VERDY'S APPROACH AN EYE-OPENER

Former Lions turned coaches Alam Shah and Isa inspired by stint with Japanese club

- David Lee

To protect the pristine Tokyo Verdy training pitches, the team will play possession games on a 40m by 40m plot and allow it to rest after such heavy usage by using the same area only for passing drills the following day.

Similarly, to let the natural turf rest, goalkeepers do not practise on the same spots every day.

As former Singapore internationals Noh Alam Shah and Isa Halim learnt during their time with the newly promoted club, who are eighth in the 20-team J1 League, it is the thoughtfulness behind the seemingly obvious, respect, attention to detail and the unrelenting will to get things right that has helped Japanese football succeed on many levels.

The duo, who both hold Asian Football Confederation A licences, are the inaugural batch of participants for the Coaches Overseas Attachment programme, an initiative under the Unleash The Roar! (UTR) national football project. Their stint, which started on May 24, takes place till the J1 League season ends on Dec 8.

A typical day starts with the technical team under head coach Hiroshi Jofuku - there are six coaches, three trainers and one manager - arriving at the training ground about 40 minutes ahead of their 8.10am meeting, before they brief the players at 9.30am.