The Azkals And The Dragon Boat Team

A year ago, the Dragon Boat team and the Azkals would have given an arm and a leg to get five minutes’ worth of air time, or even 5 MB worth of social networking space.

Now, they don’t have to but along with it comes the ugly stuff.

I don’t know who started it but I think I know why one poster started comparing the achievements of both teams and the team composition.

He or she or he/she doesn’t believe in the Azkals and thinks they are just a bunch of overhyped sports personalities who are only good for snogging movie starlets at the expense of other athletes who work hard for it.

Which is a pity because like the Dragon Boat team, the Azkals also had to wade their way through the shit of Philippine sports politics.

Like the Dragon Boat team, the Azkals had to survive without any support from both the PSC and the POC and even from their affiliated NSA. The football team pre-2004 even had it worse. One former national team member told me once that in a 2002 event, their equipment arrived after the tournament, when they got home from abroad.

Like the Dragon Boat team, the Azkals had enlisted personnel from the Armed Forces who fight for the flag.

Like the Dragon Boat team, the Azkals finally scored a breakthrough in 2010, and in the process got into the nation’s consciousness. A nation embraced the Azkals for scoring a first in the country’s football history just as this nation is embracing the Dragon Boat team for its remarkable achievement in Florida.

Both teams’ success complements each other and it didn’t come—as the poster wanted it to be—at the expense of each other.

And besides, comparing the Azkals to the Dragon Boat team makes as much sense as saying your neighborhood “lima-lima” legend is better than Lionel Messi because he can score five points in a pick-up game or that your neighborhood volleyball spiker is better than Roger Federer because he can slam it at will.

Comparing the two squads, and pitting the two squads, I think deviates from what both teams’ achievements had made obvious—that despite financial backing and support from their NSA, they have done well. What more could they have achieved if they had the support?

The Azkals’ success helped led to the ouster of the then sitting president of the Philippine Football Federation. The success of the Dragon Boat team has led to questions on how its NSA was not recognized by the POC and how the POC and PSC have erred but those questions have been overshadowed by this unwarranted comparison. (So, who benefits from the comparison?)

Stop comparing the two.

Instead, support the two and the rest of the national squads—and there are many of them—who are seeing action in competitions abroad under the media’s and social network’s radar.

They are all Filipinos and they all deserve our support.

Posted: Cebu Football

San Beda, Teknika, Pachanga And Stallion FC Advance To The 2011 PFF Smart Club Championships Semifinals

Smart San Beda FC (Rizal), Teknika FC (NCR-2), Pachanga FC (NCR-1) and Smart Stallion FC (Ilo-ilo) needed the last game over their respective rivals to gain slots in the 2011 PFF Smart Club Championships semifinals to be held at the University of Makati Football Field.

In their last game Saturday afternoon, Smart San Beda FC earned a 2-2 draw against Teknika FC, Pachanga FC dumped Goshenland Baguio United FC 9-1 while Stallion FC defeated Columbia FC Davao 3-0 to earn the semis slots.

Even though Stallion FC, Columbia FC and Pachanga FC has similar win-draw-loss record, it was based on the Goal difference that made Stallion FC and Pachanga FC top Group B.

In Group A, Teknika FC needed only a draw or a win to advance to the semis and take the number 2 spot.

The group topnotcher and runners-up from each bracket will have a crossover semifinals scheduled on August 16 and 17, 2011 at the University of Makati football field. Then, a home-and-away finals will be stated on August 20 and August 23, possibly at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium, the organizers said.

In the semis, Smart San Beda FC (Rizal) will face Smart Stallion FC (Ilo-ilo) while Teknika FC (NCR-2) will face Pachanga FC (NCR-1/Global FC) on Aug. 16 and 17.

FINAL STANDINGS (after Day 3)

by: futbolph

Nepal Invited To Test Azkals' Mettle

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president Mariano Araneta Jr. said yesterday Nepal, ranked No. 136 by FIFA, has been invited to play the Azkals in an exhibition match here on Oct. 9 and it will be an early preview of what to expect in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup finals in March.

