AZKALS ASEAN Tour

As part for the preparations of the upcoming AFF 2012 Suzuki Cup tournament, the Philippine Men’s National Football Team also known as the Azkals engaged in a series of friendlies away from home against Cambodia, Singapore and Laos from 5-10 September 2012.

A scoreless draw against Cambodia, a historic win 0-2 wins against Singapore and a 2-1 loss to Laos. Notwithstanding the fantastic win versus Singapore, I’d hate to say that this was a disappointing campaign. I don’t think I’m the only one around saying we should have done better. True, these are essentially practice matches in preparation for the main objective (Suzuki Cup) and a whole lot of lessons were probably learned, but the team could have definitely done a whole lot better. I’m sure the coaching staff and the players know and feel that way as well.

It is interesting to note that the Azkals’ victory was in the match where they were the acknowledged underdogs, and they played really well in that match. Special mention goes to Stephan Schroeck who was a cut above everyone else. Yet in the matches where they were favored to win, they drew one and lost the other. While the Cambodia match was disappointing, it wasn’t that bad compared to the Laos match as the Azkals were very much in control of the match. It was a matter of lousy finishing and missed chances. Against Laos, they let the gamesmanship and bad calls get to them in addition to failing to take control of the match and dominate. Despite the dodgy stuff, the Laotians played fairly well and made things difficult for the Azkals in contrast to the Cambodians.

Photo via interaksyon.com

As there is no point in crying over spilled milk, we might as well dwell on the lessons and points this series of friendlies have highlighted. There’s a number of them, and whether you may agree with me or not, here’s what I think:

·         The Younghusband and Guirado brothers continue to be important members of the national team. Given their contribution at the recent AFC Challenge Cup, one wonders how these friendlies would have turned out if the Guirado brothers were available to play. The absence of the Younghusband brothers in the Laos match and their contribution in the Singapore victory clearly points out how valuable they are to the team.

·      Denis Wolf and Patrick Reichelt provide added depth to the team’s offensive options. This is good to have, especially in tournaments where a series of matches are played within a few days. Depth of the squad and ability to bring in fresh players without sacrificing the quality on the pitch are among the keys to success. However, they need to work on their finishing. The team needs to be more efficient in front of goal.

·         Stephan Shroeck is a game changer, top class and excellent quality. Problem is, will he be available during the Suzuki Cup?

·    Chieffy is slowly finding form and hopefully the big number of matches lined up before the Suzuki Cup should help him be at his best when the tournament starts.

·         Our defense is shallow and aging. Juani Guirado and Dennis Cagara are needed to provide added depth to our defensive options. While Aly Borromeo is on the mend, it will take a while for him to get back to his previous imperious form. I have my doubts if he will be fully ready when the Suzuki Cup starts. He may be fit to play by then but probably won’t be 100% in terms of the quality we expect from him.

·         Converting Jeffrey Christaens into a left back appears to be promising. However, this is for the long term as more time and experience will be needed for Christaens to grow into this new role. For the Suzuki Cup, I’d like to see Ray Jonsson and Dennis Cagara cover this spot.

·   As shown by the Laos match, the Azkals need to learn how to deal with efforts of their opponent to get into their heads. They are no longer underdogs now and weaker teams will likely try to disrupt the Azkals’ game and cause them to lose their composure in the match to even things up a bit on the pitch.

I’m sure there are more points and lessons from this ASEAN Tour but the ones above are what stick out prominently for me. The upcoming Peace Cup this month will be another good opportunity for the Azkals to get ready for the Suzuki Cup. I hope they do better on that tournament than they did in their ASEAN Tour.

10 September 2012, Moira G Gallaga©

Home Ground – Football Stadium in Philippines

A bit of news being passed around several months ago was House Bill 4298, which appropriates 300 million pesos for the construction of a 75,000-capacity world-class football stadium in the Philippines. Now that's quite an ambitious goal but if carried out properly, it would be a good development for the Philippine football community.

We would have a proper home ground for our national football teams. A 75,000-capacity stadium is huge. If we could fill that, it will be quite an experience, not only for the spectators but for the players as well. I have been to the Bernabeu, home ground of Real Madrid, and watched a few matches there. It is an 80,000-capacity stadium. Around the globe, it’s not the only one of that size. Close to us, there’s the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta; an 88,000- capacity stadium; Estadio Azteca in Mexico City accommodates 104,000 spectators; Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo in Ecuador; 83,000-stadium capacity; Westfalenstadiun in Germany; 80,000-stadium capacity; Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul; 75,000-stadium capacity; Japan, Seoul and others also have their fair share of high capacity football stadiums.

It would be truly great for us to have something like that for Philippine football here. A venue for international matches and premiere football fixtures that we could be proud of and where we can derive maximum enjoyment from the experience of watching a live football match.

