It was not because they had just finished a tough training session, overseen by former Lion Abdullah Noor.
They were about to meet their new coach, and the youngsters were understandably nervous. One by one, each member of the Singapore under-16 football team went up to shake hands with Koga Takuma, after their first training session on Wednesday.
It was a low-key welcome for the 41-year-old former head coach of the Cerezo Osaka under-15 team, who observed the boys from the sidelines during their one-hour training session.
Takuma expects to build a rapport with the team quickly, with a little less than two months to go to the 23rd Canon Lion City Cup, which will be held here from June 18 to 27.
Takuma was unveiled as the coach of the Football Association of Singapore's (FAS) National Football Academy under-16 squad for two years, at a press conference to mark the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the FAS and the Japan Football Association (JFA).
Speaking in halting English after training, Takuma said: "The training session was good and I like the players' attitude and motivation. Fitness and skills are good, and they know where the goal is.
"We need to work on defence and transition from that to attack and back.
"I have seen the tapes of the team's performance at the Youth Olympic Games last year and I was impressed by their determination and team spirit. They have potential to go far."
ORIGINAL SOURCE
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