From Vietnam to the Galaxy

By Sid Ventura | Sportsaholic

A year ago today, the Philippine football renaissance began.

It was on this day in 2010 that the Philippine Azkals sent shock waves across the Southeast Asian football landscape by upsetting heavily favored Vietnam, 2-0, in the AFF Suzuki Cup in Hanoi, a big win that sparked renewed interest in football in the country. The result was so big it eventually made SI.com's yearend list of the 10 biggest football stories of 2010.

The 365 days that followed took the Azkals on a magic carpet ride and carried them and the sport to unprecedented heights. Suddenly, kids wanted to be like Younghusband or Caligdong. Fans lined up to watch the Azkals play Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Kuwait. Azkals jerseys became hot commodities as the names on their backs became celebrities. Filipino football players becoming celebrity endorsers? What was the world coming to?

But no one could have foreseen that it would all culminate in a match against David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane and the rest of the 2011 MLS champions LA Galaxy.

As Caligdong said while seated next to Beckham, "Parang panaginip lang. Hindi mo inaasahan na andito ang idolo mo na nakikita mo lang dati sa TV. Ngayon, katabi ko na."

And this from Younghusband: "We always say, 'Who would've thought this would happen?' Hopefully we will continue and we will progress. The exposure is there now and the attention to football is there, and it's important we sustain it."

So as we mark the first anniversary of the Dec. 5, 2010 win over Vietnam, let's pause for a while and look back at how the sport's popularity grew exponentially after that magical night in Hanoi, and how, almost a year after the fact, Phil Younghusband played against his boyhood idol Beckham at the Rizal Football Stadium.

Dec. 2, 2010. Hanoi, Vietnam — Chris Greatwich scores a goal in injury time to salvage a 1-1 draw for the Philippines against Singapore in the AFF Suzuki Cup group stage. If the Azkals had lost this match, then the win over Vietnam would not have had as much impact because they still would have been eliminated. The highlights are here.

Three days before the match, another crucial development took place back in Manila after Jose Mari Martinez was ousted as PFF president and replaced on an interim basis by Iloilo Football Association president Mariano "Nonong" Araneta.

Dec. 5, 2010. Hanoi, Vietnam — In front of 40,000 fans at the My Duhn Stadium in Hanoi, the Philippines battles host Vietnam, which is coming off a murderous 7-1 demolition of Myanmar. Once again, Greatwich stars for the Azkals, scoring on a header that bounces just clear of the Vietnamese keeper and into the goal in the 38th minute. In the 78th, Phil Younghusband completes the upset with a left-footed strike inside the box. Afterwards, Vietnam coach Henrique Calisto is so incensed that he refused to shake the hand of then-Azkals coach Simon McMenemy. Back home, the match was shown only on cable, something unthinkable today. Relive the highlights here.

Dec. 8, 2010. Hanoi, Vietnam — The Philippines plays Myanmar to a goalless draw, assuring itself of second place in Group B and its first-ever appearance in the AFF Suzuki Cup semifinals. Ian Araneta has several chances to give the Azkals a win, but is thwarted each time. The match is broadcast live back home on free TV on Studio 23, a first for the Azkals.

The Philippines advances to a two-leg semifinal showdown against Group A topnotcher Indonesia. It's supposed to be a home-and-home series, but the AFF decides there's no suitable venue in the Philippines that can host such a high-profile game. The PFF cannot do anything about it, because obviously, no one was expecting the Azkals to make it to the semis. As a result, both legs will be played at the enormous Gelaro Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.

Dec. 16, 2010. Jakarta, Indonesia — This is supposed to be the Philippines' "home" match. Instead, it's played in front of 70,000 rabid football fans at the Gelaro Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta. Indonesia's naturalized striker Christian Gonzales scores the match's lone goal in the 32nd minute off a header from a long ball after Neil Etheridge and Ray Jonsson collide. Since Gonzales's score counts as an "away" goal, the Azkals must now beat Indonesia by at least two goals in the second leg to advance to the finals.

Dec. 19, 2010. Jakarta, Indonesia — Gonzales again scores the lone goal from a cracker of a strike from way out in the 43rd minute that curls into the upper corner. Indonesia advances to the finals against Malaysia. Meanwhile, the Azkals return home to a hero's welcome.

Dec. 30, 2010. Manila — ABS-CBN Sports and the United Football League announce the launching of the UFL: It's Our game, a weekly 30-mintue football show about the UFL that will air on Balls Channel. According to UFL marketing head Javy Mantecon in an interview with Yahoo! Phils., they idea for a weekly football show was presented to ABS-CBN as early as middle of the year, following the successful telecast of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The network giant initially wasn't convinced yet about the viability of such a program, but the Azkals' success combined with the high ratings of their matches bring about a change of heart.

Jan. 14, 2011. Manila — The PFF announces the appointment of Hans Michael Weiss as the new coach of the Azkals, replacing McMenemy.

February 9, 2011. Bacolod — The Philippines hosts the first leg of a two-leg qualifier for the 2012 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup against Mongolia right in the hotbed of local football — Panaad Stadium in Bacolod. An overflow crowd watches Chieffy Caligdong, who missed the AFF Suzuki Cup due to injury, announce his return with a beauty of a goal in the 43rd minute and Phil Younghusband add another one in injury time to give the Azkals a 2-nil win.

March 15, 2011. Ulan Bator, Mongolia - Amid freezing temperatures, Mongolia beats the Philippines, 2-1. However, the Philippines wins on aggregate, 3-2, to win the series and advance to the Challenge Cup Qualifying group stage.

March 21, 2011. Rangoon, Myanmar. The Philippines is in Group A of the Challenge Cup Qualifying group stage together with Palestine, Bangladesh, and host Myanmar. The top two teams will advance to the tournament proper in 2012. A James Younghusband penalty kick in the 76th minute gives the Azkals a 1-0 lead, but Myanmar scores on a set piece in the third minute of injury time to salvage a draw.

March 23, 2011. Rangoon, Myanmar — The Philippines draws with Palestine, 0-0. The Azkals must now beat Bangladesh to advance.

March 25, 2011. Rangoon, Myanmar — The Azkals rout Bangladesh, 3-0. Araneta scores in the 41st, while new recruit Angel Guirado adds two more in the second half. The Philippines advances to the final tournament of the Challenge Cup for the first time.

March 30, 2011. Los Banos, Laguna — The first-ever under-23 national tournament, called the PFF Suzuki U-23 National Cup, is launched in UP Los Banos with Nonong Araneta, Weiss, Dan Palami and Azkals Caligdong, Ian Araneta, Guirado, and Roel Gener, among others, in attendance. Twenty-seven teams from all over the country join the three-month-long tournament.

Later in the day, at Baker Hall just across the university's football field, Araneta, Weiss and Palami join the media in watching the live draw of the Asian qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup. There is jubilation in the large room after Sri Lanka is drawn as the Philippines' first-round opponent. But the celebration is muted after the Azkals draw a much tougher opponent, Kuwait, in the second round in the event they get past Sri Lanka.

June 29, 2011. Colombo, Sri Lanka — The Brave Reds of Sri Lanka draw with the Azkals, 1-1. Nate Burkey salvages the draw with a header in the 50th minute.

July 3, 2011. Manila — In the first FIFA World Cup Qualifying match played on Philippine soil in 10 years, the Azkals rout Sri Lanka, 4-0, before a jampacked crowd at the Rizal Stadium to advance to the second round of the World Cup Qualifying for the first time in history. Caligdong, Younghusband (twice) and Guirado are the goal scorers for the Philippines. But there's little time to celebrate. Kuwait, ranked over 60 notches higher in the FIFA rankings, is waiting in the second round.

July 23, 2011. Kuwait City, Kuwait — Welcome to high-level Asian football. Playing their highest-ranked opponent in years, the Azkals absorb a clinical 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Kuwait. Skipper Aly Borromeo misses the match after incurring a second yellow card in the qualifiers against Sri Lanka.

July 28, 2011. Manila — The Azkals need to win by at least four goals to offset Kuwait's three-goal advantage. Stephan Shrock, the immensely talented Fil-German midfielder, gives the home crowd something to cheer about with a spectacular strike from way out in the second minute of first-half injury time. The Kuwaitis genuinely look stunned; the nerve of these Filipinos, they must be saying, to score against us. Phil Younghusband almost makes it 2-0 early in the second half after he eludes two Kuwaiti defenders for a clean shot, but the Kuwaiti keeper comes up with a brilliant save. Minutes later, Kuwait is reduced to 10 men following a red card. Everything is looking good, until Yousef Naser catches the defense napping and somehow scores on a long strike. The goal knocks the air out of the stadium. Kuwait adds one more goal in the 85th to eliminate the Azkals.

August 17, 2011. Manila — The UFL and TV5 announce a five-year, P150 million deal that calls for the live broadcast of selected UFL matches over TV5's AKTV channel. It's a major development for the local league.

September 30-October 4, 2011. Kaohsiung, Taiwan — The Azkals compete in the Long Teng Cup and finish runner-up to Hong Kong with one win and two draws. Caligdong wins the Golden Boot award with four goals. Coach Weiss gives some exposure to select members of the U-23 team that will be seeing action in the SEA Games in Jakarta.

October 7, 2011. Singapore — The Azkals lose to Singapore, 2-0, in an international friendly.

October 8, 2011. Manila — The United Football Cup opens its 2011-12 season with a record 28 teams. Several Azkals are playing for different teams. The Cup's first two matches are broadcast live over AKTV.

October 11, 2011. Manila — The Azkals thrash Nepal, 4-0, in an international friendly at the Rizal Stadium. Phil scores two goals, brother James one, and Matt Hartmann one. For the senior Azkals, this is supposed to be their last international match of the year.

October 16-21, 2011. Vientiane, Laos — The Malditas, the Azkals' female counterparts, compete in the AFF Women's Championships. Coached by Ernie Nierras, the team finishes third in their group with one draw and two losses. It is a marked improvement from their 2009 campaign, when they lost all their three matches and were outscored 30-1.

