Anders Aplin

Anders Aplin, also known as just Anders, is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays primarily as a right-back for Singapore Premier League club Hougang United and the Singapore national team. He is known for his long-throw-ins and defensive attributes.

Anders Aplin

Personal information
Full name	Anders Aplin
Date of birth	(1991-06-21) 21 June 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth	Singapore
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Defender / Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Hougang United
Number	2
Youth career
	National Football Academy U-18s
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2012	Singapore Cricket Club
2013	Singapore Vipers
2014–2015	Singapore Recreation Club
2016–2019	Geylang International	55	(1)
2018–2019	→ Matsumoto Yamaga (loan)	0	(0)
2020–	Hougang United	72	(4)
International career‡
2018–	Singapore	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 April 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 March 2018

Mainly a right-back, he is also capable of playing as either a centre-back, central-midfielder, and occasionally as a striker.

Club career

Youth career

Aplin was part of the Singapore Sports School's inaugural cohort of footballers and moved on to the National Football Academy under-18s.^[1] In 2009, he was part of the Victoria Junior College football team which won the National Schools A Division title.^[2][3]

Singapore Cricket Club

Although Aplin was part of the Singapore Sports School's inaugural cohort of footballers, playing alongside future Lions such as Safuwan Baharudin and Madhu Mohana, his decision to focus on his studies saw him fall through the cracks of Singapore's professional football circuit. As a result, Anders played for Singapore Cricket Club in the amateur National Football League.^[4]

Singapore Recreation Club

Aplin next played for another NFL side, Singapore Recreation Club, where he was spotted by Geylang International coach Mohd Noor Ali, who was then helming Yishun Sentek Mariners. He was invited for trials with Geylang at the end of 2015 who was drawn to his aggression and determination.^[5]

Geylang International

Aplin started his professional football career with Geylang International in 2016^[6] and made his debut in a League Cup game against Balestier Khalsa.^[7] He signed his first professional contract a year later. His performances in the 2017 S.League season saw him win his first call up to Singapore national team. He was also picked for a trial with J2 League side Matsumoto Yamaga in early 2018.^[5]

Matsumoto Yamaga

On 7 August 2018, it was announced on the club's website that Aplin had signed a loan deal with Matsumoto Yamaga until the end of the season. This loan made him the first Singaporean to play in the J2 League and in Japan.^[8][9] In his time at the Japanese club, Aplin had his own cheer song from the club Ultras.

Hougang United

Aplin was unveiled as a Hougang United player ahead of the 2020 season. He made his first start for the club against Tampines Rovers in the 2020 Singapore Community Shield. On 5 October 2023, Aplin assisted Đorđe Maksimović in the 89' minute of the game to settled a 2–1 win in the 2023–24 AFC Cup group stage fixture against Vietnamese club, Haiphong.^{[citation needed]}

International career

Aplin was first called up by coach V. Sundramoorthy in 2017 although he did not travel with the team for the friendly against Qatar and the Asian Cup qualifier against Turkmenistan on 10 October.^[10] He made his debut on 23 March 2018 in a 3-2 win against Maldives, replacing Irfan Fandi in the 73rd minute.^[11]

Personal life

Aplin is the cousin of former Singapore international footballer Tan Kim Leng.^[4] Aplin is also a graduate of Nanyang Technological University (NTU),^[6] with a degree in business. He was also a commando in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) during his National Service.^[4]

From December 2019 to March 2021, Aplin was married to Rachel Wong, having first met while studying at NTU. The marriage was later annulled by Aplin on accounts of Wong's infidelity.^[12][13][14]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 27 February 2022

	Season	S.League		Singapore Cup		League Cup		ACL		AFC Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Geylang International	2016	9	0	0	0	4	0	—				13	0
	2017	19	0	1	0	4	0	—				24	0
	2018	8	1	0	0	0	0	—				8	1
	2019	19	0	6	0	0	0	—				25	0
	Total	55	1	7	0	8	0	-	-	-	-	70	1
Matsumoto Yamaga FC (loan)	2018	0	0	0	0	0	0	—				0	0
	Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	0	0
Hougang United	2020	14	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0	18	2
	2021	14	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	1
	2022	24	1	6	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	33	1
	2023	16	0	6	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	27	0
	2024–25	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total	68	4	12	0	1	0	0	0	11	0	92	4
Career total		123	5	19	0	9	0	0	0	14	0	162	5

^[15]

International

No	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition
1	23 March 2018	Bishan Stadium, National Stadium, Singapore	Maldives	3-2 (won)	Friendly
2	27 March 2018	Taipei Municipal Stadium, Taipei, Taiwan	Chinese Taipei	0-1 (lost)	2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification – third round

As of match played 27 March 2018 Appearances and goals by national team and year

Singapore National Team
Year	Apps	Goals
2018	2	0
Total	2	0

Honours

Club

Hougang United

• Singapore Cup Champions (1): 2022
• Singapore Cup Runner-ups (1): 2023

References

1. "Geylang defender aiming to make the most of his second shot". FourFourTwo. 20 March 2017. Archived from the original on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
2. "Stories From the A Division to the S.League: Five players who made the leap". 10 November 2017. Archived from the original on 25 March 2018.
3. "SVJC is National 'A' Division Boys Soccer Champion". 25 May 2009.
4. hermes (1 October 2017). "Football: Anders Aplin follows familiar route to national team". The Straits Times. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
5. "Geylang defender Aplin set for trials in Japan". The New Paper. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
6. Munirah, Sharifah (11 January 2018). "Geylang defender Aplin set for trials in Japan". The New Paper. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
7. "The Nanyang Chronicle » Anders Aplin soars with the Eagles". Retrieved 1 November 2022.
8. "Football: Matsumoto Yamaga unveils loan signing Anders Aplin, the first Singaporean in J.League". The Straits Times. 17 August 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
9. "Anders profile in club's website" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
10. "Anders Aplin follows familiar route to national team". Straits Times. 1 October 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
11. "Singapore Player Ratings: Lions edge past Maldives for long-awaited win". FourFourTwo. 23 March 2018. Archived from the original on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
12. K.C. Vijayan (25 April 2022). "Instagram influencer fails to block access to correspondence, diary entries in defamation lawsuit | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
13. "S'pore influencer Rachel Wong's alleged infidelity & defamation lawsuit, explained". mothership.sg. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
14. Tang, Louisa (29 June 2022). "High Court orders influencer Rachel Wong to turn over correspondence with 2 men to woman who accused her of infidelityHigh Court orders influencer Rachel Wong to turn over correspondence with 2 men to woman who accused her of infidelity". TODAY. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
15. "Career stats". soccerway.com. 13 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.

External links

• Anders Aplin at National-Football-Teams.com
• Anders Aplin at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)