SINGAPORE – When Australian international Bailey Wright joined the Lion City Sailors two weeks ago, little did he expect that his stint with the Singaporean side would include a reunion on the pitch.
That will happen on Wednesday when the Sailors take on Tottenham Hotspur at the National Stadium, where the former Sunderland captain will be in the opposite dugout from former Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou and former skipper Mile Jedinak.
“I spent a lot of time in international football with both of them,” the 30-year-old said at a pre-match press conference at the Sailors’ Mattar Road headquarters on Tuesday. “Sometimes in football, it’s difficult to stay in touch with people, and you’re always doing different things, so I’m looking forward to catching up with them.”
Wright was effusive in his praise of the duo, telling The Straits Times in a previous interview that Postecoglou, 57, is an “incredible” coach who had a “big impact” on his career. Postecoglou named Wright in the Socceroos’ 2014 World Cup squad skippered by Jedinak.
On the former midfielder, 38, who is now Spurs’ assistant coach, Wright added: “As a younger player underneath him, I always had aspirations to be a captain like him as well. He was a great person to learn from off the pitch.”
The Sailors, whose involvement in this match came after AS Roma pulled out on July 12, have a host of foreign talents who are set to face Spurs, besides Wright.
Other than Belgian Maxime Lestienne, Brazilian Diego Lopes and Curacao’s Richairo Zivkovic, who are registered in their Singapore Premier League (SPL) squad, there are also Spaniard Manuel Lopez and Portuguese Rui Pires. Pires played in Portuguese side Pacos de Ferreira’s 3-0 second-leg defeat by Spurs in the 2021 Europa Conference League play-offs.
There might also be some catching up between Lestienne and Spurs’ Croatian winger Ivan Perisic, who were teammates at Club Brugge more than 10 years ago.
With the Asian Champions League (ACL) coming up in September, Sailors coach Aleksandar Rankovic will be hoping to give all his foreign players a run out against Spurs. The ACL allows a foreign quota of 5+1 (five players of any nationality and one from an Asian Football Confederation member association).
The 44-year-old Serb said: “The way we want to play, and our formation, is something I’ll take a look at... and to prepare the team for the ACL as well.
“(Wednesday’s match is) a great opportunity for us to test ourselves against this kind of opponents, we’re talking about world-class players… and people in the club and in Singapore can see what we’re made of.”
Captain Hariss Harun believes the clash will present a stern test for his side, adding: “These are the games players are always looking to play to challenge themselves. (Spurs) play a high level of football week in, week out, and the group is looking forward to (the match).”
The last time the Sailors faced a European team in a friendly was in November 2022, when they were defeated 7-2 by Borussia Dortmund. Nur Adam Abdullah, who featured in that match, admits Spurs will be a tougher prospect.
“Spurs have well-known players, especially (Harry) Kane and Son (Heung-min) who are experienced and players that we always watch on television,” said the 22-year-old left back, who is hoping to learn from playing against quality opposition.
Both Hariss and Nur Adam believe that the match will benefit the local football scene. “People from different parts of the world will be watching these kinds of games, and it’s good for them to recognise who we are and where we are from,” said Nur Adam.