October 27, 2011. Makati — In a press conference, LA Galaxy president Thomas Payne and PFF president Nonong Araneta jointly announce the December 3 match between the Azkals and the Galaxy.


November 3-15, 2011. Jakarta, Indonesia — The Philippines returns to the Southeast Asian Games football competition for the first time in six years. Backstopped by standouts from the U-23 national championships and some members of the Azkals, the team stumbles badly, losing four of its five matches. After losing to Timor Leste, team captain Matt Harmann abruptly leaves the team following a dispute with Weiss and returns to Manila.

December 3, 2011. Manila — Before another huge crowd at the Rizal Stadium, the LA Galaxy put on a display of topnotch football and win, 6-1. Beckham scores the game's first goal, while Younghusband is the lone scorer for the home team.

The night Beckham met Pacquiao, and other random stuff

By Sid Ventura | Sportsaholic

Some random musings and quotes from last night's LA Galaxy-Philippine Azkals dream game, which the Galaxy handily won, 6-1, although the final score hardly mattered in the eyes of thousands of starstruck football fans.

A perfect Saturday night

It was a good night for football. There were some threatening rain clouds in the afternoon, but luckily they did no harm. The air was cool and the atmosphere was electric. There were also legitimate concerns about a sparse crowd given the slow pace of ticket sales, but in the end it appeared Filipino fans couldn't resist watching a world-class team like the LA Galaxy, even with ticket prices at first-world rates. The last-minute 35% discount offered by the United Football League must have helped as well. Rizal Stadium was probably 90% full. It wasn't as raucous as the previous crowds that attended the WC Qualifiers against Sri Lanka and Kuwait, and there were noticeably more female fans this time around (gee, I wonder why), but overall it was good.

It would have been better, of course, if the Azkals didn't completely disappear in the second half. Everyone expected the Galaxy to win, but conceding six goals wasn't foreseen by most observers. Aly Borromeo was sorely missed in the backline, which gave up too many shots. But methinks it was the third goal — the one where the Galaxy's Big Three connected with David Beckham nearly bending t it out of bounds from a corner kick before Landon Donovan headed it straight to Robbie Keane for an easy score — that knocked the wind out of the Akzals' sails.

Beckham bends it

The first goal of the game was a treat for the fans and came in the 20th minute courtesy of a vintage Beckham strike. After getting a short pass from Keane, Beckham unleashed the shot from near the top of the penalty box that curled to the left and into the upper right side of the net. Poor Edward Sacapano had no chance, but then again, few keepers have once Beckham bends it like that.

"I haven't done that for a few years," he said. "I was happy with the goal tonight. I'm usually setting them up. But it's nice to get a goal tonight."

Sizing up the Azkals

After the game, Galaxy coach Bruce Arena and team captain Landon Donovan gave their thoughts on the Azkals. Arena said three players stood out for him.

"I thought the numbers 12 (Angel Guirado), 13 (Chieffy Caligdong) and 10 (Phil Younghusband) played well. I thought they did quite well on the break, getting out on the counterattack. We were a little sloppy at times in the first half."

When asked to compare the Azkals to the Indonesian national team, which lost only by 1-0 last Wednesday, Arena still gave the slight edge to the Azkals, and offered an explanation as to why they only beat Indonesia by one goal.

"When I first saw the Philippine team in the first half, I thought they were a little bit better than the Indonesian team. However, I think one of the differences in this trip is that we had a lot of travel right in the beginning. We traveled 18, 20 hours and we had to play the Indonesian team. Oddly enough, if it's possible, it's a little bit hotter and a little bit more humid in Jakarta. And I thought we were physically drained.

"I think as we arrived in the Philippines, we had a few more days of rest. We were a little better prepared to play tonight, and I think that was why the score of the game was different than it was versus Indonesia. But I think that the two teams are fairly comparable."

Donovan, who dazzled the crowd with some nifty footwork, concurred.

"Yeah, I agree with that," said the Galaxy skipper. "I think the players were a little more talented tonight. I thought in the first half, the way they played was more organized, and they threatened us more than Indonesia. I think what happened is, we got our fitness a little bit over the last three or four days and the pace of the game wore out the Philippine team. And we also had the opportunity to make a lot of substitutions, which gives you fresh legs and fresh energy, and that helped a lot. If we were all playing 90 minutes, it would be a lot more difficult."

They All Bow to Pacquiao

When a group of NBA superstars led by Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant hit town last July, almost all of them got starstruck after meeting Manny Pacquiao. The same thing happened last night after David Beckham met the Pacman.

"I couldn't wait to get off the field to talk to him," Beckham said. "I'm a huge fan of him. He's such a talented man and a good person. I know all of the players were excited about him being in the game tonight, and I saw him walk in during the game. I wanted to meet him and get a picture of him. It's exciting."

Pacquiao arrived shortly before the halftime whistle, and as usual caused a commotion. When his presence was announced during the halftime break, some Galaxy players stopped their warm-up routine and peered into the crowd hoping to catch a glimpse of the Pambansang Kamao.

Beckham was supposed to play only one half, but when he saw Pacquiao was in attendance, he suited up for additional minutes in the second half. After he was finally substituted, he walked over to where the Pacman was seated and gave him his no. 23 jersey. (In keeping with an earlier promise, Beckham gave Phil Younghusband an autographed jersey during the press conference after the game.)

Who's Next?

Bringing in the MLS champions here to play against the Azkals was one of the biggest coups of the year in all of local sports. What could possibly top this? Phil Younghusband may have the answer.

"I just had a chat with MVP (Manny Pangilinan)," Younghusband revealed during the post-game press conference. "He wants to bring in Real Madrid. He said to mix the teams up so it would be more exhibition, not Real Madrid vs. the Azkals."

If you ask Chieffy Caligdong, though, he prefers another legendary Primera Liga club.

"(FC) Barcelona, siyempre," he said, referring to the team of Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi. "Iyon iyong pinakahinahangaan ko sa lahat ng club teams. Sana matuloy, kahit iyong Real Madrid, 'diba?"

If these plans push through, then it's safe to say the football craze isn't just a passing fad, but something that's here to stay. In which case, I think now would be a good time for the football movers and shakers to start investing in a world-class football stadium.

Galaxy wins over Azkals, 6-1

By JONAS TERRADO - Manila Bulletin

MANILA, Philippines — Two of the most iconic figures in global sports last night converged in a place where the Beatles once tore the house down.

David Beckham displayed the skills that made him a football icon while boxing champion Manny Pacquiao delighted the audience by just showing up, highlighting the LA Galaxy's 6-1 mastery of the Philippine Azkals at the jampacked Rizal Memorial Stadium.

In front of an approximate crowd of 12,000, Beckham made a lasting impression with his superb passing skills while scoring an effortless opening goal in the 20th minute.

After playing 75 minutes, Beckham came out in place of Jovan Kirovski then approached Pacquiao to give his game jersey. A smiling Pacquiao showed Beckham's gift like it was a world title belt.

"I couldn't wait to get off the field and talk to him," said Beckham, who briefly chatted with Pacquiao after the final whistle. "I'm a huge fan of him and he's a good person."

Beckham noticed Pacquiao arriving amidst cheers from the crowd in the 44th minute. At halftime, the England captain smiled at the Sarangani congressman then gave a thumbs up sign.

It was an expected win for the 2011 MLS champions, but the Azkals made it interesting in the first half when Phil Younghusband cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 40th minute off a splendid goal from the right side of the penalty box and over keeper Josh Saunders.

From there, it was pure dominance by the Galaxy.

Not minding flashbulbs and giggling fans, Beckham's corner kick set up Robbie Keane's goal in the 47th minute for a 3-1 advantage. Two more goals by Adam Cristman and another from substitute Gregg Berhalter later sealed LA's second win in the Asia Pacific Tour.

But the score hardly mattered at all.

Seeing Beckham and Landon Donovan, who had two passes that set up goals by Mike Magee and Cristman's first goal, and the rest of the Galaxy's superior skills coupled with Younghusband's goal was well enough for fans to have their money's worth.

Despite the expensive ticket prices, the crowd exceeded what organizers projected. Afterwards, the match further enhanced the legacy of a stadium that weathered the wrath of World War II.

"We would love to come back," said Donovan, who made his promise by exchanging uniforms with Azkals' injured captain Aly Borromeo.

Except for a worker who was doing a welding job at a constructed building near the stadium, all were glued for this so-called Dream Cup.

There were long lines outside the venue, Galaxy and Azkals jerseys were selling like hotcakes and a scalper even offered a P1,000 ticket for the bleacher seat that is legally pegged at P2,000.

Other prominent figures from various sectors were in attendance, from Manila mayor Alfredo Lim to actress Dawn Zulueta to Pacquiao's wife Jinkee, who arrived late with his three sons.

When she got into her seat, Beckham scored a long strike from the left side of the box. Goalkeeper Eduard Sacapano of the Philippine Army attempted to save it but his efforts went in vain as the ball hit the right side of the net.

Beckham's goal silenced a festive crowd, perhaps awed with how the English captain and former Manchester United and Real Madrid star did the trick.

"I haven't done that in years," Beckham described.

Magee made it 2-0 in the 38th minute off a counter attack that was aided by a short pass by Donovan. Two minutes later, Younghusband put the Azkals on the board.

"I'm happy that I scored a goal on the same game where David Beckham also scored a goal," said Younghusband, who personally received an autographed jersey from his idol during the post-match press conference.

Minutes after Keane's goal, a short shot that mesmerized Sacapano, the so-called "Blue-Haired Guy" named Ebong Joson announced that there was a missing kid named Vincent Ferrer.

After the announcement, Ferrer was found, the crowd was delighted but Cristman made it 4-1 in the 62nd minute off a Donovan pass.

Cristman added a second goal, 13 minutes later before Berhalter settled the final count in the 86th minute.

Azkals battle LA Galaxy in friendly match today

Dyan Castillejo and Raffy Santos,
abs-cbnNEWS.com


MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Azkals and the Los Angeles Galaxy will play in an exhibition match at the Rizal Memorial Stadium today.

