First
of all, my appreciation for Mr Jojo Malig of ABS-CBN News Bureau for the
valuable link to a video live stream of the Philippine-Indonesia friendly
match. Since moving to Lisbon, Portugal two and a half months ago, we have to
start relying on the internet to be able to watch live Philippine football
matches.
As for
the match, there are no "ifs" and "buts" about it,
Indonesia deserved their 2-0 victory against the Philippine Azkals. At first I
was tempted to think that it was the quality of the video stream as our players
seemed a bit sluggish, but it was very clear that the Indonesian players were
quicker and livelier. They played more cohesively as well.
It was
typical again of our team, a game of two halves. A slow start and a more
improved performance in the second half. Still, even if fortune were on our
side the most we could hopefully get would have been a draw basing on the
quality of our game that evening. The Azkals had difficulty creating scoring
chances while the Indonesians wasted a number of theirs. It was a fair result.
Anyway,
this was a friendly match and the result isn't as important as the lessons and
insights to be gained from the match. Let's keep that perspective and context
in mind whenever we look back at this defeat. Of course not everyone will see
it that way, but I am fairly hopeful that a growing number of Filipino football
fans are developing a better appreciation of the sport in the sense that this
defeat won't be seen as a sign that the sky is falling.
So
what do we get out of this match? As I mentioned at the start of the article,
our players seemed sluggish, especially in the first half. The Indonesians
definitely looked more sharp and energetic. With the exception of a few such as
Porteria, our players seemed out of sorts.
The
number of misplaced passes by our team and the manner by which the Indonesians
took control of the match shows that our cutting edge has dulled quite a bit.
While the long ball has been an arsenal of our team, there was just one too
many in this match and they looked more like wild clearances than deliberate
attempts to get behind the Indonesian defensive line. Hardly any good and clear
chances were created in the final third of the opposition half, especially in
the first half where the lineup was filled by our seasoned veterans. I
think former Azkals coach Simon McMenemy best described our team's performance:
"disjointed." It certainly looked that way.
Sure,
it will be argued that if we had all our top players available such as Schrock,
PatiƱo, Cagara, Juani Guirado, Jonsson and De Jong to name a few, the outcome
might have been different. That is of course very possible, IF they were
available. However, they weren't available and that is the reality of the game.
Whether through injury, club commitment or any other reason, national teams
always have to be prepared for the situation that not all key players will be
available. This cannot be an excuse. Those running the team and Philippine
football authorities should do all they can to ensure that there are enough
quality, fit and in-form players available for call-up whenever there is a
match.
It's
not as if there wasn't quality and experience in the team that lost to
Indonesia. The starting eleven were seasoned veterans and regular fixtures in
the team. While the decision of Coach Weiss to play some players out of
position may have been a factor for the first goal against us, the adjustment
made in the second half was more positive.
Is
this perhaps a question of fitness and form then? I think it was a significant
factor in that match. The UFL where most of the players in the team for this
match ply their trade ended its season several weeks ago while the Indonesian
football league is still going on. While there may have been a few matches and
training sessions here and there after the UFL season for our players, the
Indonesian national team had several matches both official and friendly since
the start of the year. A number of those were against top European clubs on
their preseason training phase. It was apparent from this match that the
Indonesians were more fit and in better playing form than our players.
|
Photo via Philippine Star |
Considering
that the Philippines will be competing in the AFC Challenge Cup and the next
edition of the Suzuki Cup next year, our team and football officials should
better start thinking of how to keep our players sharp and in top playing form
by the start of those competitions. While the UFL has been doing a great job in
providing our local based players with competitive match experience, the league
is still small and there are not that many matches a season, even if we include
the cup competitions. The entry of UFL clubs in the Singapore Cup and the AFC
President's Cup is a good development. It will provide competitive matches for
some of the players plus valuable experience against good clubs in the region.
However, much more is needed to sharpen our team's cutting edge, especially for
our local based players.
A
quick look on Wikipedia on the list of fixtures of our national team provides a
very significant insight. From January to August 15 of 2013, the Azkals have
played only 5 matches so far, both competitive and friendlies. Now take a look
at the competitive and friendly fixtures for the same period for 2011 and 2012,
it is 17 and 15 matches respectively. In 2013, the Azkals have only played a
third of the matches they played in a similar period in the past 2 years. Not
only that, the team played against some pretty tough teams as well in
2011-2012.
I
think that data is quite revealing and team officials and the PFF better take
note of that fact. It is good to hear that future friendlies are being arranged
and the 2nd Peace Cup will be held. I also hope that rumors of an overseas
training camp become reality.
The
Azkals need to regain the sharpness in their cutting edge. Sure, it may be
possible in football to bludgeon your way to victory, but more often than not,
precision is a more reliable approach to attaining success on the pitch. I do
hope the team officials and the PFF take every opportunity to arrange matches
for the Philippines. Time to get those Azkals' fangs and claws razor sharp once
more.
15 August 2013, Moira G
Gallaga©