Nepal is hosting the Challenge Cup finals where seven other countries are playing after a series of qualifiers. The eight teams in the finals are the Philippines, India, Maldives, North Korea, Palestine, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Nepal.

Araneta said a plan for Manila to host a four-team invitational tournament has been scrapped because of conflicts with FIFA schedules. The Philippines, ranked No. 162 by FIFA, is booked to play in the Challenge Cup and the Suzuki Cup next year. The national under-23 squad, coached by Michael Weiss, will compete in the coming Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia. The PFF’s contract with Weiss expires in 2013.

Araneta confirmed that the Azkals will participate in the Long Teng Cup in Kaohsiung on Sept. 28-Oct. 6. The tournament is traditionally among host Chinese-Taipei, Macau, Hong Kong and the Philippines. But organizers are planning to expand the cast to six with invitations sent out to Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia. Last year, the Philippines posted a 1-1-1 record in the competition, crushing Macau, 5-0, losing to Hong Kong, 4-2, and tying with Chinese-Taipei, 1-1.

Araneta said he expects Fulham goalkeeper Neil Etheridge to fly in for the Kaohsiung tournament. The Azkals will not undergo special training for the Long Teng Cup. However, the under-23 team will set up boot camp in Kuwait or Bahrain or Japan before the SEA Games in Indonesia on Nov. 11-22.

Regarding a training program for the Azkals in Europe, Araneta said he spoke with Sen. Edgardo Angara on the phone three weeks ago about the possibility of arranging a tie-up with a Spanish club. Last year, three officials from Real Madrid were in Manila to explore a working relationship with the PFF through Sen. Angara. It was then agreed that the PFF, still under former president Mari Martinez, would get the ball rolling by formally requesting training assistance from Real Madrid. An eyewitness said the Real Madrid and PFF officials shook hands to indicate a meeting of the minds. The formal letter, however, was never sent. The protocol in such an arrangement involves a triggering letter of request from a national federation and a city-to-city agreement to cement the relationship. Martinez was eventually replaced by Araneta who said he knows nothing about the Real Madrid meeting.

Araneta said he was informed that the Barcelona Football Club is interested to look into the early history of Filipino football star Paulino Alcantara who was born in Iloilo in 1896. Alcantara was the first Filipino ever to play in Europe and made his Barcelona debut at the age of 17. He finished his football career as Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer with 357 goals in 357 matches, a record that remains unmatched and unsurpassed. Alcantara later served as Barcelona club director and Spanish national coach. He died in 1964.

“We were advised that the Spanish consul would like to visit Iloilo sometime next month and find out more about Mr. Alcantara’s beginnings, how he is revered in Iloilo,” said Araneta. “Perhaps, this could be the start of a relationship between Iloilo and Barcelona and between the Azkals and the Barcelona Football Club.”

Sen. Angara recently announced in his twitter account that the Congreso de los Diputados in Spain, headed by Jose Bono Martinez, has issued an institutional declaration affirming close ties between the Philippines and Spain. The Philippines was cited by the Spanish Congress for “unparalleled magnanimity” towards Spanish soldiers during the Siege of Baler in 1898-99. The bond linking both countries is celebrated on Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day every June 30 as decreed by the Philippine government.

As for the Azkals incentives, Araneta revealed that each player received $1,000 after the recent Sri Lanka home-and-away series. Before the home game against Kuwait, the PFF gave the Azkals $500 with the promise of a $1,000 bonus for a win and a $4,000 reward for making it into the third round of the World Cup Asia qualifiers.

Cortal, a major Azkals sponsor, also offered incentives for the home match against Kuwait – P1 Million for every goal in a win and P500,000 for every goal in a loss. As it turned out, the Philippines lost a 2-1 heartbreaker. Because of the Azkals’ lone goal in the defeat, Cortal is committed to pay out P500,000. It’s not certain if the players will get a share of the incentive. Araneta said he is not involved in the commercial aspects of marketing the Azkals and wouldn’t know if the players will receive a share or if Cortal has even paid the bonus. He said team manager Dan Palami, who has registered the Azkals trademark, is in charge of the marketing affairs. As of yesterday, a high-profile Azkals player said he had not received a share of the Cortal incentive and didn’t know if the players would be given by Palami.