It will be the last game of the year for the Azkals -- a fitting end to a year that saw a rise in the popularity of football in the Philippines.

The LA Galaxy, meanwhile, are coming off a successful season that saw them win the 2011 Major League Soccer Cup.

They will be bannered by superstars David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane.

The Azkals will be led by homegrown players Chieffy Caligdong, Ian Araneta, Edward Sacapano, and Phil and James Younghusband.

The Philippines will be missing the services of Europe-based players who still have commitments to their professional football clubs.

They include goalkeepers Neil Etheridge and Roland Muller, as well as midfielder Stephan Schrock.

Asia-Pacific Tour

The Philippines is the Galaxy's second stop in their 2011 Asia-Pacific Tour.

They won 1-0 in their first game against a selection from the Indonesia national team.

Galaxy players arrived in Manila Thursday afternoon.

Aside from playing in the friendly, LA Galaxy also held a football clinic for kids and had a practice session at the Rizal Memorial Stadium on Friday.

At least 200 kids joined the clinic.

Galaxy players led by Beckham showed children passing and dribbling techniques.

Beckham enjoyed himself, frequently giving the kids high-fives and engaging them in conversation.

"The children out here today are incredible... it's amazing hoe positive the energy the children have. they're so happy," said Beckham.

Galaxy players proceeded with their own training after the football clinic.

Idols

For the Azkals, the exhibition game will be a chance to play against their idols, but they maintain they will be professional during the game.

"Pagkatapos ng game, pwedeng magpa-autograph, magpa-picture. During the game, kailangan professional," said striker Phil Younghusband.

Caligdong is looking forward to finding himself matched against Beckham, and says he hopes to learn a lot from the experience.

"Malaking challenge para sa amin. Maraming matututunan mula sa team ng Galaxy, especially David Beckham," he said.

Azkals team manager Dan Palami is hoping that the PH XI will be able to give the MLS Cup champions a tough test.

"Hopefully for the Team Azkals, we give them a good fight, para yung ibang teams, they will want to play against us kasi they will get a good session," Palami said.

Europe-based Azkals Rob Gier and Ray Jonsson arrived in Manila late Wednesday evening, and both said they were excited to face the LA Galaxy.

"It's just an unbelievable opportunity," Gier said. "If you told me a few months ago that we would be playing against David Beckham here in Manila, I would've laughed at you," Gier said.

Jonsson said that a win was possible, "if we play good defense."

The Azkals head coach Michael Weiss urged Filipino football fans to fill the stadium and cheer during the match.

"I hope they will come in masses. I hope the stadium will be sold out," Weiss said.

Discounted tickets

The ticket prices for the Azkals-LA Galaxy exhibition game range from P2,000-P15,000.

The United Football League (UFL) has offered fans a 35% discounts on all tickets.

People who still want to buy tickets to the game need to give the code #6987 when buying at Ticketworld outlets. The discount is not available when buying online.

Complete disaster: 5 things we learned from the U-23 Azkals’ SEA Games campaign

Ryan Fenix, special to InterAKTV

Going into the 26th edition of the SEA Games in Indonesia, expectations were high for our football team and for good reason. With senior players Jason de Jong and Manny Ott bannering the team that was reinforced by MV Duisburg third choice goalkeeper Roland Muller and standouts from the local Under-23 Suzuki Cup, fans had every reason to look forward to this tournament.

However, with only a last gasp victory against Laos to show for itself, the Philippines’ ambitious push for a medal finish in Jakarta turned out to be a complete disaster.
Here are five things we learned from our SEA Games debacle.

1. Coaching staff have to play people in their natural positions

One of the more curious decisions of coach Hans Michael Weiss was naming only five natural defenders to the final line-up, namely Carli de Murga, Raymark Fernandez, Neckson Leonora, Jacques van Bossche and David Basa. It does not take a football genius to underscore the fact that poor form, suspensions and injuries are bound to take its toll on a team, especially in a group stage format. As a matter of fact, coaches normally take eight defenders to tournaments, translating to two players per position.

Therefore, when the suspensions did happen, the coaching staff found it necessary to shoehorn players out of their natural playing position into our defense.

Patrick Hinrichsen, a natural right-footed midfielder, was preferred by the coaching staff to start at left-back against Timor Leste and Brunei — both losses.
Erstwhile captain Matt Hartmann, for instance, was himself deployed out of position in central defense when his best position would have been in midfield.

Jason de Jong, who inherited the captain’s armband, acquitted himself with his performances in central defense. But the question was: Did the midfield lose some steel with his move to the back four?

One could argue that defenders Jerry Barbaso and the 6’1” Lemuel Unabia, both omitted from the final list, may have been better defensive options for the team.

Coach Weiss has a history of preferring “better” technical and more experienced players rather than “riskier” inexperienced players, natural playing positions be damned. This time, this decision backfired on him in a spectacular fashion.

2.) More prep time was needed for the Under-23 Philippine team

The U-23 Azkals were exposed mercilessly by better-prepared and well-coached opponents, and the results spoke for themselves. Last place in the optimistically named “Group of Hope” and virtually finishing the tournament as the 10th placed team out of eleven nations, our involvement in the SEA Games football competition was a complete and total disaster.

At the risk of stating the blatantly obvious, more preparation time and a longer period of training was needed. These kids should not be expected to emulate their senior counterparts, where Azkals based in Europe would arrive three days before a tournament, shake off screaming fans and jetlag, and bedevil opposing defenses with dazzling runs and crucial goals for good measure.

Engaging in proper friendlies in the run-up to the tournament would undoubtedly increase cohesion and understanding within the team, whether or not the team wins in them.

Case in point: The Long Teng Cup in Taiwan could have and should have been utilized exclusively for the U -23 squad’s training. Held over a month before the SEA Games, there was debatably no need for the senior team’s presence in Kaohsiung.

Perhaps management thought it necessary to validate the rise of football with a glorious piece of silverware from Taiwan; perhaps management was afraid that our U-23 Azkals would get blown out in a four-nation tournament featuring international football powerhouses Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong (Editor’s note: Ryan is being ironic). Whatever the reasons were, the Long Teng Cup was a missed opportunity for the U-23 to face challenge and adversity together in a competitive setting.

Jeff Christiaens, who made the left flank his own in the SEA Games, would certainly have found it more difficult to break down more experienced defenses. But knowing that he is the main man on that left wing could’ve spurred him to achieve greater heights in Taiwan, which he could’ve carried to Jakarta. As it turned out, the man whose slot he will almost certainly inherit, Chieffy Caligdong won the Golden Boot. But at what potential lost opportunity for the young Christiaens?

3. There is a legitimate call for a dedicated U-23 Coach.

The SEA Games was always going to be a test for Coach Weiss’ coaching skills. The senior team have arguably achieved a certain level of success before he took over, as the team just reached the semi-finals of the Suzuki Cup in 2010.

The U-23 team, on the other hand, is a totally different proposition altogether. Having to build a team from scratch, the team was composed from standouts from the recently held U-23 Suzuki Cup and a smattering of foreign-based Azkals.

A dedicated U-23 coach could’ve watched all the games of the U-23 Suzuki Cup and would’ve taken notice of the standouts in the said tournament.

True, Joshua Beloya, Ojay Clarino and Leonora were eventually drafted into the starting eleven and had big roles to play for Team Philippines. But perhaps, what was missing was watching the games live to know first-hand how to utilize these players in game situations.

In The Art of War, Sun Tzu said: “To rely on rustics and not prepare is the greatest of crimes.”

What is applicable in war, is most certainly applicable in football.

4. The choice of the captain is crucial in a young team.

The role of the captain in football, or any sport, is fairly straightforward. As captain, he is the leader of the team and to a certain extent, an extension of the coach on the field.

When Matthew James Calibjo Hartmann left Jakarta, Indonesia in the middle of the U-23 Azkals campaign in the SEA Games, he not only let his team and teammates down, he let the entire nation down with his actions.

Matt Hartmann was reportedly upset at being substituted midway through the game against Timor Leste and support for him from fellow players was supposedly at an all-time low. Regardless of what happened, no circumstance would justify a captain abandoning his team midway through its journey.

With two losses in its first two games, it was the captain’s duty to galvanize the team and be their strength in the time of crisis. Whether he would do it on the pitch in the next game, or on the bench does not matter, he has to stay on to steady the ship.

Taking the easy way out by abandoning ship is certainly one way of not endearing yourself to the football fans. It is most certainly a shameful display of someone not understanding the weight and responsibility of the captain’s armband.

Credit has to be given, however, to his younger brother Mark Hartmann who stayed on and put on a sterling performance against Laos. Delivering two assists that setup Beloya’s historic late goals, Mark displayed mental toughness to continue playing his game and helping the team get the needed victory.

5. Philippine football has potential with this group of youngsters.

It may not seem apparent at the moment, but there are positives to take out from our calamitous SEA Games campaign. This writer Echoes Dan Palami’s statement that “the Philippines has some of the best individual players in the tournament.”

Roland Muller single-handedly kept the Azkals in the game in our opening match against Vietnam. Jeff Christiaens exploits on the left flank earned plaudits from local fans. OJ Porteria, all 17 years young, displayed explosive pace on the wings.

Joshua Beloya’s two late goals will surely live long into Philippine footballing lore. Carli de Murga’s solid showing on the right side of defense forced opponents to exploit our problematic left flank, the graveyard of Azkals defenders in this tournament.

In the face of all the criticism, we must all remember, this still is a very young team, composed of very young players. Fifteen out of the twenty members of this team will still be eligible to play in the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar.

The onus is now squarely on the hands of the PFF. We may chalk this failure on inexperience, poor planning and some questionable coaching decisions. Come 2013, these same reasons certainly will no longer be tolerated by an increasingly mature footballing nation.

SEA Games: Myanmar outclass Junior Azkals, 5-0

Roy Moore/OMG, GMA News

Chemistry was what many felt was lacking in the Junior Azkals, the country’s under-23 team competing in the 26th Southeast Asian Games.

