Football
Kelvin Leong 8y

Tampines striker Tosi targets Sultan of Selangor Cup and S.League

Brazilian striker Rodrigo Tosi is hoping that winning the Sultan of Selangor Cup this weekend will be a stepping stone in Tampines Rovers' pursuit of the Great Eastern Yeo's S.League title.

The annual showpiece game is expected to be played in front of a full house at Shah Alam Stadium on Saturday night. The Singapore Veteran XI will take on Selangor's veterans before a Singapore Selection side, coached by Fandi Ahmad, plays Selangor FA.

Tosi, who has scored 11 league goals for Tampines this season, has been called into the squad to add firepower along with LionsXII's Sahil Suhaimi and Courts Young Lions' Canadian striker Sherif El-Masri.

"It is a great honour to be invited by Fandi to play for this team," Tosi told ESPN FC.

"We will go out there and try to win the game. You always go on the pitch and try for a win, if not why play football in the first place?

"After I come back, we will continue our challenge for the S.League trophy. We had some bad results at Tampines but we are back on track. Tampines are a big club in Singapore football so we always believe we can do it."

Having also turned out for a Singapore Selection side against the likes of Arsenal and Stoke City in the Barclays Asia Trophy in July, the former Brunei DPMM marksman is thrilled for another opportunity to play in front of a huge crowd.

"Sometimes, it is good to have a change and play to a big crowd because that is what we as players always thrive for," said the 32-year-old "They say the Selangor fans are very loud at their stadium and a lot of Singapore fans will travel up for the game so I cannot wait for it to start."

Last year's Sultan of Selangor Cup saw Selangor lift the coveted trophy with a 2-1 win over the Singapore selection side, guided by former Hougang United coach Amin Nasir. A Paulo Rangel brace was sandwiched by Geylang International Leonel Felice's free-kick.

Tosi believes that the strong Singapore side, with established internationals like Shahdan Sulaiman, Madhu Mohana, Zulfahmi Arifin, Safuwan Baharudin and Izwan Mahbud, will secure the trophy.

"Of course we are going to win it and bring the Cup back," he predicted. "I played with a lot of the players in this squad in the Barclays Trophy so I know the quality they have.

"There are some really good players like Safuwan and our goalkeeper Izwan so hopefully, we can gel in time and put on a good performance for the fans from both teams."

Having won the 2014 S.League top scorer award with 24 goals, Tosi's prolific record backs him up in his search for glory at Shah Alam this weekend.

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