CHAMPIONS!

Today has got to be the proudest day of my life. KACC are the champions of Science Open 2007! It's the first time that we have ever won any tournament and the way we went about winning it was truly touching. I will talk about our fairytale story later but right now I want to say some things that I did not manage to say just now.

Dear KACC Spartans,

First of all, I want to thank you all for giving me the honour of being the captain of KACC and the opportunity to lead such a committed group of players. Throughout the course of this tournament, from registration right up to the final, I have made many decisions. Some of these decisions were painful, but I assure you that every single decision that I took was in the best interests of the team. Every single player who went down are champions in my eyes. There is no such thing as a KACC 'B' Team. You all are a part of this fairytale story. Every single word of encouragement went a long way to secure us the championship. I want to thank every single member of KACC here.

Ho Teck: You were made the captain of NSL and you fully deserve the captaincy. I was truly impressed with how you gave everything for the cause and put your body on the line for the team. Your performances on the pitch says everything about your character.

Johnson: It was your first time playing with us and I saw you playing your heart out. You deserve a champions' medal as well.

Pierre: Although you only started playing with us about a year ago, you showed great team spirit in adversity. You gave another great defensive performance against more gifted opponents.

Fei Jie: You were asked to play as goalkeeper even though you did not have much experience. I felt that you were truly heroic in keeping four clean sheets, the best defensive record in your group.

Wai Hong: You gave a spirited performance. I could see you running back and supporting the team even though you were tired. You really played for the team.

Wai San: You gave a great team performance as well. You got the Spartan spirit and I saw it. Thank you for bringing a foreign inport as well.

Brad: Even though you probably will not see this and is leaving Singapore soon, I want to thank you for coming down. You gave a great centre-forward performance.

Shahid: You were asked by me to play as a goalie as well and you did not disappoint. You played as a striker when we needed goals and you did not fail to deliver as well. You are the golden boot winner with 5 goals and you provided many more as well. You were integral to our success.

Minglun: You gave a superb defensive performance. You did everything I asked you to with great discipline and endeavour. Marking fast strikers, Big physical strikers, supporting the attack, you did them all. Fowler would be so proud of you.

Kok Wai: You played even though you sustained a head injury last week. You were a Spartan through and through. And your goals were the most precious ones. They brought us to the semi-finals and won us the medal. You came up with the goods when we most needed it. We wouldn't have won without you.

Ziyong: You were late and had prata at 3 in the morning. You should be punished but you gave such a superb performance that everything is forgiven. You gave a great all-round display and even had to play as goalkeeper for the last few matches. I appreciate your sacrifice for the team.

Wesley: You were everywhere on the pitch, tracking back to defend and pushing forward when we were attacking. You played on even though you had an ankle injury. I couldn't thank you more for your commitment as well as your advice.

Sufiyan: You gave every last bit that you had. I saw your lethargy but I also saw your mental strength. Your technique and calmness earned us valuable time as well. It was vital to our success.

I also want to apologise if I had been too demanding and offended any of you.

Lastly, I hope everyone of us will remember this victory for the rest of our lives. I hope this memory will be stored in a special place in our hearts. Let us remember forever the way we fought beside each other, overcome overwhelming odds through sheer perserverance and encourage each other when the chips are down. I hope we all will have more belief in ourselves from this day onwards and always remember that teamwork and desire are the qualities that will bring us victories, not individual skill. 24 March 2007, a day that will always have a special place in my heart.