On Sunday, it showed.

The Junior Azkals were bamboozled by Myanmar, 0-5, in a match that showed everything lacking in the national team that could be considered as a rag-tag squad that gathered much less attention than their popular elders Azkals.

As result, Myanmar booked itself a seat in the semifinals, tying the three wins as a against a draw record of powerhouse Vietnam in Group B.

A well orchestrated performance from Myanmar condemned the Philippines to a group finish, shattering any lingering dreams of a semi final spot. First half goals from captain Aye San and Kyaw Zayar Win were added to by a double from Kyaw Ko Ko and a fifth goal from Shwe Hlaing Win as Burma dominated the Junior Azkals.

First Half

Before the game the Philippines knew only a win would keep them in contention for qualifying from the group. History didn’t bode well for the Azkals who lost to Burma 4-1 in 1999, the last time the two countries played in the SEA Games.

Any hopes were quickly dampened, however, when Myanmar captain Aye San tapped into an open goal from a corner in the 7th minute. Roland Müller failed to catch the first corner and dropped the ball but was saved when Carli De Murga headed it off the line. The second corner was crossed in and bounced right in front of Müller who let it slip through his fingers and the Myanmar captain Aye San tapped into the open goal.

The Junior Azkals’ only chance of the first half fell to Porteria who was left unmarked at the far post when a well hit cross came in from the left. He skied the volley, though given the position and the difficulty of the technique, it was understandably difficult.

However just a few minutes from half-time Myanmar took a two goal lead when Kyi Lin ran unmarked in the area. He couldn’t control the ball but it bobbled kindly for Kyaw Zayar Win to poke past Müller for his second goal of the tournament in the 41st minute.

Myanmar defender Moe Win then went down awkwardly from the last chance of the half. Jeffrey Christiaens floated in a free-kick from 25 yards rather than shooting and the ball glided out of touch. Moe Win stayed on the floor, however, with commentator Bob Guerrero suggesting he had possibly dislocated or broken his collar bone. His own players immediately signaled for a substitution as the half-time whistle blew leaving the Junior Azkals with another mountain to climb.

Second Half

Mark Hartmann replaced Jinggoy Valmayor at half-time as Coach Weiss looked to Hartmann to cut open the Myanmar side, who only just missed out on the semi finals in the 2009 SEA Games. Just one point behind both Laos and Singapore last time this win takes them a step closer to the Semis.
It was Burma who started the second half sharpest, dribbling directly through the Junior Azkals line and passing through the central defenders for Kyaw Ko Ko to blast the ball past Müller in the 46th minute. The goal put Myanmar three ahead, adding peaks to the mountain.

Myanmar continued to dominate and the defensive problems compounded. Coach Weiss substituted Neckson Leonora for another defender, Reymark Fernandez, something unusual for coaches to do while losing. With only five defenders named for the twenty-three man squad the team conceded their eleventh goal of the campaign when Kyaw Ko Ko lifted the ball over one defender, then a second, before slotting past Müller to give Myanmar an unassailable 4-0 lead in the 55th minute and become the joint top scorer of the tournament so far.

Minutes later the hero from the Laos game, Joshua Beloya, came in for Jeffrey Christiaens who had previously looked the most likely to score for the Philippines. But Beloya had little chance to make an impact as Manny Ott was soon sent off for his second yellow card ten minutes from the end. Though his tackle of the Myanmar player from behind wasn’t that dangerous it was simply one foul too many from Ott and he received his marching orders.

Adding insult to injury, Myanmar scored a fifth and wrapped up the win in injury time as Min Min Thu burst past the defense to collect a through ball. His attempted cross was tipped away by Müller but only into the path of Shwe Hlaing Win who slotted into the open goal in the 92nd minute.

Only Brunei left

This heavy loss confirms that the Philippines will not qualify for the semi-finals. Manny Ott and Roland Müller will also miss the final game of the Junior Azkals’ tournament agaist Brunei as Ott was sent off and Müller picked up his second yellow card of the tournament. Brunei is probably the weakest side in the tournament, though, and the Junior Azkals will be playing for pride on Tuesday, November 15th, 8pm.

Beloya’s two late goals lift U-23 Azkals over Laos

By Sid Ventura | Sportsaholic

On an 11/11/11 playdate, it was perhaps fitting that the player wearing jersey no. 11 would rescue the Philippines from another loss.
Down a man and a goal and just minutes from elimination, the U-23 Azkals turned to substitute Joshua Beloya, who scored two goals in the last three minutes to give the Philippine side a pulsating 3-2 win over Laos in the football competition of the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta.
It was the first win for the U2-3 Azkals in Group B, giving them three points to leapfrog over their victims and Brunei, who now both share the cellar with one point apiece. But for majority of the second half, Laos was seemingly on its way to notching its first win and moving up to four points. That is, until fate, luck, the power of the number 11, or whatever you want to call it intervened.
Manny Ott gave the Philippines an early lead, gathering a pass from Jinggoy Valmayor to slot home a goal in the seventh minute. But Laos, showing better form in the midfield, equalized in the 38th off a cross from Soukhaphone Vongch that found captain Lamnao Singto, who easily found the back of the net. Singto gave Laos the lead in the 46th, his fourth goal of the tournament, and it looked like the Philippines' campaign in Jakarta was headed to a premature end.
Things only got worse for the U-23 Azkals after defender Patrick Hinrichsen was sent off in the 61st minute for drawing two yellow cards in succession. Down to 10 men and needing to score, Coach Hans Michael Weiss sent in Mark Hartmann in the 61st minute for an ineffective OJ Clarino, in hopes of improving the Philippines' attack.
The move paid off as Hartmann breathed new life into the Azkals' attack, and nearly scored the equalizer in the 66th with a low free kick that was on target but was batted out at the last possible second by the Laotian keeper.
Laos kept its defense solid and nearly scored a couple of times on counter-attacks, and with the match approaching injury time, it seemed the Philippines was going to absorb its third straight setback. But in the 90th minute, Hartmann beat the offside trap and, barely onside, had only the keeper to beat. The Loyola Meralco Sparks mainstay waited for the keeper to commit before passing off to Beloya, who easily tapped the ball in for the equalizer.
With three minutes of injury time added, a stunned Laos tried to salvage a win and stepped up its attack. But the Philippines held firm, and a perfect long ball from Hartmann found Beloya advancing from top of the box. The substitute striker gathered the pass perfectly, juggled the ball a bit to shake off his defender, then found the back of the net from a strike from close range in the 93rd minute.
Moments later, the referee blew his final whistle, and the U-23 Azkals incredibly found themselves still in contention.
The team badly needed this win, not only to avoid elimination but to also lift their sagging morale, which had hit rock bottom following their 1-2 loss to Timor Leste and reports that captain Matthew Hartmann was sent home as a disciplinary measure.
For Laos, it was a bitter loss. They controlled the tempo of the match, and had a 55-45 advantage in possession. Yet despite being a man up and facing a depleted Philippine back line, they just could not find an insurance goal and seemed to relax in the end game.
The Philippines is not yet out of the woods, though. Vietnam and Myanmar share first place in Group B with seven points, while Timor Leste isn't far behind at solo third with six. The junior Azkals, now at fourth with three points, face Myanmar in Sunday, and obviously need to win again. Myanmar thrashed Brunei, 4-0, and also came from behind to beat Laos, 3-2. They drew with Vietnam.

LA Galaxy-Azkals tickets for Dec 3 match cost P2K-P15.5K

ELR/HS, GMA News

Organizers of the December 3 football friendly match between the LA Galaxy and the Philippine national football team have revealed that the least costly tickets will be priced at P2,000 while the priciest seats will go for P15,500 each.

The LA Galaxy is currently the top-rated team in Major League Soccer, the US professional league, and will be playing for the league championship against the Houston Dynamo on November 20.

The Galaxy's star player, British midfielder David Beckham, is having what may be his best season in his five years of playing in America after a stellar career in England's Premier League.

The LA Galaxy may be the most illustrious overseas professional team to play in the Philippines in years, reflecting the strides football has made in capturing the fancy of the Filipino sporting public.

P14,000 for kids football clinic with Galaxy

The Galaxy-Azkals tickets will go on sale via Ticketworld Thursday afternoon. The other ticket prices are P5,000, P9,500, P10,500, and P12,500. The announcement was made via Twitter and the Azkaleros official fan page on Facebook.

Detailed information on seat locations and their matching ticket prices will be available on the Ticketworld website also on Thursday.

Tickets will also be sold for the 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. open practice of the LA Galaxy on December 2. Prices for this are more affordable at P3,000 for the grandstand seats and P1,500 for the bleachers.

Slots for the football clinic with the LA Galaxy in the afternoon of December 2 will be limited to the first 150 kids who can afford the P14,000 inclusive of the jersey, shorts and soccer bag.

Tickets for previous international friendly matches of the Azkals at the Rizal Stadium ranged from P200 for the side bleachers to P3,000 for the lower grandstand seats.

Seating capacity at the venue has been set at 13,000.

On the microblogging site Twitter, comments on the prices of the tickets ranged from acceptance to rejection.

SEAG: Azkals U-23s taking it one game at a time

by TJ Manotoc, ABS-CBN News

JAKARTA, Indonesia - It's been 2 days since the under-23 Philippine football team suffered their 2nd defeat at the 26th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

They had a rest day on Tuesday and are back on the pitch practicing Wednesday, 2 days before their next match against Laos.

Have the young Azkals gotten their bearings back and ready to make a miracle run to qualify for the semifinals?

Coach Hans Michael Weiss says the key is to take things one match a time rather than to look at the daunting task of having to win the remaining 3 matches and hope for miracles against the leading teams in their bracket like Timor Leste and Vietnam.

In an ironic way, the 2 losses have sort of lifted some pressure off the shoulders of the young Azkals, 15 of whom will still be eligible for the 2013 SEA Games.

Weiss adds that they must now really focus on defense and take note of their lapses versus Timor Leste and Vietnam that virtually broke their backs.

