Azkals Take Risky Route to U Bator

By Abac Cordero (The Philippine Star)

MANILA, Philippines – The resilient Azkals took the risk as they left the training facility in Gotemba, Japan yesterday morning just to catch their evening flight to Ulan Bator, Mongolia via Beijing.

The Azkals arrived safely at the Narita International Airport after taking a bullet train. They boarded the Air China flight to Beijing past 8 p.m.

They were scheduled to arrive in Beijing at 11:30 p.m., with very little time, 40 minutes to be exact, to catch the flight to Ulan Bator at 12:10 a.m.

“(We’re) at the (Narita) boarding gate. Been traveling nine hours and not even on the plane. (We) carried boxes around Japan literally by foot,” said Phil Younghusband on his Twitter.

The Azkals hooked up with teammate Jason Sabio who had been at the Narita Airport since Friday’s earthquake.

Simon Greatwich, who also came in from the United States, but on a different flight, ended up in Incheon, South Korea, and was on his way to Ulan Bator last night.

The earthquake that struck the northeastern coast of Japan the other day left the Azkals, in Gotemba since Monday, in a tight situation as they prepared for Tuesday’s match.

As of Friday evening, there was no certainty if the Azkals would be able to fly out of Japan which was struck by the seventh strongest earthquake in history.

Team officials feared that if the Azkals left Gotemba for Tokyo by bus, and travel around 170 kms, they might get stuck somewhere along the way.

And it was very hard to guess what might happen considering all the damage caused by the earthquake that left hundreds dead, with continuing threats of a tsunami and aftershocks.

Tokyo was a gridlock as of midnight of Friday, with traffic at a standstill, and an ordinary one-hour drive took at least five times longer.

The situation left football president Nonong Araneta and Azkals team manager Dan Palami, who were in Manila, in a quandary.

They thought of pushing for a cancellation of the March 15 match with the Mongolians, and push it back to a couple of days until things normalize in Japan.

But amid all these, the Azkals kept their supporters updated via Twitter, assuring everyone that they are all safe in Gotemba, which is far off the coastlines of Japan.

Araneta and Palami moved their flights to Ulan Bator via Incheon, South Korea from yesterday noon to tomorrow, meaning they will get there on the eve of the match.

But the Azkals, fortunately, did manage to get out of Gotemba, and safely to the Narita Airport on their way out to Ulan Bator.

“The Japanese Football Association did everything they could to make sure the team gets to the airport safely,” said Araneta.

Greatwich joked on his Twitter account that Sabio “has been stuck at the airport for so long he’s starting to look like Robin Williams in Jumanji.”

Del Rosario said the Narita Airport “looked like a hotel and the floor are the beds.”

Speaking of Sabio, Del Rosario said in jest, “He’s right next to me in one piece but he stinks.”

Sabio replied, “Anton is right. I smell. I smell like roses and butterflies.”

The Azkals will play the Mongolians in Ulan Bator at around 1 p.m. Tuesday, under freezing weather conditions, and would rely on their Columbia thermal outwear to fight it off.

The Azkals defeated the Mongolians at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City, 2-0, last Feb. 9, and now the hosts need to win by a margin of at least three goals to boot the Azkals out.