Singapore GK Hassan Sunny happy with Japanese trial game
Singapore national goalkeeper Hassan Sunny says he has no expectations about a possible transfer to Japan, despite taking part in a trial game in Osaka over the weekend.
The 32-year-old played about 70 minutes with Japanese third-division side Gainare Tottori against South Korea's Incheon United at the J-Green Sakai training facility.
Hassan was invited to the game after Gainare had viewed videos of the Home United custodian, who's admitted that he's open to another overseas move after being released by Thailand's Army United in December.
"I came here not hoping for anything," he told The New Paper when asked about his chances of securing a contract for the 2017 season.
"I wanted to gain more experience and have a feel of what football at this level is like. I hope to get an opportunity like this again. I just want to learn."
Hassan arrived in Japan on Friday night and played the second of three 45-minute periods, with his side trailing 1-0. The Japanese outfit did well to match it with the Korean giants, who finished 10th in the K-League last season.
"It was a great result for the team, not only considering Gainare are J3 and Incheon are K-League, but also because our team were made up entirely of local players while Incheon had their foreign players," he said.
Here at the training camp.
A photo posted by Hassan Sunny (@hassansunny18) on
"It was a bit tough for me because, before the game, I didn't know their capability and they didn't know mine.
"But I learnt some basic Japanese words about 10 minutes before the game - things like 'right', 'left', 'push up', 'tackle'... and that helped."
Hassan was supposed to play in a second match on Sunday, but it was cancelled due to a heavy snowstorm. He will now return to Singapore.
"Even though my time with the team was short, it was a good experience," said Hassan.
"They told me they would have liked for me to join them in Tottori (for a few extra days), so that was nice to hear."
If Hassan is to join Gainare, a deal will need to be negotiated with Home United ahead of the J3 season, which begins on Mar. 11.
