support you guys at Jurong East stadium . Right , the game . Yeah

37:55

, come on , guys , a home game as well . So to come

37:57

on down and support the guys and you

37:59

guys are gonna officially lift the club , the

38:01

cup , brilliant and Hassan . Any last words

38:03

?

38:04

I think we only halfway through the season , half

38:06

halfway through the year . I

38:08

think that was the message passed

38:11

across by coach because , Half

38:15

the season yeah another half is a

38:17

Singapore Cup . So we completed

38:19

half the season , we aced it

38:21

and now we have to focus

38:23

on the next one . Having said that

38:25

, we need all the support we can get from

38:27

the fans . I think they Were

38:30

being tremendous . You know

38:32

game , every single game , especially home

38:34

game .

38:34

Yeah .

38:35

I think when you see Jurong East Stadium

38:37

now , it's always full when you play

38:39

home games , so it's nice to have

38:41

them supporting us , especially when you

38:43

and when we play big teams right and

38:45

, of course , going into

38:48

Singapore Cup . We need their support as well , so I

38:50

hope the fence will continue to come

38:52

down and support us .

38:53

Listen , spoken like a true professional , because

38:55

coach Yoshinaga says it's only halfway , is

38:57

half Half the half the job done

38:59

, so exactly , and then I can understand

39:02

and I can , you know , feel him , and he says

39:04

that as well . Right , and please send my

39:07

regards to coach Yoshinaga . Thank you for his

39:09

answers as well . I think he's helped out with the answers . So

39:11

have a great holiday . For next , what two

39:13

weeks , a mini break , love , basically it's

39:15

not a full-on .

39:16

I don't know what's going on for national team . So

39:18

if I'll , be part of it . Monday we start

39:20

our first during session . It's

39:25

not out yet , yeah no , I

39:27

just wait for the squad to announce and listen

39:29

.

39:29

if you're not in the squad , then

39:32

something's wrong , that's how I stay , you

39:35

know , motivated .

39:37

Make sure I will never be there

39:39

, because it's how I work towards

39:41

it .

39:41

Oh yeah , sorry . By the way , hasan , if you want to , you

39:43

want to tell us where is your , your new stall

39:47

, gonna be at it'll be great .

39:49

I think today is the second day I'm

39:51

operating . I've been busy

39:53

recently yeah yeah

39:55

, so it's at block 144

39:58

, tampon in Street 12 .

40:00

Okay , it's just a small coffee shop . It's really

40:02

small space , but I Hope

40:04

the name of the place still the same right .

40:06

Yes , yes . So yes , small

40:08

place , small shop . I hope you would then speak yeah

40:11

, great .

40:12

Wish you all the best , wish Albrecht's all the

40:14

best for the rest of the season . Halfway

40:16

done , half job done , go out there

40:18

and then just just do your thing , guys . Thank

40:20

you , hiroki , thanks for coming down . Thanks , hasan

40:22

. As usual , my pleasure . This

40:25

has been a wonderful episode , you know , getting

40:28

some insights into Albrecht's

40:30

and their mentality and their championship

40:32

winning season . It has been an absolutely brilliant episode

40:34

. Thanks to the guys , and please follow us . We

40:37

are out on YouTube , spotify

40:39

, apple podcast . The

40:41

works right . So till the next episode , we see you again

40:43

. Cheers , hey

41:10

.