I posed the question to Singapore’s award-winning coach Jita Singh, now in Qatar for the World Cup, and in his views, is it “almost impossible”. He said: “Perhaps the answer, in short, is that four years is a long time.
DIFFERENT TEAM Yes, the tried-and-trusted system becomes unworkable. It sometimes requires tweaks. And, as you see, the so-called defending champ is a completely different team – new players, new tactics, and either a manager drilling a Plan B or a new boss altogether.