Ronaldinho, Jermaine Pennant look to prolong careers in Singapore


ESPN FC's Jason Dasey and John Wilkinson discuss former Liverpool and Arsenal winger Jermaine Pennant's week-long trial with Tampines Rovers.
Other nations may not have been so accommodating, but leave it to Singapore to roll out the welcome mat for both Ronaldinho and Jermaine Pennant.

Five Australian clubs reportedly passed on the chance to offer ex-Brazil star Ronaldinho a guest stint during the second half of the current A-League season. They've taken the view that the considerable wage demands of the 35-year-old playmaker may not mean a positive return on investment.

Yet, there was great excitement in Singapore last month when the two-time Ballon d'Or winner arrived to sign a deal with local club, Tampines Rovers. Alas, it wasn't to actually play in the 2016 S.League season but to set up a junior coaching clinic in his name.

And, again, it is Tampines Rovers who will be greeting ex-Liverpool and Arsenal winger Jermaine Pennant when he flies into Changi Airport early on Thursday morning.

Pennant, who last played professionally for Wigan Athletic in the English Championship eight months ago, will be trialling at the 2015 S.League runners-up with a view to signing a contract for the coming season.

Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant
After playing for Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League, Pennant aims to help Tampines qualify for the Asian equivalent.
Tampines Rovers also have an AFC Champions League qualifier away to India's Mohun Bagan on Jan. 27. That means, that all going well, the man who turned out for Liverpool in the 2007 UEFA Champions League final against AC Milan, could help a Singapore side qualify for the Asian equivalent.

Less than two months ago, Pennant seemed on the verge of joining ambitious Thai Premier League side Muangthong United after a similar trial. The club even posted a video of the former England under-21 star on the training pitch but a contract never materialised.

This time, Pennant hopes to secure a deal that will mean "another chapter" in a professional career that began as 15-year-old at Arsenal and included a season-long stint with Real Zaragoza in La Liga. He turns 33 on Jan. 15.

"I've had a few offers abroad but I think that Singapore seemed keen, like they wanted to do it," Pennant told Red Card Sports Radio.

"I've never been there before but I've heard it's a lovely country and that Tampines Rovers are one of the biggest teams in Southeast Asia. They're also in the Asian Champions League so I'd like to be a part of it and take my career to another chapter."

Ronaldinho in Singapore
Ronaldinho was brought to Singapore in December by Tampines, but only to plan a junior academy.
As long as his salary expectations are realistic, Pennant's involvement could be just what the S.League needs in a season when most of Singapore's international stars return after four years in the Malaysia Super League.

While he's not a household name like Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard, Pennant is reasonably well known by a football population obsessed by either Manchester United or Liverpool.

But the A-League sides were sensible to turn away Ronaldinho, who's gone through four Brazilian clubs in the last four years.

The second of his FIFA World Player of the Year awards came more than a decade ago in 2005 and he seemed on the decline when he left Barcelona three years later. He left Fluminense by mutual consent last September after his performance level had noticeably dipped.

In the second season of the A-League, another Brazilian icon Romario had an ill-fated guest stint with Adelaide United, at the age of 40. He scored just a single goal in five matches at the end of 2006.

Adelaide United's Romario
Romario had an unproductive guest stint with Adelaide United in 2006, tangling with future Socceroo captain Mile Jedinak.
In 2012, Alessandro Del Piero began his two-year stint as Sydney FC's marquee player a month before his 38th birthday at a reported annual salary of AU$3.5 million. But while the Italian legend's stay was deemed a success in terms of his personal performances and public interest in the A-League, Sydney FC didn't go close to winning any silverware.

In the first year, they failed to make the A-League finals, while in the second season, they lost in the opening week of the playoffs.

Apart from offering the sheer novelty value of watching a faded legend half a decade past his prime, Ronaldinho would almost certainly do little to significantly improve the results of any leading A-League club.

And, commercially, it is much smarter to announce a marquee signing well before the season instead of halfway through when memberships have been purchased and most sponsors are already on board.

Pennant, like Ronaldinho, seems like a character from another era. His Liverpool career came to a close in 2009 when his teammates included Robbie Keane, Sami Hyypia and Yossi Benayoun. The end of 2014 was spent in the India Super League at FC Pune alongside evergreen David Trezeguet and Greek legend Konstantinos Katsouranis.


Alessandro Del Piero's involvement helped boost A-League crowds, but failed to bring Sydney FC any silverware.
Even so, he could still do a job in the S.League, which is nowhere near as tough at the A-League, home of 2014 Asian champions Western Sydney Wanderers.

But, assuming that Tampines Rovers do want to sign him, he will still have to pass the compulsory fitness test that every S.League player has to endure: running 2.4km in under nine minutes and 30 seconds.

"Yeah, yeah... that's not a problem," Pennant told Red Card Radio.

The city state could represent the last throw of the footballing dice for the man who became Arsenal's youngest ever first team player when he made his debut as a 16-year-old in a League cup tie against Middlesbrough in 1999.

So must pass fitness test to play in s league ?
Hypothetically, Ronaldinho ,couldn't play s league due tothe fitness requirement, yet his skill level would far exceed those who play there.... ?