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Ramazotti to use Neymar experience in DPMM's S.League title decider

The 2015 Great Eastern-Yeo's S.League title race will come down to an exciting finale this Saturday with Brunei DPMM hosting Balestier Khalsa at the Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium, while Tampines Rovers entertain Harimau Muda at the Jurong West Stadium.

With a two-point gap over Tampines, all it takes for DPMM to clinch their first-ever S.League title is to beat the Tigers on home soil.

Striker Rafael Ramazotti cannot wait for that to materialize, having recalled how he lost out on being crowned champions of the Brazilian top flight back in 2010 with little-heralded Santo Andre.

"We were not a big club but we played superb that season," the Brazilian reminisced to ESPN FC. "We were fighting against a big club like Santos where there are players like Neymar and Robinho."

"In the end we drew 5-5 on against them in the two-legged final, but have to settle for second because they finished first in the regular season."

The following year was a better one for Ramazotti though, as he picked up the Portuguese second division title with Gil Vicente, having needed a win on the final day of the season.

It was an experience which he believes can be applied in a similar fashion when DPMM take on Balestier.

"I still remember 2011 where my Portuguese club needed to win to become champions," shared the 27-year-old. "In the end, we did so and realized our dreams of winning the league.

"That is the same situation as we have at DPMM now. That's why I've 100% confidence that we can do something similar again, although Balestier will be difficult to play against."

Two weeks ago, it seemed like DPMM had done enough to get over the line after a momentous 3-1 win over Warriors FC which gave them a massive eight-point advantage over Tampines.

However that has since been whittled down to just two after the Stags managed to clinch successive wins against Home United and Albirex Niigata (S).

This is truly squeaky bum time for Steve Kean's men, who may face the heartbreak of losing out on the title on the final day for two successive seasons.

In their way is a gritty Balestier side, who are currently enjoying their best season to date under the astute guidance of Marko Kraljevic.

The Tigers have also enjoyed the upper hand in the head-to-head encounters this season, coincidentally winning 2-1 both home and away.

However Ramazotti is not keen to dwell on the past as he seeks to help DPMM achieve history on many fronts.

"Yes, we lost our last two games against them but this game is going to be so different," said the 1.93m forward, who is also looking to hold off Warriors FC's Fazrul Nawaz for the Golden Boot award.

"This is our last game of the league season so we're going to work till the last minute to beat them this time round. We want to win the title badly to write our names into the history of DPMM, Brunei football and the S.League."

Brunei DPMM Probable Lineup: Wardun Yussof(GK), Helmi Zambin, Boris Raspudic, Brian McLean, Sairol Sahari, Hendra Azam, Rosmin Kamis (C), Joe Gamble, Maududi Hilmi, Paulo Sergio, Rafael Ramazotti

Balestier Khalsa Probable Lineup: Zaiful Nizam (GK, C), Yusiskandar Yusop, Emir Lotinac, Igor Cerina, Hanafi Salleh, Zulkiffli Hassim, Ridwan Jamil, Tarik Cmajcanin, Ignatius Ang, Robert Pericic, Miroslav Kristic