Laos is next up for the U-23 Philippine Football team set on November 11, 4 p.m. Jakarta time.

Familiar face
Meanwhile, a familiar face in Philippine Football is now on the sidelines for the first time as an assistant coach.

Veteran national team member Yanti Bersales, who retired after the Myanmar match in June, is part of the coaching staff in Jakarta.

From what he's seen, he hopes the boys learn to loosen up and relieve themselves of the unnecessary pressure on them.

He says they should value this experience and exposure they are getting at such a young age.

As for bouncing back, Bersales says they have to forget what happened in the last 2 matches and simply look forward to their next opponent, Laos.

It’s as simple as that.

So far Bersales’ presence and veteran advice has been a welcome addition to the staff handling the very young team.

Azkals woes highlight need to develop locals

By Olmin Leyba (The Philippine Star)


MANILA, Philippines - The lack of cohesion bogging the Philippine under-23 Azkals in the 26th Southeast Asian Games has emphasized once again the need to develop more home-grown talents committed to train together for longer periods.

“(Team manager) Dan Palami and (coach Michael) Weiss have the best of intentions. Dan spent to get the best (players from Europe). But football is teamwork. You can’t achieve it in three days or one week of practice,” said Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) chairman Monico Puentevella, also a member of the advisory council of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF).

For this campaign, team management has assembled a combo of local-based players and pros plying their trade in Europe, like Roland Muller, Manny Ott, Jeffrey Christiaens and Carli de Murga. The Euro-based booters only joined the team in Indonesia already, in time for their first game.

The U23 Azkals dropped a 1-3 loss to Vietnam and a 1-2 setback to darkhorse Timor Leste as their semifinal bid got dimmer each game day.

“Our players in the under-23 are not short of talent. But to put them in the field to play as a team, you need more time of playing together,” observed Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richie Garcia.

Puentevella batted for a stronger grassroots development program.

“I guess we can’t rely on the guys from outside all the time. Grassroots must be strengthened. We must go back to the drawing board,” said Puentevella.

Weiss said he’s already entertaining the idea of tapping more locals next time, but asked for a more tempered expectation from Filipino fans.

“A lot of these boys are very young; they can still play in 2013 SEA Games. The hopes in the Philippines now are way too high; we should lower our expectations, work hard, and continue to build up players who are having the right heart beat and not thinking themselves as superstars because somebody admires them in the Philippines.

“I should very well think who to bring here for this tournament, one idea is to bring more local players and see how they can compete in international exposure,” he said.

The U23 Azkals stand at the rear in Group B with no point to show after two games. Timor Leste holds the unlikely lead with six points (two wins) followed by Vietnam and Myanmar with identical four points (1-1-0), and Laos and Brunei with one apiece (0-1-1).

Phl XI battles Laos on Friday, Myanmar on Sunday and Brunei in Tuesday, gunning for victories while hoping the leaders wouldn’t pile up the points to keep their slim chance for the semis.

But Weiss himself is practically conceding a place in the medal rounds.

“We have to think now of the immediate strategy as the tournament is most likely not on us. We do not even have to think of the semifinals,” the German mentor said.

Junior Azkals open SEA Games campaign with 3-1 loss to favorite Vietnam

ROY MOORE, GMA News

The Philippine Under-23 team dropped a 3-1 decision over Vietnam Thursday at the start of football competitions in the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Manny Ott put the Philippines in front when Mark Hartmann played a well disguised pass to the Filipino-German central midfielder who hit the ball on the half volley.

Roland Müller had several great defensive stops as the Philippines enjoyed a 1-0 halftime lead.

But that was short lived as Vietnam equalized in the second half as Matt Hartman headed in an own goal after several great saves from Müller.

Müller continued to save shot after shot in the second half but Hoang Thien made it 2-1 for the 2009 SEA Games silver medalist in the 73rd minute.

Nguyen Van Quyet, eloquently curling into the top corner, scored Vietnam's other goal in the 91st minute of stoppage time.

The Junior Azkals will have a lighter opponent in their next game when they face Timor Leste on November 7.

First half

Vietnam had been in charge of the game in the first half with 65 percent of the possession. Fashioning several good chances Van Bosshe first cleared as a Vietnamese forward rounded Müller in goal before the Azkals goalie then produced a fantastic save from point blank range.

Vietnam were playing great possession football and tore apart the Azkals defense with quick movement, forming triangles between the players to round the Azkals defense.

It would be kind to suggest the Azkals were playing a zonal marking system with the Vietnamese attackers seeming to move away from defenders at will. Vietnam should have been leading but Müller and Van Bosshe kept the scores level before Ott broke the deadlock in the 37th minute to put the Azkals ahead going into the break.

Showing great technique Ott at first was deemed unavailable for the Philippine U23 team having to look for a new club back in Germany but a change of heart brought him to Indonesia at the last minute and coach Michael Weiss was pleased with his first-half contribution.

Second half

The second half started with both sides hitting the post early on. Neckson Leonora conceded a foul and a yellow card, though replays showed his slide tackle didn't make contact with the Vietnamese player. The ball was whipped in well and Müller was beaten from the header but the crossbar came to his rescue.

The Azkals then broke and Ott won possession in the Vietnamese area, held the ball up before laying it off. The following shot curled beautifully, again leaving the keeper with no chance, but the post saved Vietnam this time.

Müller then made two fantastic saves to keep the Philippines' ahead, blocking one-on-one attacks as the Vietnamese time and time again broke through the defensive line. Having been offside several times in the first half Vietnam seemed to find their rhythm and forced Müller into some great saves.

It seemed no Vietnamese player could beat Müller and indeed Vietnam's equalizer came from an own goal. Vietnam crossed from the left and Hartmann inadvertently headed the ball into the back of the net.

Unlucky to concede the goal in such a manner the Azkals could have no argument that it was undeserved. Vietnam then went ahead when a chipped through ball sent their attackers through but Müller got to the ball first and punched away. The ball fell into the path of Thien, who passed comfortably into the open net. The marking was lapse once more and Müller was forced off his line, unlucky that his clearance reached a Vietnamese player.

Minutes later Müller made another great save as Vietnam got through again only to be beaten back by the Azkals keeper. Vietnam should have had a third when Chu Ngoc Anh misfired from just a few yards out in the 90th minute when the ball was cut back to him.

Icing on the cake

Vietnam did get their third goal with virtually the last kick of the game though. Pushing forward the Azkals were caught on the break and a four-on-four ended with the ball being worked well from the right before Van Quyen turned his man and curled into the top corner to wrap up the win.

The 3-1 win completes Vietnam's revenge for the 2-0 loss loss in last year's Suzuki Cup. With the Philippines recording a shock victory then coach Henrique Calisto refused to shake hands with then Philippine coach Simon McMenemy after the match.

This time around the coaches were more professional.

Looking to cement their position as group favorites, Vietnam did just that with some very fluid football, great passing and movement causing problems for the Azkals' defense throughout the game. If not for the Philippines' man of the match Roland Müller in goal the scoreline could have got embarrassing.

In context

Since the tournament changed format from the Senior teams to the Under-23 teams in 2001, Vietnam holds a decent record with three silvers out of the last five tournaments. Vietnam has never won the SEA Games gold, though South Vietnam ruled the tournament in 1959. The defending silver medalists will be going for gold and it must be remembered that this was the Philippines' toughest game of the group.

By contrast this 3-1 loss is the first time the Philippines has competed in the tournament since 2005 where they finished third in the group, just missing out on the semifinals. Vietnam deserved the win with 71 percent of the possession throughout the game but the Philippines will be looking to bounce back against Timor Leste on Monday, November 7.

The Azkals will need to be cautious of yellow cards, though, with Jeff Christiaens, Neckson Leonora, De Murga and of course Jason De Jong picking up bookings.

However expecting victories against Timor Leste and Brunei, good performances against Laos and Burma will send the Azkals into the semis with a good shot at a medal

Before the match Weiss called for the realistic aim of finishing second in the group. Now the Azkals will have to rise again to qualify and once more make history.

U-23 Azkals fall to Vietnam

By Sid Ventura | Sportsaholic

The Philippines, back after a six-year absence, was given a rude "welcome back" by Vietnam and fell 1-3, at the start of the football competition in the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Vietnamese, silver medalists in 2009, controlled possession 71% of the time, but found themselves trailing 0-1 after Fil-German Manny Ott scored on a strike from the top of the penalty off a back heel pass from Mark Hartmann in the 37th minute.
The U-23 Azkals narrowly missed going up 2-0 in the 51st minute when OJ Porteria hit the far post from a strike from the right flank. It would turn out to be their last and best chance to score as Vietnam dominated the rest of the match. The Philippines could get nothing going offensively in the second half, relying mostly on long balls that were easily read by the Vietnamese defense. Meanwhile, Vietnam constantly attacked the left side of the Philippine defense, getting several balls in as left back Neckson Leonora was simply overmatched.
It was only a matter of time before Vietnam scored given the Philippines' porous defense, but the equalizer came from an own goal by Matt Hartmann in the 59th minute. Attempting to clear a ball in from a Vietnamese midfielder, Hartmann miscalculated his header and accidentally found the back of the net. Everything just went downhill from there.
In the 73rd, goalkeeper Roland Muller punched the ball directly to Vietnamese midfielder Le Van Thang, who easily scored on an open net as Muller couldn't recover in time. Then in the last minute of injury time, Nguyen Van Quyet deftly outmaneuvered Matt Hartmann to unleash a left-footed strike that caught the edge of the post and curled in.
The shaky defensive line of the Philippines plus Vietnam's efficient passing more than justified the final score, but in reality it could have easily been 5-1 or 6-1 were it not for the excellent goalkeeping of Muller, who thwarted at least three Vietnamese attacks that looked like sure goals.
The Junior Azkals try to regroup on Monday when they battle Timor Leste at 5PM Manila time. They can still make it to the medal round but need to avoid a second loss in their remaining four matches. The good news is that Vietnam is the strongest team in Group B.
Vietnam lost in the gold medal match against Malaysia two years ago on a painful own goal in the 85th minute, their only loss in the tournament.

