Azkals Lose Battles With Kuwait But Filipinos Advance In Football

Middle East teams dominated Round 2 of the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers in matches all over Asia Thursday including the Philippine Azkals' home game versus Kuwait, who have marked the Filipinos as a future football powerhouse in Asia.

Of the 15 Asian contingents that advanced to Round 3, 10 were West Asian countries. China leads the pack of 15 with a 13-3 aggregate score against Laos. Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore are the Southeast Asian countries that also moved forward into Round 3.

Coach Goran Tufegdzic and other officials of the Kuwaiti side were gracious victors at the post-match news conference. They said, judging by the "very good team" who foiled most of their goal attempts throughout the match, the Philippines will be "one of the top ten teams in Asia" in decades.

But Azkals coach Michael Weiss, undaunted after the loss, said the Philippines can be "a contender for the World Cup" in just four years with intensive training and support from all sectors. He has charted out a path.

Weiss said the national team can bring home a medal from the Southeast Asian Games later this year, follow-through on earlier wins in the AFC Challenge Cup, and try to secure a berth to the Asian Cup.

Team manager Dan Palami told GMA News Online the Azkals will have little time to rest because some of the Europe-based players have matches there in the coming months, the rest of the team will also join more tournaments.

The Azkals will have tune-up matches with several of their country's neighbors prior to the SEA Games in November. In September, the Philippines will compete in the Long Teng Cup to be hosted by Taiwan. Other competing teams are Macau and Hongkong. In October, four Southeast Asian nations meet for the Manila Beer Cup.

Palami said the Azkals will try to sneak in some downtime so they can relax a bit, probably with an out-of-town trip.

Weiss said the team will likely return to Bahrain for more training. He said he will also return to Germany soon to scout for players and entice more sponsors. He also expects the Japan Football Association (JFA) to help the Philippine Football Federation (PFF).

World-class football

It is not everyday that a world-class match of football gets played on Philippine soil.

Kuwait showed their Filipino foes and Rizal stadium spectators their battle-honed, training-polished moves and physical conditioning befitting a team that is in the top 100 of the world ranking. Kuwait is 95th in the latest FIFA ranking.

Even when they lost midfielder Fahed Al Ebrahim, who got sent off with a red card in the 60th minute, Kuwait played like they were not one player short.

Though the Azkals got eliminated, they did display some flashes of brilliance, the brightest of which was that rocket Stephan Schrock launched many yards from the left flank of their attack. The solitary goal made the 13,000 spectators at the Rizal Stadium roar, jump for joy and send shock waves via television to viewers nationwide and fans following the match via Facebook and Twitter.

Co-captain Emelio "Chieffy" Caligdong and Phil Younghusband tried several times to punch through the Al-Azraq defense line. Team captain Aly Borromeo and Angel Guirado also came close but missed their chances.

All too often two, three or four opponents surrounded Caligdong and the younger Younghusband or blocked their path. At other instances, no teammate was at the receiving end of their passes for the finishing header or kick near the goal.

Weiss said the most crucial point, in his view, was Younghusband's attempt in the 52nd minute of the match. The German coach said if that had gone through, it would have changed the complexion of the match.

Guirado tried not to show it but he was obviously not at 100 percent fighting form. He was the first Weiss substituted, though late in the second half. Weiss sent Misagh Bahadoran in Guirado's stead. Weiss said Schrock was also trying to shake off some jet lag, having planed in from Germany only two days before.

It was apparent that part of the strategy of Kuwait was to slow down the pace of the match since they already had a three-goal cushion from their home game last July 23.

That buffer widened further at the 63rd minute when midfielder Yousef Naser sneaked in a goal and when another midfielder Walied Ali lured Neil Etheridge away from the goal so his shot could slip by. Ray Jonsson tried to keep that shot from going in but he was several steps behind.

Tectonic Shift

Before 2011, only the sports of boxing, billiards and basketball had the proven drawing power and wide public appeal in the Philippines.

Football has joined their ranks as evidenced by capacity crowds and sold out tickets in Bacolod last February, the last two matches in Manila and the away game at the Qadsia Stadium in Kuwait.

The tectonic shift began when the Azkals shocked Vietnam in the Suzuki Cup of the ASEAN Football Federation. Vietnam was the higher-ranked team and defending champion.

Coach Weiss said it is crucial that various sectors come together to sustain the momentum football now has in the Philippines. He stressed the importance of having good infrastructure and strengthening of the country's grassroots program for homegrown talents.

While that endeavor waits for fruitful harvests, Weiss, Palami and the PFF will scout the globe for foreign-based Filipino talents. Weiss said the national team needs young and fast players.
The Azkals coach said recent discovery OJ Porteria, who had some playing time in the Middle East, is "fantastic" and will be part of the team the PFF will send to the SEA Games.

The PFF has two boys' teams, the Teen Azkals and Little Azkals, and the Under-23 junior men's national team training pool. There are also two women's teams, christened the Malditas.

Unlike other football nations in Asia, the Philippines has yet to formulate its national vision and strategic plan for the "beautiful game." Palami said he has an "initial draft" tucked away that he will review soon. - JVP, GMA News