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CHIVAS presents a three-part profile interview series with Singapore’s most resilient footballers in collaboration with Junpiter Futbol for REGAL F.C., the social club for creative visionaries. From Panna players to Singapore Premier League professionals, Jun Tan, founder of Junpiter Futbol, takes the guest editor’s seat for Regal F.C. to talk to these renaissance ballers about their blend of success, strengths and dreams.
Getting there with Anders Aplin by Junpiter Futbol
Anders Aplin has had a rather unorthodox but remarkable career. From amateur football to the J-League, and now, as a central name in the Singapore Premier League, Anders’ journey has charted a bumpy road to success despite a relatively late start to his football career.
Like many Singaporean stalwarts, Anders attended the Singapore Sports School and was a regular player at the National Football Academy (NFA). He may have turned out for Victoria Junior College’s ‘A’ Division team, but a decision was made to take a break from football to prioritise his ‘A’ Levels studies. Balancing athletic pursuits with academic responsibilities remains a perennial challenge for many athletes in Singapore.
After ‘A’ Levels, Anders could have picked up where he left off, but National Service called—the call of duty for many Singapore sons and a dilemma for many sportsmen; hence he swapped his football boots for combat boots and a red beret. As a commando, his duty to the nation came first, and football was second. There simply weren’t opportunities to train or play professionally, however. After a four-year absence from professional football, the chances of pursuing a professional football career seemed highly improbable. Anders entered university and believed that he would pursue a job related to his degree in Business. His dream career in football was surely a distant memory.
Yet, there was a plot twist to Anders’ football journey, as the best sports stories always do.
While he had given up hope of pursuing a career in professional football, Anders was as active as he could be in football – playing regularly in private and amateur leagues while juggling university. Above all, he was still a footballer at heart. It was during a National Football League match against Yishun Sentek Mariners F.C. who Noor Ali coached at the time that changed the trajectory of Anders’ journey. Anders’ sensational performance in the game caught Noor’s attention. Noor, the future head coach of Geylang International, later approached Anders for a trial. This led to Anders’ move to the Singapore Premier League – yet another trial by fire of having to juggle academics and football. However, he saw this as his last shot at turning pro, and he jumped at the chance.
From the S.League, Anders’ unorthodox career path was about to veer far left. In 2018, Anders Aplin made history by becoming the first Singaporean player to sign with a J2 League team.
Anders’ move to Yamaga started out as a week’s trial from a collaboration between Geylang International and Matsumoto Yamaga F.C. He did well enough to secure a loan move to the J2 League club. However, preparations for the trial was a nightmare for Anders.
“I remember it was at the end of the season—all the lads went off for their pre-season break. I was told to report for training the next day at 9 am. I knew it was for the trial, but I didn’t know how rigorous it would be. I trained with the head trainer three times a week with triple training sessions every day. I was determined not to make a fool of myself. I knew how fit they were, and so I did whatever I could in that short time.”
“I went over for the trial, and then I came back to join the Geylang for pre-season training immediately after—I didn’t have a break like the rest. I was seriously overworked, and I also discovered that I had popped two hernias. I got word after the operation that the trial was successful, and Matsumoto Yamaga wanted to sign me… so I had to start training again.”
After training hard and making significant preparations for his loan stint, Anders was mentally ready to make the best of his time in Japan. He knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and he wanted to learn as much as he could and bring this knowledge back to Singapore.
He trained hard and regularly featured on J2 outfit’s reserve team – it was a steep learning curve for Anders; the playing standards of Japanese players were miles ahead of the calibre of the Singapore Premier League.
Looking back, Anders says he has no regrets about the amount of time and effort he invested into training. During training sessions with Matsumoto Yamaga, he would push himself well beyond his physical and mental limits.
“The training was insane. I remember one drill we did: an eleven versus eleven practice match. It wasn’t your typical match—you’d only be assigned one opposition player that you can tackle. So, you can’t tackle. I just so happened to be paired with this player who played with Japan at the Olympics. Physically I could match him, but the moment he took off, it was really hell chasing him. That was the first time I vomited (from a sports activity),” recalls Anders.
In addition to gaining a lot of football experience during his time at Matsumoto, Anders also got a firsthand understanding of the Japanese footballing system, which he considers a model Singapore could follow.
However, if there were one thing that Anders could have done differently, it would have been picking up more Japanese football terminology. While he learned enough Japanese before his trip to communicate with his team and get around town, the terms used during training were very different. Knowing more football-specific terms in Japanese would have allowed Anders to train more effectively. Grasping the Japanese language was not the only lesson from his stint with Matsumoto Yamaga.
“The first thing I did when I came back to Singapore was tell the General Manager to change the dressing room at the old Bedok Stadium. That was really the least we could start with. The changings room would flood whenever you shower. The doors on the shower cubicles don’t close properly. And the boot rack was a mess— there were old boots on there from many years ago,” shares Anders.
Inspired by his experience in Japan, Anders adds on that, “Noor Ali, the assistant coach, and I came down one weekend, and we cleaned up the entire changing room and really fixed the place up. Then, of course, we got the news that they will be moving to OTH (Our Tampines Hub) the following season….”
“I Rise, We Rise”
Anders has since moved on to Singapore Premier League club Hougang United. The 2021 campaign was certainly a memorable one for him and the Cheetahs. In the previous season, Hougang United narrowly missed out on the AFC Cup after a brilliant start to the campaign. Towards the end of the season, the Cheetahs imploded and were made to rue their chances. However, Anders and his teammates were not about to let last season’s mishaps repeat this year.
“Last year, there were many cliques within Hougang United, and we weren’t united as a unit. This year, it’s been completely different. I feel like we are one team, where all of us have good chemistry, and we will fight for each other,” shares Anders.
Faced with numerous injuries to the squad, Anders and the Cheetahs dug deep in the trenches together and remained steadfast in their resolve. As one team, they overcame many obstacles thrown in their way and rose to the occasion—by next season (should COVID-19 mandates allow), they could very well be playing AFC Cup football.
For Anders, the path in football remains wonderfully muddied, but it’s a journey to forge on in this undeniably unique and rewarding journey. Regardless of what happens next, he has already taken the mantle of being the first Singaporean to sign with a Japanese club.
Not too shabby for the homeboy who had a dream, lost it, and won it right back through sheer grit.
Where football goes, culture follows. Join REGAL F.C., a social club that elevates global football culture at www.chivas.com/en-SG/REGALFC and gain priority access to member perks, events and competitions.
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