The Singapore goalkeeper who "saved" the national football team: the food sold at the stall at home was bought out by the Chinese

2024-06-12 17:53:00

The Singapore goalkeeper who "saved" the national football team: the food sold at the stall at home was bought out by the Chinese

Cover News

2024-06-12 17:31Posted on the official account of Sichuan Cover News

Cover news reporter Che Jiazhu

On the evening of June 11, at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, the national football team lost 0-1 to South Korea in the World Preliminary Round, and its fate hung by a thread, and Chinese football seemed to be preparing for the next World Cup in advance. However, with the help of Singapore, the national football team relied on the number of goal difference and finally entered the top 18 of the Asian zone of the World Preliminary Championship.

In Singapore's 1-3 away loss to Thailand, Singapore goalkeeper Hassan Sonny was called a goalkeeper who "worked hard for the national football team" by netizens. In this game, the Thai team had 35 shots on goal and 13 on target, many of which had good chances, but they were cleared by Sonny one by one, saved a number of must-score goals, and received a yellow card for delaying time in stoppage time, becoming the hero of the miracle.

On the evening of the 11th, we were all thanking Singapore. On the 12th, "Thanks" has come to Hassan Sonny's store.

The Singapore goalkeeper who "saved" the national football team: the food sold at the stall at home was bought out by the Chinese

Hassan's kitchen

Born in 1984, Sonny currently plays for Niigata Swan Club in Singapore. When he's not playing football, Sonny runs a stall with his family called Dapur Hassan, which means "Hassan's kitchen."

The small stall, located at 12 Tampines Street in Singapore, is open Tuesday to Sunday from 8am to 3pm (closed an hour earlier on weekends) and closed on Mondays. Surrounded by Singapore's public housing "HDB flats", Hassan's kitchen is located on the first floor of the HDB flats in this block, often referred to as the Food Court, and next to Hassan's kitchen, there are also many fast food snacks here, sharing the same dining space and providing catering services for nearby residents.

Hassan's kitchen outside the street

The cover news reporter checked the information and found that there is also this store on a review website, with a current rating of 3.8, and many fans left messages after the game, calling it "a must-eat list in Singapore for Chinese fans". Hassan's kitchen serves 5 types of food, including soups, noodles, rice balls, and rice noodles, with a Malaysian flavor in the price range of S$4-7, in addition to snacks for sale: fried potato balls, fried eggs, fried soy products, and fried chicken wings are also sold for only S$1-2.

During the offseason, Sonny spends time working on his cooking skills. Foreign media reported that "Hassan's Kitchen" opened in October 2020, and in addition to nasi lemak, it also sells some Malaysian dishes. On weekends, there is a long queue in front of Sonny's stall. Come here to eat and meet the players of the Singapore team.

Sonny once revealed in an interview with FIFA that their entire family is engaged in the catering industry, and owning a restaurant has been his dream since childhood. Without football, Sonny would probably have spent his youth in a restaurant.

The staff in the store enthusiastically cooperated with the Chinese to take pictures

After last night's game, a large number of national football fans left messages on Sonny's social media to express their gratitude. They run to tell each other that they must take care of Sonny's business when they have the chance. For this sudden enthusiasm and support, Sunny also expressed his gratitude to the Chinese fans through a video. And today, this gust of wind has "blown" to Sonny's shop.

For customers who asked to take pictures, the store staff happily cooperated

On June 12, the cover news reporter contacted Ma, who was studying in Singapore, and at around 1 p.m., Ma came to Hassan's kitchen to "check in". According to Ma, when he found the shop, he found that all the food had been labeled "sold out", and when he walked up to ask if there was still food, the clerk just smiled and shook his head, waved his hand, and pointed to the "sold out" sign on the food menu, and the clerk in the store was also cleaning the food utensils and making preparations before the store closed.

This smiling female clerk is recognized as Sonny's wife on many social platforms, but when classmate Ma asked this question, the clerk smiled and did not give an answer, in Hassan's kitchen classmate Ma met many Chinese, and a big brother told him: "Usually most of this window is Indonesians to buy food, but today the Chinese have all bought the meal, and it is more lively here in the morning." ”

Approaching 1 hour before closing, Hassan's kitchen was still crowded with people, 8 small tables for two people were full, and there were people who broadcast live here, for everyone who came enthusiastically, the clerks still greeted each other with a smile, and the clerks were also happy to treat each other with the request to take a group photo, and every customer who came to take a picture gave a thumbs up, but put forward a request for a maximum of two photos.

The food on the menu is sold out

Sonny, who is still passionate about football

As an asthmatic, Sonny's football career came later than other professional players. 'When I was 13 years old, I went to a professional club for a tryout, playing as a midfielder and as a winger. But because I have asthma, after a few laps I felt strained and needed to sit down and rest. Sonny admits that he wasn't drafted for that tryout, but on the way home, he found that almost no one tried out the goalkeeper. With the mentality of trying it out, Sonny, who switched positions, was finally favored by the coach and began his career as a goalkeeper.

In 2000, Sonny entered the Singapore National Football Academy. Four years later, he made his international debut for Singapore. By March of this year, Sonny had made more than 100 appearances for his country. As an asthmatic, Sonny's football career came later than other professional players. Although he is 40 years old, Sonny said that he has no plans to retire at present, and he still maintains his passion for football.

The food has been sold out

"In my football career, I've experienced more lows than highs. But every time I get a chance to win, I'm happy. Over the years, I have built up my mental strength and am still motivated to do more and work harder. Sonny wants to be a role model for the young players and inspire them to work the pitch.

In addition to Sonny, the main central defender and captain of the Singapore team, Harun, also works part-time as a real estate agent. And it was the team composed of these part-time "small vendors" and "intermediaries" that saved the national football team.

(Photo provided by the interviewee)

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