Rizal Memorial Stadium. Photo via bleachersbrew

Furthermore, a world-class stadium and venue for football would enhance our Federation's ability to attract high profile teams to play here and increase our chances of securing rights to hosting tournaments. In turn, these events provide revenue streams for the Federation and the country. They also provide opportunity for us to not only raise the profile of Philippine football domestically but internationally as well as these matches are usually huge media events. The bigger the teams involved, the larger the media profile, exposure, and it also becomes a pretty good occasion for projecting a positive image of our country.

I fully agree with the objective of establishing a world-class home ground for our national teams. This is a logical step forward in the development of football in the Philippines.

Now, whether 300 million pesos will be enough to fund a world-class 75,000-capacity football stadium remains to be seen. Personally, I think that will not be enough for a proper stadium of that size. However, if Congress appropriates the money for that purpose and allows some form of partnership with a local government unit and/or private investors, now we're looking at something feasible. It's a starting point and the online community of Philippine football supporters and advocates has been discussing this development at length. There are lots of pros and cons involved and some very valuable and interesting insights have been raised and debated in those discussions.

I find merit in the debate concerning the size of the stadium. Going for 75,000 seating capacity might be a bit premature at this stage. Large capacity means larger income and lower prices, but there are other factors involved too such as accessibility, supporting infrastructure, etc. Some have suggested 30-40,000 capacity and that might be worth looking into.

The size of the stadium is critical as this not only impacts the cost to build it and then maintain once it is operational, it also impacts the question on where it should be located. The latest bit of news on this topic noted that at the House Committee hearing they couldn't agree on where the stadium should be located. In online discussions there was spirited debate on this matter also. Clark has been mentioned, and so has the reclamation area in the vicinity of the Mall of Asia in southern Metro Manila with regard to NCR. Of course, there also advocates for locating the stadium in the traditional hotbeds of the sport in this country, in Western Visayas. Bukidnon and Davao also get mentioned on behalf of Mindanao.
 

Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City

My take on this issue is that if this is to be the home ground of our national football teams, then it should be in the vicinity of NCR or Clark. My consideration here is in relation to international matches. At the moment, most international flights go through the Metro Manila airports. This will be a factor for teams coming to play here, and it will facilitate matters if we make it as convenient for them as possible.

Of course, I would not want the other provinces to be neglected. I'd say let regions also have their own stadiums and this should be in fact be part of the over-all long-term plan. I only favor NCR or Clark in terms of the home ground for the national football teams.

Another relevant point of discussion is whether to build one from scratch or to rehabilitate and/or renovate existing ones such as Rizal Memorial Football Stadium and Panaad Stadium in Bacolod. This is a practical option also and may even provide better value for the money appropriated for the purpose. A sort of two stadiums for the price of one deal. UMAK was mentioned in discussions on this topic. However, I think the City of Makati has more than enough resources to fix up the UMAK football grounds and stadium.

There are other points of consideration too, such as parking issues and infrastructure in relation to access to the location, amenities, services, etc. There is also the issue of sustainability and maintenance costs.

The good thing is that the bill is still in the committee level at the House of Representatives, which means it isn't final and hearings are being conducted to debate the merits of the proposed legislation and perhaps fine-tune its provisions. This means there is opportunity to thresh out details to help ensure that this bill is properly crafted. That it will have the necessary provisions to ensure the effective implementation of efforts aimed at achieving the goal of building a truly world class high capacity football stadium. Perhaps the House Committee on Youth and Sports Development should study some of the points and issues raised in the discussions in relation to the building of a football stadium. Public hearings or town hall type of consultations with the football community at large should enhance the work of the Committee in getting this bill passed.

Seating Chart, Rizal Memorial Stadium. Photo via bleachersbrew

You see, there is still a long process ahead before this bill is passed and the possibility still exists that the bill may not even prosper. It is important that attention to details and proper studies are conducted so that the merits of the bill are strong enough for it to be passed into law.

As supporters, we love the passion we feel for this game. Part of that passion stems from the strong emotions that football tends to bring out in all of us and the need to defend our turf or home ground is one of the strongest emotion or feeling that we all possess. We've got a taste of this at Panaad and at Rizal Memorial Football Stadium. So if Congress is looking to give us a bigger taste of defending our home ground with a proper stadium, whether it is Panaad, Rizal or a totally new stadium, then let's go for it.

2012 Moira G Gallaga©

Home and Away: Azkals vs Indonesia

It was supposed to be a friendly but one couldn't be faulted for thinking there was a lot more at stake. A bench clearing fracas and 3 red cards surely added to the passion and tension on the field of play. Well, considering that pride was at stake and both sides had points to prove, that alone ups the ante considerably. A rivalry in the making perhaps? I wouldn't mind at all, because to be embroiled in a football rivalry is a sign that our national team is being taken seriously by its opponent.

