The new icon
AS the dust settled at Prince Charles Park with the final of the IDC between the Babasiga Lions and Capital City boys last Sunday, there was a lot of talks about the new icon of Labasa soccer — Ronil Lal.
Lal coached the Lions in 2016 and the boys lifted the IDC title after a very long drought.
He was recruited this year and the Lions stole the BOG title from sugar city boys.
He came again in IDC and the boys proved all critics wrong by lifting the prestigious IDC cup in style.
With so much passion for football, Lal has indeed injected a lot of composure, discipline, skills and networking within the same bunch of players who have played for northern town previously.
The side looks formidable in attack and defence reflecting the techniques embedded by Lal.
At the moment, he is the heartbeat of all northern fans.
The anticipation is very high and the onus lies on the players to deliver when it matters most. I am optimistic they would lift more titles in the near future.
It was all bizarre when we took two major titles this year.
The fans went into a frenzy and the social media was flooded with positivity.
By the way, Lal is a teacher by profession.
I have also realised that teachers are some of the best coaches.
Gurjeet Singh, Kamal Sami, Saroj and others have been very successful coaches.
I feel Labasa football as well as Fiji football must recruit their own product for a brighter future of Fiji soccer.
The technical knowledge he possesses is praiseworthy.
By the way, I hope Lal would use his cards correctly so that we could have a sublime finishing and ensuring that our performance is consistent and we are in a strong position to represent the O League.
Let’s continue supporting our district and hope that the Lions would continue to be a force to reckoned with.
Let the roaring of Lions be heard. NAVEEN DUTT
Wainibokasi