Second best: Bintang Biru players showing their medals. They were edged out by Singapore's Junior Soccer School by a solitary goal in the Under-12 final.
BUTTERWORTH-BASED football academy Bintang Biru failed in their bid to be crowned overall champion at the 7th Royal Selangor Club (RSC)’s Dato’ Chu Ah Nge International Junior Soccer Tournament but they did spice up the occasion.
Bintang Biru was hoping to re-gain the crown they last won in 2007 but managed only fourth spot out of the 14 teams taking part in the two-day challenge which ended at the RSC ground in Bukit Kiara.
Chairman Sundran Santanam said they were not disappointed as the team had to play without its better players due to new rules.
The rules stated clearly that all Malaysian players who have represented any sport school, project school, state/national academy as well as the national Inter-State including MSSM or national age group teams, are barred from playing in the tournament.
Since Bintang Biru have 13 state and five national Under-12 players, and with almost their entire Under-14 and Under-16 team players representing Mutiara Impian Sports School in their commitments, they were forced to field a totally new and untested team in their Under-12, Under-14 and Under-16 campaigns.
Bintang Biru had to be contented with finishing runners-up after they trooped out with a 2-0 defeat to CIMB YFA in the Under-8 final.
Their Under-12 side suffered a similar fate, going down to Singa-pore’s Junior Soccer School by a solitary goal.
However, despite these setbacks, they still managed to walk tall at the end of the day.
While Bintang Biru’s Athari Aqmar Farhan was adjudged the best player in the Under-8 category, goalkeeper Muhammad Al Imran kept the team’s tradition alive when he won the best goalkeeper award for the Under-12 boys. This is one award Bintang Biru have never failed to win since 2005.
The Bintang Biru boys drew praise from football pundits of ESPN such as Abbas Saad.
Even the Brazilian Ambassador to Malaysia Jose Soares Junior, who was then with Bintang Biru’s Brazilian guest coach Jarno Mattios, was impressed with the Butterworth academy’s Under-8 players.
Bintang Biru advisor Mohd Firdaus Chew, a pillar of strength at the academy for the past 25 years, said many people had commented on the players’ style, saying they played like Brazilian boys.
“This has earned our players an invitation to train in Brazil,” he said.
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