In the end, the Philippine - Indonesia match ended in a 2-2 draw. For us, this was supposed to be the payback for the home game we never had against the Indonesians at the semifinals of the 2010 Suzuki Cup, though it wasn't the Indonesia's fault our team had to face a hostile environment twice. You can thank the previous regime at the PFF for that debacle. Indonesia beat us on both legs 1-0 and the "what if we had one leg of that semi played at home" has been foremost on most minds of Filipino football supporters. The Tuesday night clash against Indonesia at home was expected to provide an answer, some form of closure to that lingering question out of the recent past. Never mind that our national team, the Azkals, have come a long way from then, achieved historical milestones for Philippine football and improved considerably over a short period of time. Never mind if the current teams are so different from the ones that clashed 2 years ago. No, this was a time of reckoning for the Philippines, payback of some sort.

Indonesia on the other hand had more current concerns and a much different point to prove coming into this clash. That Suzuki Cup semis 2 years ago for them was likely a thing of the past. They have bigger problems" at the moment. They run the risk of missing out on the 2012 Suzuki Cup this year due to off-field problems that could find their Federation suspended from international competitions. Problems brought about by a rift in their domestic league has spilled over and affected their national team. As a result, they have a very young squad and one very much different that lost to Malaysia at the Suzuki Cup finals 2 years ago. You wouldn't be too far off if you described the Indonesian football situation as one in turmoil. For the Indonesians, this match was about making a statement that they are still in contention that they are still among Southeast Asia's (pardon the pun) top dogs despite their off-field problems.

Photo via interaksyon.com

So the stage was set, 2 teams out to make a statement. A strong and vastly improved Philippine team with almost all key players available, facing a slightly young and inexperienced Indonesian side. The script for this dramatic clash was calling for a victory for the Philippine side; all the elements were in place for such a result. Well, that's football for you and the beauty of this game, it doesn't follow scripts. This game loves to throw monkey wrenches into well laid out plans and scenarios, and whether we know it or not, is most probably the reason why we all love this game so much.

As it turned out, our Azkals had to fight back and display that dogged (this time pun intended) determination once again to equalize twice to come out with a draw for this match. What was hoped to be a moment of glory turned out to be a sigh of relief. We could have won this match, we should have but we didn't. A Philippine victory over Indonesia in football will have to wait until the next opportunity we face them.

Disappointing, perhaps yes because our team were clearly dominant this time, had better percentage of ball possession and more numerous and better chances at goal. Wait, the Philippines dominated and controlled most of the match had more shots at goal and greater ball possession against Indonesia? Well, that's new. Not only that, our Coach fiddled around with the line-up and had 4 starters on the bench for the first half and put in 2 young kids (Ott and Angeles) in charge of holding central midfield.

People would say that it was weak Indonesia team, yet they led twice and we needed to grab a draw to salvage some pride. Well, that's exactly the point because I saw the match as a reversal of roles. For a change, we see the Azkals playing as the more dominant team against Indonesia who, strangely enough, were playing the way the Azkals do when faced with superior opponents. Indonesia were playing in a way you would expect an away team to play, cautious, defensive and waiting for an opportunity to take their chances on a counter-attack especially if the home team is effectively controlling the match. Sounds and looks familiar? Well yes, because the Azkals minus 3 key players were playing the same way away to a full strength Malaysia side in Kuala Lumpur just a few days before the match with Indonesia. I just love the irony in that, es futbol. The only difference in the 2-2 draw with Indonesia is that they made their few chances at goal count, 2 out of 4 to our 2 out of 10 shots at goal. In the Malaysia match, both sides failed to make any of their attempts to score count.

Some people will feel that it is the score line that matters. True to some extent, but this was a friendly. Heck, even in competitions, not even the better team wins. Ask Barcelona FC about their UEFA Champions League semifinal clash with eventual champions Chelsea and I'm sure they will agree with that point. I think the bigger picture we need to see from this match against Indonesia was that we were the better team in this match. Of course, there's still a lot of room for improvement and lots of work to do, but at the least this match also showed everyone what the Azkals are capable of on the pitch and how much they have progressed in just 2 years time. Need proof, just look at how the Indonesians played against our team. The Indonesians played like the underdog in this match, they did so because they knew coming into this match that the Azkals were the better team even if they wouldn't directly say so in public. Their actions on the pitch reveal more than their words and clearly manifest that point. Now tell me if that isn't a sign of respect from a country who over the decades has consistently beaten our football teams 18 times out of 20 occasions including this most recent match. The other 2 matches were draws.

Well, we came close this time around. We were literally inches away (e.g. Angel's header that hit the crossbar) from a victory over Indonesia. In my opinion, that ain't too bad at all. There will be other occasions in the future, both at home or even away, and you can be sure that Indonesia won't be taking our team lightly anymore. 

2012 Moira G Gallaga©