Glenn Kweh is one of Singapore’s up and coming players who has recently broken through into the national team as a nippy, electric winger.
The pacey forward spoke with us recently at an adidas event in preparation for games in the AFC Champions League and also a Mitsubishi Electric Cup campaign in December where Singapore are hoping to reach the latter stages of the competition.
Glenn shared his thoughts on his personal development, his love for anime and that lovely goal for Tampines Rovers.
One of your most recent games, your team, Tampines Rovers, dominated in a 5-0. You scored an amazing scissor kick. Tell us what went through your mind in the lead up to the goal.
It was instinctive for me, my body just took over.
We’ve practice this move a lot in trainings, with overlapping runs. When we get to that position at the byline, we would try to lift the ball over to the far post. I was expecting the ball to fall within that area.
And then when the ball came, it was a little behind me so I had to shift a little bit to make contact. Moves like that don’t always work out in training but thankfully it did during match day.
Tell us more about your celebration
I’m a fan of anime and this celebration came from Jujutsu Kaisen, from a character called Gojo Satoru. It’s one of my favourite animes and I’ve also seen Dominic Solanke pull off this celebration.
I thought to myself that if I scored a goal, I’ll pull off this move.
What are some of your goals for the upcoming Mitsubishi Electric Cup?
My goal is for Singapore to win the tournament. On a personal level, I hope I get the call up for the team.
Who in the current national team have helped you settle in?
It’s hard to come up with a name because I feel like everyone in the national team has taken effort to guide me along. Because when it comes to the international games, the level and the intensity of the games are very different. It’s a lot more physical and the senior players have prepared me for that in training.
They go in hard and strong but also teach me how to protect myself in those hard tackles.
What abilities does a modern wide player like you need to succeed?
When you think of wide players in the modern age, you think of players like Mo Salah and Vinicius Jr. They come in many different styles too. The fast tricky players are obvious but we also see the more technical and tactical ones like Bernardo Silva.
I feel I’m more of the former but I’m constantly looking to improve on my weaknesses. I feel like I’m quite predictable in the sense that I always want to take on players. Perhaps I could be more unpredictable in being able to go in any direction and also work on my weaker foot.
Modern players have to be more well rounded.
Where do you see yourself in the new few years, career wise?
I prefer to focus on the present. Right now I want to do well for Tampines and the national team. I want to win the Singapore Premier League with Tampines Rover too.
I also want to perform well in the AFC Champions League so that I can secure a move overseas and play and develop at a higher level. Then I can bring that experience back to the national team to help our local players improve.
You wear the adidas F50. As a speedy player, how can an aspiring footballer improve in their agility and explosive power?
It’s always important to go to the gym and work on your strength. I’ve also been working on explosive ability by taking on players in training since I was young.
Genetics does have a small part to play but you got to keep training hard in the gym to build some muscle for that power.
Fans in Singapore looking to book tickets for the Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 can do so by clicking this link.