Araneta said the PFF grossed over P20 Million in ticket sales for the Sri Lanka and Kuwait matches at the Rizal Memorial. “We were told La Salle spends about P900,000 a year to maintain the pitch and we’re grateful to La Salle for transforming it into a world-class field,” he said. “We’re offering to pay half the maintenance costs as we know La Salle spent over P8 Million to rehabilitate the pitch and we’ll be making extensive use of it. We still have a lot to do in sprucing up Rizal, like cleaning up the restrooms in the gallery section. The unmoving clock on the giant scoreboard is an eyesore and we’ve had to rent two electronic scoreboards for the recent matches. We hope the Philippine Sports Commission will consider replacing the giant clock scoreboard with a digital system.”

By Joaquin Henson

UFL Cup: Global, Kaya Tap Members Of Azkals

MANILA — Bracing for what could be the most competitive season yet in the United Football League, Global FC and Kaya FC have tapped members of the Philippine football team to beef up their roster for the UFL Cup kicking off Oct. 2.

Global, the defending UFL Cup champion, snapped up Fil-Spanish striker Angel Aldeguer Guirado to strengthen its squad that already includes Azkals forward Misagh Bahadoran.

Already formidable with Azkals skipper Aly Borromeo and defender Anton del Rosario in the fold, Kaya FC shored up its defensive line with the acquisition of Jason Sabio and added more attacking teeth by tapping Nate Burkey.

Kaya has also hired former national team mentor Juan Cutillas as head coach.

“The competition will be very strong this season,” said Football Alliance chair Santi Araneta, who also owns Kaya FC.

“We expect better quality and exciting games.”

Araneta said talks with a television network are near completion to pave the way for the UFL games to be aired live for the first time in history.

“This will change the landscape of Philippine football,” said Araneta.

The 26-year-old Guirado has been without a club since last June after his contract with CD Ronda in the Spanish third division expired.

Guirado, who agreed in principle to join the team after meeting with manager Dan Palami, sees playing in the UFL as an opportunity to help raise the profile of the fledgling league, which has been riding high on the success of the Azkals.

“I am happy with the direction of the team that Mr. Palami is putting up,” Guirado said through his cousin and interpreter, Rafa Garcia.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed and Guirado said this was only secondary when he made his decision.

“What’s important is I could help and be able to experience playing in the Philippines,” said Guirado, who has already scored three goals in five matches for the Azkals.

By Cedelf P. Tupas

Palami: Azkals Willing To Play Friendly Vs. Cebu

THE Philippine national football team gears up for another challenge when it faces neighboring countries in the Long Teng Cup at Kaoshiong, Chinese Taipei on Sept. 28 to Oct. 4.

Team manager Dan Palami said the national team will take on the host, Macau and Hong Kong’s under-23 team and possibly Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia after the three nations were invited by the organizers.

Palami said the Azkals lineup will be a mixed selection of senior players and under-23 members depending on the availability of players.

Most of the members of the senior team are on a one-month break and the players are scheduled to gather in the third week of August.

After the Long Teng Cup, the under-23 players will be back in the Philippines to train for the Southeast Asian Games, while the senior team will be bound for the Middle East to play against Gulf countries.

“”We are still arranging the games for the friendly. There still no definite country yet,” said Palami.

Aside from the matches outside the country, the Philippine team is tentatively booked to play a friendly against Nepal on Oct. 9.

There are also negotiations for a friendly game against Pakistan and India.

Palami said that all the friendly games will be played at the Rizal Memorial Stadium since the pitch at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod needs to be improved.

Palami mentioned that his team will be open to playing in an exhibition match with the Cebuano selection team upon invitation of Ricky Ballesteros for friendly game after the rehabilitation of the football field of the Cebu City Sports Center.

“Of course we want to, we’re interested. But there should be a good venue because it’s very different to schedule events if walang venue,” Palami said.

By Cheska D. Geli