LA Galaxy vs. Azkals is a go on Dec. 3

By Sid Ventura | Sportsaholic

It's official: David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane and the rest of Major League Soccer's L.A. Galaxy will square off against Phil Younghusband, Chieffy Caligdong, James Younghusband and the other Philippine Azkals in an exhibition match on December 3 at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
This, after the formal contract signing between Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president Mariano "Nonong" Araneta and Galaxy president Thomas Payne took place earlier today at a press conference in Makati.
The match will be the second leg of the Galaxy's tour of Asia and Australia, coming after a still-to-be-determined fixture on November 30 and preceding the finale in Melbourne on December 5. It will be the first time a professional football club of this stature will play the national side since Cruzeiro of Brazil came over in the 1970s.
It's also the first time a football icon like Beckham will play in front of local fans, with Payne confirming that the British superstar is indeed joining the team here.
"Yes, the full team will be here," Payne said. "We understand what this is about. We understand we have some famous players, one in particular, and our entire team will be on the field as they always are."
The Galaxy topped the just-concluded MLS regular season, and will have homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, which begin this weekend. The playoffs are scheduled to end on November 20, leaving the team plenty of time to prepare for their Asian tour.
"We organized everything in hopes that we're gonna win a championship," Payne explained, "so we're not traveling till after the MLS Cup, which is our championship, and that's November 20th. It's actually at our stadium, so we have homefield advantage."
While Beckham will no doubt be the main attraction, he isn't the only star in this particular Galaxy. There's US skipper Donovan, whom Payne described as "the best American player that ever lived. He's the biggest goal scorer in the history of the United States. He's the best player on the national team for the past 12 years. When he's going, he's tough to stop."
There's also Keane, the all-time leading scorer of Ireland and one of the top ten scorers in the history of the English Premier League. Payne is also enamored of his young midfielder Juninho. "He's a 22-year-old Brazilian who came through the Sao Paolo system. He's a really fabulous player as well."
The dream match will provide a fitting end to what has been a fabulous year for Philippine football, and will come almost a year to the day the Azkals shocked heavily-favored Vietnam 2-0 in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup, the result that triggered the sport's revival in the local scene. And what better way to carry the momentum into next year than by bringing over one of the most popular football players of all time.
"I think it's gonna be wonderful," Payne said. "Part of what we do on these tours is we're trying to help promote the sport that I'm passionate about and what David's passionate about, and going into a market like this, which is going football-crazy from what I understand, and the coach and the federation is having a good run of it. So I think putting on a game that brings that kind of PR and media to an event like this can only be good for the sport."
"Of course, it's a big match for us to end the season and end the year with the LA Galaxy playing here," Araneta added. "What more can you ask for? We hope that it will be very successful, and we hope that this won't be their last visit here."
Azkals team manager Dan Palami said he has contacted the Europe-based players to inquire about their availability in hopes of putting together the most competitive team possible.
"We've sent out invitations already to our professional players abroad, and I think some of them have responded," Palami said. "But after this press conference, we will get in touch with them to make sure their attendance will be ensured."
So far, Palami said Ray Jonsson has confirmed his participation, along with Fil-Danish players Jerry Lucena and Dennis Caraga. Goalkeeper Neil Etheridge has sent word he might be free, while Stephan Schrock has not yet replied.
"We thought that convincing win against Nepal was good enough, but here we are served with an early Christmas bonus to have a chance to play against a team like the LA Galaxy," Palami said. "And I'm sure it's not just David Beckham. I've received a lot of e-mails inquiring about Donovan and Robbie Keane."
Payne actually flew in to inspect the venue first, and obviously he was satisfied with what he saw.
"It was wonderful," he said of the Rizal Stadium. "It was probably more than what we expected, to be honest. The stadium was great. We look forward to playing in a smaller venue. We've done some of these games all around the world and played in front of 80, 90,000 people. So we're really looking forward to playing in front of a crowd that's gonna be really close to the action. And I think it's gonna be a really memorable night for this community and the sport of soccer and for our club as well as the Philippine National Team."
The Galaxy will fly in on December 1, which will give them enough time to conduct a clinic for underprivileged kids of the Bantay Bata Foundation. The clinic will be hled on December 2 from 2 to 4PM at the Rizal Stadium.
"A big part of what we try and do on these tours is leave something behind," Payne said. "And you'll find out soon that we'll make sure we're doing something for kids in the community. At the end of the day we want kids to have something look forward to and look up to."
The Galaxy president said he was informed last week about that rumor going around in the Philippines about the match, even though nothing had been finalized yet.
"We hadn't announced anything, obviously, about a game, and I get an email from all of my digital people in my office saying there's a rumor that the Galaxy are coming and it's the top trending topic in all of the Philippines. It's pretty amazing. It shows the passion for the sport and for our team and I'm sure for David Beckham as well."
Meanwhile, organizers said tickets will most likely go on sale the first week of November once they have finalized the pricing.

Young Azkals lean on De Jong's leadership experience

By Olmin Leyba (The Philippine Star)

MANILA, Philippines - Fil-Dutch midfielder Jason de Jong is adjusting to his new role as one of the leaders of the Philippine Under-23 side set to do battle in the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia.

De Jong, 21, is among the most experienced member of the crew composed mostly of 19 and 20-year-olds, having played for the senior Azkals team in big-time competitions like the Fifa World Cup Qualifiers.

“For me, it’s a new thing; I’m curious of what’s gonna happen,” said the tattooed de Jong, known for his physical defending and hard tackles.

“It’s the first time I’m one of the seniors and I have to help other (younger) players; normally, the other players are helping me when I’m with the senior Azkals. Hopefully, we’ll get good results in Indonesia.”

De Jong rejoined the SEAG pool last Wednesday after playing a game with FC Dordrecht, a second division club in Holland, early in the week. He suited up for Phl U-23 when it nipped Chieffy Caligdong and Phl Air Force, 4-2, in a tune-up at Rizal Stadium Thursday.

“Not everyone is here yet,” he said in assessment of the team, which is still expecting the arrival of the other Europe-based players either in next week’s camp in Gotemba, Japan or a few days before the start of SEAG competitions on Nov. 3.

“Okay there’s some lack of communication in our game against Air Force but then again we won the game, good result. We have to get good results in tuneup games in Japan as well and then we will look ahead.”

Phl XI is competing for the first time since hosting the SEAG in 2005, hoping to draw momentum from the progress achieved by the Azkals in gunning for a medal.

“Target is to get a medal, of course. Going there to see what’s gonna happen is not a good idea; we should have a goal and that goal should be at least a medal,” said De Jong.

Junior Azkals leave for Japan camp

By Cheska D. Geli : Sun Star Cebu

IN ORDER to boost its chances in the Southeast Asian Games, the Philippine Under-23 team will leave tomorrow for a weeklong training camp in Japan.

The team will stay at Gotemba City where they will hold training sessions at the foot of Mount Fuji. Two of their scheduled tune-up games are against a local 18-Under team and another local club.

In the last three days of training, the team will move to Tokyo to watch the championship game of the J-League, the premier football league in Japan, and to play their final exhibition match.

“I believe that the Japan camp will make us strong,” said Paolo Pascual, who will be the team’s goalie in Japan practice matches.
The team has concluded its training at the Rizal Stadium, where they usually hold conditioning exercises in the morning and scrimmages in the afternoon.

“It was a good and tough training,” said Pascual.

The team had its first exhibition game against the Philippine Air Force where they had a 4-2 win with Jingoy Valmayor’s two goals and David Basa’s successful attempt.

The team had a more convincing win in their second friendly against the Laos FC, 9-1, with Valmayor and Mark Hartman sharing three goals each. Romeo Martinez and OJ Clarino chipped in a goal, while Laos also had an own goal.

But despite the team’s wins, head coach Michael Weiss wasn’t satisfied with the team’s performance.

“The coach said there are a lot of things to work on,” shared Pascual. Among them are improvements in the defensive strategy.

OJ Porteria and Fil-Belgian Jeffrey Christiaens will join the team in Japan along with veterans Jason de Jong and Manny Ott.

First choice goal keeper Roland Mueller and Carle de Murga will follow the team in Indonesia, where the football matches will start on Nov. 3, a week ahead of the opening ceremony.

Azkals jump eight places in FIFA world rankings

ROY MOORE, GMA News

The Philippine Azkals jumped eight places based on the latest FIFA world rankings released on Wednesday.

The Azkals, behind a 4-0 win over Nepal in a friendly last week and their surprising second-place finish in the 2011 Long Teng Cup, climbed from 166th to 158th in the world.

The Azkals showed great improvement as they went unbeaten in the 2011 Long Teng Cup and ended their season with a pair of friendly matches—a 2-0 loss to Singapore and a victory against Nepal, which dropped nine places to 144th.

FIFA rankings take into account the previous four years of international football; taking 20 percent of a side’s points in 2008, 30 from 2009, 50 from 2010 and 100 in 2011 to calculate its total score to compare against other nations.

Based on the above formula, the Philippines now have 127 points as the Azkals jump past teams such as Mongolia, whom they have beaten 3-2 on aggregate to qualify for the Challenge Cup Qualifying Group Stage; Palestine, whom they held to a scoreless draw in that stage; as well as nations such as India, the Maldives and Nicaragua.

The Michael Weiss-mentored squad also placed 29th in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), just behind two-time Long Teng Cup champion Hong Kong, a team that they held to a 3-3 draw in the 2011 tournament.

The Azkals are also the most improved footballing nation in the world based on the latest football ELO ratings, FIFA ranking’s competitor.

Spain retains its number one spot in the world winning all eight of their Euro 2012 qualifying games to qualify for the main tournament next year.

As the reigning Euro Cup and World Cup champions they continue to dominate other countries through their possession play and famed tiki-taka brand of football, which uses quick, short passes to break down the defensive line with movement and pace.

The Philippines have been adopting some aspects of this style in recent games, showing good movement off the ball and shorter passes in contrast with their previous long-ball strategy and defensive “parking the bus" style.

