FEATURED AZKALS: Man Of The Match

Man of the Match:

             Stephan Markus Cabizares Schröck 

"Schrock was a powerful presence on the pitch for the Azkals as the 24-year-old defender brought out his second division Bundesliga skills against the surprisingly fast-moving Sri Lankans."

Stephan Markus Cabizares Schröck (born 21 August 1986) nicknamed "Schröcky", is a German–Filipino professional footballer who plays as a right back for 2nd Bundesliga club SpVgg Greuther Fürth. He has also featured for Germany at various youth levels.

Club Career

In April 2008, Schröck signed a two-year contract extension with Greuther Fürth. Two years later, in March 2010, Schröck again extended extended his contract for another two years. Although he revealed that he could have gone to five other clubs with better financial benefits, he chose to stay to repay the backing that the club has always shown him. He also wants to reach the Bundesliga with the club and believes it's an achievable target in the next two years before his contract runs out.

International Career

Schröck was born to a German father and a Filipina mother, making him eligible to represent Germany or the Philippines at international level. He initially chose Germany, as he has represented the country at U-18, U-19 and U-20 levels.

Under previous FIFA statutes, Schröck could have switched to the Philippines until his 21st birthday but he didn't take that option, neither was he called up during this time. In early October 2008, the Philippine Football Federation wanted to get him to play for the Philippines in 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup qualification tournament.

However, he was not able to as he was already over the age of 21. FIFA eventually removed the age limit on players switching nations in early June 2009, making him eligible again to switch to the Philippines. He then revealed in July 2010 that he would make the switch and will be playing for the Philippines in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup qualification tournament in Laos.

However, a few days prior to the start of the qualifying tournament, he was left out of the squad as his documents have yet to be processed. It was only in March 2011 where he went to the Philippines to finalize his papers and therefore has been tipped to be ready for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification first round.