W

ith smiles flashing like rival presidential candidates, it was a high handshake captured by the cameras before the serious business ahead.

Fans were intrigued as head coach Bernd Stange exchanged pleasantries with former boss Radojko '€œRaddy'€ Avramovic after Singapore played its final Suzuki Cup warm-up game earlier this week. Now Myanmar'€™s head coach, Avramovic was a spectator in the stands as Singapore beat Cambodia by four goals to two in suburban Yishun.

Raddy'€™s presence in the tournament as the brains behind Myanmar '€” which is also in Singapore'€™s Group B '€” adds spice as the 10th AFF Championship gets ready for kickoff this weekend.

After nine years in charge of Singapore and with three regional titles under his belt, what secrets might the Serbian have up his sleeve as he plots the downfall of some of his former players, now under the control of Germany'€™s Stange?

Avramovic stepped down as Singapore boss two years ago, soon after the Lions'€™ won the 2012 Suzuki Cup with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Thailand in the two-legged final. Former Iraq and Belarus manager Stange was appointed as his successor in May 2013.

Retiring Singapore striker Aleksandar Duric, who was a member of the successful 2012 side, warned that Avramovic'€™s inside knowledge would be a big advantage in Myanmar'€™s pivotal second group game against the host nation on Nov. 26.

'€œRaddy knows exactly how to prepare his team to play against Singapore,'€ Duric told ESPN FC. '€œMyanmar has always had good players, but they'€™ve been known to lose their cool very easily. Raddy brings them discipline so that means it is a very dangerous game for Singapore.'€

Announced as Myanmar head coach in February, Avramovic was quick to work on the White Angels'€™ defensive structure. Only conceding two goals in four games, they breezed through last month'€™s Suzuki Cup qualification tournament in Laos.

'€œComing in, his main concern was his defenders, who seemed to lack concentration for the entire match,'€ said Yangon United FC head coach Eric Williams, who met with Avramovic soon after his appointment. '€œHe has some talented players with strong character and has developed a good rapport with them. I think he has established a new, winning mentality within the group and Myanmar could be a dark horse in the Suzuki Cup.'€

Stange has had a mixed time so far as Singapore manager and knows that comparisons to the ever-visible Avramovic will be inevitable if his side isn'€™t able to advance from a difficult group that includes archrivals, Malaysia.

Born just 20 months apart in post-World War II Eastern Europe in the late 1940s, the two men are both single-minded, but very different in terms of personality and the way that they approach the job of coaching the island nation.

A natural introvert, Avramovic is reclusive and reluctant to grant interviews while the charismatic Stange relishes the media attention and is a reporter'€™s dream, with his many quotable quotes.

The Serbian'€™s success was built around a core of experienced, naturalized players '€” including Serbian-born Mustafic Fahrudin and former Englishman Daniel Bennett '€” while Stange'€™s starting XI for Sunday'€™s opening match against Thailand is likely to be entirely locally born.

Breaking away from Avramovic'€™s often conservative and structured style that saw many goals coming from set pieces, Stange has tried to introduce a more ambitious passing and pressing game.

The 4-2 victory against Cambodia in its final warm-up game on Monday '€” which followed a 2-0 success against Laos four days earlier '€” suggests that his relatively youthful squad could finally be getting the message after some earlier disappointing results.

Avramovic has the added advantage of being very familiar with the synthetic surface of the Jalan Besar Stadium. Two of Myanmar'€™s three group games will be played at the smaller venue that served as Singapore'€™s temporary home ground for almost half of Avramovic'€™s decade in charge as the Sports Hub was constructed.

And his connections to Singapore go beyond soccer. His son and grandson are residents of the city and he makes frequent visits to see them.

'€œRaddy is a father figure to the players and generates great respect from everyone who follows Singapore soccer,'€ Duric said. '€œHe is a man fully committed to the game and one of the best coaches that I ever had.'€

Indeed, many of the Singapore fans are likely to adopt Myanmar as their second team for the Suzuki Cup, simply because of their former mentor'€™s involvement. And he may have to think twice before sitting in the visiting team'€™s dugout for his much-anticipated match against Singapore on Wednesday.