The Netherlands and Germany occupy second and third place while Uruguay and Brazil completing the top five. Unsurprisingly, the top 10 nations are still all from either South America or Europe.

Greece, surprisingly after suffering from severe economic problems, has made the top 10 this time at eighth in the world. It seems that this archipelago still continues to punch above its weight in the football world, something the Philippines will hope to rival in the future.

Bermuda was the top gainer climbing 57 spots from 187th to 132nd. Cyprus, Moldova and Bolivia share the less honorable prize for the worst movers as all three nations dropped 34 four places down the rankings.

It is rare for teams to climb or drop so many places and so the Azkals are hoping to be consistent going into next year’s Challenge Cup and Suzuki Cup. With a good showing throughout they can be expected to keep climbing the rankings and begin to earn a place as not only one of South East Asia’s elite but rivaling the Asian powerhouses.

This year may be over for the Senior team but the Azkals Under-23 team will be in action in the SEA Games, from November 3.

The Philippines is drawn in Group B alongside Vietnam, Laos, Brunei, Timor Leste and Myanmar.

Confident of being able to compete well, their stiffest tests will come against Vietnam and Myanmar.

If the Philippines can repeat their heroics last year, however, when they beat Vietnam 1-0 in the 2010 Suzuki Cup and even improve on their 1-1 draw with Myanmar, who hosted the Challenge Cup’s group stages, the team has a great shot at winning a medal.

Cebu battles Global

By Mike T. Limpag - Suns Star Cebu

AFTER a one-week delay, the Cebu Queen City United will finally make their UFL Cup debut against defending champion Global FC in Manila today.

Cebu Queen City was supposed to play Pachanga last week but the game was cancelled and coach Mario Ceniza said though they were disappointed with the cancellation, the delay has helped the team a bit.

“Nakatabang gamay ang extra week na training,” said Ceniza, who formed the team in less than a month as Cebu was the last entry to sign up for the UFL, the country’s premier football competition.

However, Ceniza said they weren’t able to play a tuneup game the past week because of the lack of quality opposition, as the college teams are busy with their Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. campaign.

“Conditioning-wise, the players are OK as seen during the trainings and drills, but I really can’t say for sure because match fitness is different,” said Ceniza.

Ceniza, the coaching staff and players left for Manila yesterday afternoon for their game today. The Cebu Queen City players are Frederick Alazas, Alex Buanghog, Niño Zapanta, Dave Gerali, Jan Michael Flores, Ronald Mahilum, Julius Acre, Rocky Garciano, Mitsuo Tsunakiri, Junard Aguilar, Rommel Cuizon, Jack Reston, Christian Delan, Martin Bontia, Rene Menchavez and Marion Cubelo.

It’s the same problem for Graeme Mackinnon, the new Global coach, who has to deal with injury issues.

Mackinnon said he will put defender Jerry Barbaso in midfield to cover for the injured Remi Sery, one of the goal scorers in Global’s 3-2 loss to the Stallions.

“Right now, our bench is very shallow. (Remi) wasn’t able to finish the practice last Thursday because of his injury,” Mackinnon said.

Filipino Spanish player Angel Aldeguer also won’t suit up owing to the injury he picked up in the Azkals’ friendly against Singapore, and Mackinnon is planning to field the striker in their game against Pachanga.

The weather in Manila has also foiled the team’s practice and Mackinnon said they had to play seven-a-side football in a basketball court during their last session.

Mackinnon said he expects a tough game today.

“They (the players) know they have to redeem themselves after last week’s game. They have to get together,” Mackinnon said. “But we are not taking Cebu lately. We are expecting a tough match.”

“If you get complacent, it will come back to bite you,” he said.

The Stallions lead Group C with three points with a win, while Global, Cebu and Pachanga have yet to score a win.

In yesterday’s game, Phil Younghusband led the Loyola Meralco Sparks to a 15-1 rout of Socceroos, while Nate Burkey had a hat trick in Kaya FC’s 3-2 win over Diliman.

Azkals prepare U-23 team for SEA Games medal bid

By Olmin Leyba (The Philippine Star)

MANILA, Philippines - With the Azkals’ 2011 campaign already done with, the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) shifts its resources to preparing the under-23 team for its medal quest in the 26th Southeast Asian Games, which blasts off in less than three weeks in Indonesia.

From the Azkals, coach Michael Weiss goes full-time to honing up and calling the shots for the Phl U-23 side, hoping the mix of Fil-foreign and homegrown booters will make great strides from a training camp in Gotemba, Japan next week.

“There’s really no time to rest. We have to resume training with more intensity (for the Under-23),” said Weiss, who inserted some mainstays of the U-23 team to the seniors crew (Azkals) that placed second in the recent Long Teng Cup in Chinese-Taipei.

“With the national (seniors) team having the Long Teng Cup, the under-23 is a little bit behind. Hopefully, we can catch up in the Japan camp,” he said.

The Under-23 side will be in Gotemba, Japan from Oct. 23-31, to train in the same facilities where the Azkals held camp last March in the buildup for their AFC Challenge Cup playoff match with Mongolia.

Weiss said they are arranging tuneup matches with strong Japanese university teams to prepare his wards for the SEA Games in Indonesia, where football’s schedule was moved to Nov. 3 from its original Nov. 7 kickoff.

Three recruits based abroad, Fil-Spanish Carli de Murga, Fil-German Roland Muller and Fil-Belgian Jeffrey Christiaens, are still uncertain to join the Japan camp, according to team coordinator Jojie Ronda, but have given their commitment to play in the SEAG.

From Japan, the team will return to Manila on Oct. 31 then leave for Jakarta the following day.

Fil-Dutch Azkal Jason de Jong, Fil-German Manuel Ott, Neckson Leonora, Raymark Fernandez, David Basa and Joshua Beloya are among the other mainstays of the team.

“I think we can field an interesting squad to the SEA Games,” said Weiss. “We hope we can connect very well together in Japan in camp and go from there to Indonesia.”

Azkals most improved in the world based on ELO

ROY MOORE, GMA News

The latest football ELO ratings show that the Philippines is the most improved country in the world this year. Jumping 22 places from 201st to 179th in the world, the Azkals have increased their rating by 170 points, more than any other nation.

ELO ratings are considered by footballing enthusiasts to be often more reliable than FIFA rankings. Devised by a chess grandmaster the ELO ratings take into account the quality of the opposition as teams get more points for a win over a tougher team.

Teams can even earn points if they lose against a team ranked much higher than them, such as when Kuwait beat the Philippines 2-1 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. The Philippines gained three points despite the loss because they were expected to lose by a much heavier scoreline against Kuwait, who are ranked 61st in the world.

Most successful year

Philippine football, this year, experienced one of its most successful years in decades. The Azkals have made remarkable progress this year, making history on several occasions.

The Philippines' campaign began at the end of 2010 when they reached the semifinals of the Suzuki Cup. The Azkals beat Vietnam and drew with Singapore in the group stages to clinch a Final Four berth.

After the controversy of having to play their home leg of the semi finals in Indonesia rather than in the Philippines, the Azkals still managed to use that experience as a platform to improve more than any other country in the world.

Challenge Cup

The Philippines (166) had to beat Mongolia (163), a team rated higher in the FIFA rankings, in the qualifiers in order to clinch a berth in the Group stages of the Challenge Cup.

The Azkals defeated Mongolia, 2-0, in the first leg in Bacolod before dropping a 3-2 decision in an away match in Ulan Bator. The Philippines won 3-2 on aggregate to qualify.

After qualifying for the first group stage, the Philippines drew to hosts Burma and eventual group winners Palestine, needing to beat Bangladesh in the final game of the group to reach the final stage.

The Azkals dominated Bangladesh, 3-0, to show how well they could play even though they had little time to work together and build the right communication. Unbeaten in the group stage they now go to the final stage in March 2012 looking to play and get a result against such highly-ranked teams as North Korea (121), Tajikistan (124) and Turkmenistan (141).

World Cup Qualification

The Azkals then focused their attention to the World Cup Qualification. With no realistic chance of making the 2014 finals, the goal was to get as far as possible, given the Philippines had never even won a match in a World Cup Qualification before. That statistic was broken in emphatic style as after a disappointing first leg against Sri Lanka, a 1-1 draw in Colombo, the Azkals tore apart their opponents' defense to win 4-0 in the second leg.

The Philippines were drawn against Kuwait in the second round. A powerhouse of Asian football, they are the most successful team ever in the Gulf Cup of Nations and the reigning champions since 2010. Ranked 99th in the world by FIFA they are even higher in ELO rankings, rated at 61st in the world according to probably the more accurate ratings.

The Philippines, therefore, were expected to lose massively to them and after a 3-0 loss in the first leg they led 1-0 going into the second half, eventually losing 2-1, and 5-1 on aggregate.

That may have ended the Azkals' World Cup Qualification campaign but they certainly grew in popularity from then on. Moreover fans began to realize that losing a game of football didn't mean the team were bad, they were just playing against another country who is much better rated.

The most important factor in progress is the rate at which a team learns and improves; officially the Philippines are now second to none in that regard.

Long Teng Cup and friendlies

Following the World Cup Qualification the Philippines competed in the Long Teng Cup in Taiwan. Like in the Challenge Cup they first drew Hong Kong (156) and hosts Taiwan (172) and came out in the final game with a 2-0 win over Macau (191) to remain unbeaten since joining last year's tournament.

Not quite reaching the same heights as previously they still showed some potential and it was Chieffy Caligdong who stole the show finishing top scorer with four goals in three games to clinch the Golden Boot Award. Ian Araneta was the 2010 Golden Boot awardee.

The team had no time to rest, though, as they headed straight to Singapore (136) for a friendly. Losing 2-0, Singapore got their revenge from the stunning 1-1 draw which helped knocked Singapore out in the group stages of the AFC Suzuki Cup. Ranked 30 places above them in the FIFA rankings, the Azkals didn't really get going in the game and only had one good chance to score throughout 90 minutes.

