The Singapore team will participate in the No. 1 tournament in Southeast Asia with a squad of average age, with 13/23 players aged 30 and over. Among them, goalkeeper Hassan Sunny - 38 years old is the oldest player in this year's AFF Cup. This is the 9th AFF Cup that Sunny has participated in. He hopes to make practical contributions to the Singapore team, when the team is in Group B with Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar and Laos.
I was a reserve when we won the championship in 2004 and 2007, so of course it would be great to win the No. 1 position. It is an honor to be present in so many tournaments and I am very grateful that coach Takayuki Nishigaya still believes in me because in theory, it will not be easy to choose someone at my age, said Hassan Sunny before the 2022 AFF Cup.
The veteran goalkeeper of the Singapore team emphasized that he never disregards his starting point, and always works hard to reach the peak of his career.
Argentinasmiliano Martinez is a perfect example a few years ago he was no one, and now he is a key member of Argentinas World Cup winning squad. If you don't have enthusiasm and don't have patience when you're on the bench, you won't achieve anything," Sunny emphasized.
Emiliano Martinez was a reserve goalkeeper at Arsenal, even being loaned to lower-ranked teams. But with hard work, Martinez has affirmed his position. He made a huge contribution to helping Argentina conquer 3 major titles in more than 1 year, with the pinnacle being the 2022 World Cup championship. In the tournament just ended in Qatar, Martinez received the title of best goalkeeper of the tournament.
In addition to Hassan Sunny, midfielder Hariss Harun, 32, the captain of the Singapore team, also believes that age is not a big obstacle, preventing him from making great contributions to the home team. He was also inspired by the 2022 World Cup, when a series of veterans played excellently.
Its natural for older players to be phased out and a new generation to be replaced. But as the recent World Cup showed, it is unpredictable for players to enter the sunset or peak of their careers. Cristiano Ronaldo is not excellent, but Lionel Messi had his best tournament at the age of 35 and Luka Modric impressed at the age of 37 and we can draw inspiration from them.
Playing in the AFF Cup 2022 as if this is our last tournament will be a good mentality, and we have to try our best to fight for our country and achieve something," Harun shared.
Luka Modric, at the age of 37, is still the main driver to help Croatia get 3rd place in the World Cup. Lionel Messi had the best international tournament of his career at the age of 35, scoring 7 goals and having 3 assists to greatly contribute to helping Argentina win the World Cup. Individually, El Pulga was voted the best player of the tournament.
According to the schedule, the Singapore team will start the campaign to conquer the AFF Cup 2022 with a home match against Myanmar on December 24.