However, just four days later they were playing at home against Nepal (135), who are ranked one place higher than Singapore and will also be participating in the final stage of the 2012 Challenge Cup in March

In front of the Philippine fans at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, the Azkals destroyed Nepal, 4-0, capping the year by showing their true potential. The cliff-hanger, however, will be how much better can the team be once Stephan Schrock and Angel Guirado return after injuries had kept them both out of the games against Singapore and Nepal.

A P-League

Always evolving, the team have seen players who grew up in Denmark, Iceland, Germany, Holland, Belgium, the United States and other nations join the ranks of the Azkals. Most promising, however, is how these players are now filtering into the UFL with Jason Sabio, Nate Burkey and Lexton Moy joining Kaya; Angel Guirado joining Global; and the Younghusband brothers joining the Hartmann siblings at Loyola.

With TV investment the domestic league is growing more professional and this will help local talent develop to supply the National team a host of players.

With talk of stadiums and growing infrastructure to support the demand coming from the growing number of football fans, the Philippines could soon see the UFL become the Philippines' P-League, to compare with Singapore's S-League, the J-League of Japan or the Vietnam's V-League.

Next for the Azkals

The future looks bright for the Azkals, who still have a lot of room for improvement. With manager Dan Palami and coach Michael Weiss always looking to help the squad develop they may very well keep climbing the rankings and be the most improved nation in 2012.

The next competitive international games for the Azkals will be the Challenge Cup in March.

Split into two groups of four teams the Challenge Cup will provide great competition for the Philippines to build on this success. Until then, the Under 23s will be competing in the Southeast Asian Games starting November 3.

The Under-23 squad will include the likes of recent additions Jeff Christiaens, goalkeeper Roland Müller and Jinggoy Valmayor, who recently scored the first hat-trick of the UFL Cup, alongside regulars Simon Greatwich, Jason De Jong and Manny Ott.

The Azkals continue to get better and with the right domestic infrastructure and experience for younger players they can only keep progressing. For the senior players, international football may have ended for 2011 but they've gone straight back into action in the UFL Cup.

With free entrance at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, fans can see their favorite Azkals alongside the up and coming youth players as Philippine football looks better than ever.

Full cast of Azkals topbill last match for 2011

By MAV C. GONZALES, GMA News

It’s 30 minutes before the Azkals-Nepal friendly kickoff but unlike the previous matches, the Rizal Memorial Stadium was not teeming with fans clad in blue. You could tell that the ones present belonged to one of these three groups of people: family and friends, football diehards, or fangirls and fangays.

It’s 30 minutes before the Azkals-Nepal friendly kickoff but unlike the previous matches, the Rizal Memorial Stadium was not teeming with fans clad in blue. You could tell that the ones present belonged to one of these three groups of people: family and friends, football diehards, or fangirls and fangays.


Golden Boot winner Chieffy Caligdong may not have scored during the match, but he still remains the crowd favorite.
This was the first time in 14 years that the Philippines would be hosting an international friendly – which follows to say that we are now getting reestablished in the world football arena. The Fil-foreign players in the squad traveled halfway around the globe just to participate in this match.

Although composed of younger players, Nepal is ranked 135th in the world. The Philippines trails behind at 166. This was a battle not just for FIFA ranking, but for pride as well. Nobody likes to lose, especially in his home field. In the case of Nepal, they wouldn’t like to lose to a lower ranked team.

But with the lineup and home crowd advantage, the Azkals whipped the Nepalese, 4-0, on Tuesday night.

Full force

Thanks to international breaks, members of the Azkals who play in different leagues abroad were able to come home for this friendly. Half-Europeans Neil Etheridge, Rob Gier, Ray Jonsson, Jason De Jong, Jerry Lucena, Dennis Cagara and Paul Mulders were all present.

And then you have crowd favorite Chieffy Caligdong who has his own cheer from the Kaholeros. Fellow Ilonggo Ian Araneta also got to start again after so many matches. Skipper Aly Borromeo and Younghusband brothers were also there to complete the first eleven.

New talents also emerged as 22-year-old Matthew Hartmann made his first international goal at the 89th mark.

However, a couple of regulars did not suit up in Tuesday’s match. Fil-Spanish striker Angel Guirado, although currently based in Manila, did not see action due to an injured ankle. Anton Del Rosario also sat out because of an MCL injury three weeks ago.

While talent is unquestionable in this pool – you have veteran Gier coming off the bench – chemistry has always been the bigger concern. With more games together, the team is now playing with more fluidity. In fact, the no-look passes and crossovers are finally happening now.

Pinoy Double Dutch

Fil-Dutch Paul Mulders and Jason De Jong were the pair to beat in the midfield.

Famous, or infamous, as the Azkals’ bad boy, De Jong is there for his toughness. His footwork and timely tackles intimidated the younger Nepal squad. It’s probably partly due to his tattoo-covered arms too.

Mulders, on the other hand, returned to the Azkals after a leg injury. The crowd at the grandstand could not help but cheer and clap in awe as he brushed off three Nepalese players on his own. He wasn’t in the UEFA Europa League for nothing.

Most hardworking player of the night

This award is a tossup between James Younghusband and Dennis Cagara. Both guys were running from baseline to baseline with the older Younghusband even scoring a goal in the 29th minute. Although not a super quick winger, he makes up for it with his hard work.

Cagara also helped a lot in setting up the plays. His bicycle kick in an attempt to save the ball would’ve been even more impressive if it hadn’t gone out of bounds. All the same, he wowed the Filipino crowd that does not usually see fancy football footwork.

Defense, defense, defense

This may not be basketball but the defenders of the Philippines deserve credit for holding up a sturdy backline.

Someone from the crowd went as far as to joke that goalkeeper Neil Etheridge must have been bored during the match because Nepal had but one decent attempt at the goal.

“Everybody remembers your last game"

This may not be a tournament or a World Cup qualifier, but Coach Michael Weiss believes that the win would still dispel doubters.

“Everybody remembers your last game so it’s good that we won this last one," said Phil Younghusband who scored two of the team’s goals.

The senior Azkals would see action again in March 2012 when they compete in the AFC Challenge Cup. Training would resume in January.

Given the three-month break, Weiss is expecting players to maintain high-level training in their respective clubs. He adds that the United Football League would provide the Azkals an avenue to continue training and playing with the best talents in the country.

Even with the 4-0 win, Weiss says that there are indeed still points for improvement.

“It’s good that we are getting to know each other better. But we still need better organization in set plays," he says.

The younger Younghusband agrees with him, saying, “We can only get better."

PHL Azkals show class in 4-0 blanking of Nepal

ROY MOORE - GMA NEWS

The Philippines came out to silence any doubters at the Rizal Memorial Stadium and with a brace
from Phil Younghusband, a goal from his brother James and a first international goal for fellow Filipino-British Matthew Hartmann the Azkals went on dominate Nepal 4-0. The Younghusband brothers particularly were the driving force behind the team as they beat a Nepal side who have been rather erratic in their performances this year.

Phil Younghusband opened the scoring when he was played through on the 17th minute to slot past Kiran Kumar Limbu in the Nepalese goal. At the half-hour mark his brother James got in on the action in the 30th by shooting from just outside the area into the top corner to double the Azkals' lead at halftime.

Phil Younghusband, receiving a pass from a Dennis Cagara corner, doubled his tally in the second half before Matthew Hartmann capped off an outstanding display with his first international goal.

First half

Despite facing a team ranked 31 places above them in Nepal (135), the Philippines (166) pressured the Nepalese keeper, who spilled crosses twice, early on.

Chieffy Caligdong uncharacteristically missed an easy scoring opportunity firing over with the goalkeeper sprawled on the ground. That didn't matter too much though as Phil Younghusband put the Philippines in front when he was set through on goal. At first it seemed he had taken the ball too wide but the goalkeeper kept moving and was very poorly positioned allowing the new Loyola Meralco Sparks forward to slot past the keeper's outstretched foot.

James Younghusband then added a second in the 28th minute as he picked up the ball on the edge of the area, shimmied past his defender and fired into the top corner.

Ian Araneta had a chance to make it 3-0 as Caligdong's low cross evaded the Nepalese defense but the Air Force striker couldn't quite get on the end of it with his slide.

Second half

Coach Michael Weiss, seeing that the Philippines dominated the first half, decided to bring in Nate Burkey to replace Araneta. But it was Phil Younghusband who again scored the next goal 10 minutes into the half.

Cagara fired in from a corner, which the striker controlled before putting the ball past the diving Limbu in the 55th minute.

Three goals up the Azkals didn't stop pressing the higher-ranked side and collectively began showing the quality we have seen glimpses of in previous games.

Nepal only threatened once in the second half, forcing Neil Etheridge into a tipped save in the 61st minute and Phil Younghusband almost had a hat-trick when he burst through on the right wing seven minutes later but his shot attempt was wide.

Jerry Lucena was then stretchered off shortly after and replaced by Hartmann, Chieffy Caligdong was rested giving Misagh Bahadoran a chance to show his skill before Jason De Jong came in for Lexton Moy.

Immediately Bahadoran made an impact, breaking on the left and cutting inside to shoot into the far corner, forcing Limbu in goal into a fine acrobatic fingertip save, though it was Hartmann who scored the fourth when Cagara burst through down the left wing, passed inside to Phil Younghusband who teed it up for the substitute to fire with pin-point precision into the top corner to score his first goal for the Philippines.

The dominating victory caps a grueling recent schedule for the Azkals, who bounced back from their 2-0 loss to Singapore in another friendly match.

After the game, Nepal's English coach Graham Roberts refused to make any excuses. "I've never been ashamed of my team before but I was ashamed at the first half."

Roberts said his team was "absolutely abysmal" as Nepal have not played competitively for three months.

He praised the Azkals' performance and even singled out Phil Younghusband as the difference, noting that his defenders are very good players but the Loyola Agila forward simply "tore them apart."

Phil Younghusband dedicated his performance to his mother, who died last month. Humble in the press conference, he commended his teammates who supplied him with the passes that allowed him to score twice and lead the Philippines to a one-sided victory.