MANILA, Philippines - Philippine national football team skipper Aly Borromeo said yesterday the Azkals won’t rest on their laurels and vowed to intensify the quest for respectability in Asia, riding on the momentum created by qualifying for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup finals and reaching the second round of the World Cup Asia eliminations for the first time in the country’s history.
Borromeo, 28, said the Azkals won’t reunite until they compete in the Long Teng Cup in Kaohsiung on Sept. 28-Oct. 6. Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president Mariano Araneta said the team playing in Kaohsiung will be a mix of senior and under-23 players gearing for the Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia in November. Meanwhile, the Azkals have gone their different ways. Borromeo, for instance, will take a two-week vacation in Australia up to the end of the month before rejoining the Kaya club which is now coached by Juan Cutillas and recently recruited Azkals Jason Sabio and Nate Burkey.
Reflecting on the second leg of the recent Kuwait series, Borromeo said the Azkals never considered playing defensively after taking a 1-0 lead at the half because they were determined to overhaul the 0-3 carryover deficit from the first encounter. There was speculation the Azkals, playing at home, would only try to preserve the 1-0 edge and content themselves with a win regardless of the aggregate tally. Cortal, a major sponsor, promised P1 Million for each goal on condition the Azkals beat Kuwait and P500,000 for each goal if the Azkals lost.
Borromeo said when Kuwait’s Fahed Al Ebrahim was ejected in the 58th minute, the Azkals felt it was time to strike harder. “We were up, 1-0, and they were down to 10 men,” recalled Borromeo. “We went on the attack. Then, they scored on a 35-yard kick, something we never expected. Neil (Etheridge) would’ve stopped a shot like that 98 percent of the time. We thought they would try to come closer to the goal and our defense was ready. But that’s where you saw their edge in experience. The ball went up and took a dip over Neil to enter the goal. We couldn’t believe it at first.”
Kuwait’s equalizer came only three minutes after Al Ebrahim’s ejection on a red card. Still, the Azkals fought on but couldn’t get a break. In the 85th minute, Waheed Jumah delivered the marginal goal on a mad scramble inside the penalty area.
“Rob (Gier) and I covered our men as they entered the strike zone,” said Borromeo. “Unfortunately, the ball struck Rob and was deflected to the flank where Kuwait suddenly got a 3-on-1 advantage, forcing Neil to rush out. They kicked the ball towards the goal with Neil out of position. Rob recovered to kick the ball but it was too late to stop it from going in.”
Borromeo said the biggest lesson the Azkals learned from the Kuwait series was the importance of composure. “We learned it doesn’t pay to rush things,” he said. “Kuwait had all options covered. They knew which flanks to attack and which flanks to defend. They saw we marked their best player No. 17 (Bader Al Mutwa) so to counter it, they used him as decoy to throw us off. We weren’t bothered by the flashy play of No. 7 (Fahad Al Enezi). We see that from a lot of good players like Ronaldo. They don’t mean to make fun of the defense. They just want to distract you, to create a situation where you’re going one way and they’re going the other. We never adjusted on the pitch, we lacked tactics. Rob and I were often left protecting the midfield so Stephan (Shrock) could be more aggressive in offense but our defense never adjusted to cover the gap. They were a superior team so we had to be more prepared than them. Still, we played better than we ever did.”
Facing superior teams will go a long way in raising the Azkals’ level of play. In Kuwait, the local league employs foreign stars who go overseas to extend their earning capacity in the twilight of their careers and homegrown players improve just by playing against them.
Borromeo welcomed the opportunity of locking horns with teams that are ranked higher than the Azkals by FIFA. That’s the reason why the PFF is inviting Nepal, ranked No. 136, to play the Azkals, ranked No. 162, in an exhibition here on Oct. 6. Nepal will host the AFC Challenge Cup finals in March and the Philippines is one of eight contenders.
Another positive development with the Azkals is how they come together to fight as a unit. “Before each match, we meet on our own and figure out what to do,” he said. “Out there on the pitch, we have no contact with our coaching staff so we just rely on each other. Coach (Michael) Weiss is a good motivator and does his job preparing us off the pitch. He keeps everyone in the loop and that’s important because many of our players come and go.”
Borromeo said he’s inspired and encouraged by the surge of interest in football. “I think the local league will get stronger,” he said. “There are foreigners applying to play. TV networks are bidding to air the matches. Football games from abroad used to be shown on TV as fillers now they’re being followed by fans. We don’t want to lose the momentum.”
Borromeo and teammate Anton del Rosario conducted tryouts for Fil-Ams in San Francisco last April. They picked four prospects out of 37 who showed up. Burkey, O. J. Porteria and James Rochlitz were among the survivors. Borromeo said the team is always on the lookout for more talents to beef up the roster. A player in the radar is 14-year-old Matthew Custodio, a prolific Fil-British striker from La Salle Greenhills.
Sports patron and businessman Jack Rodriguez said he’s convinced that the country’s top sports brand today is the Azkals. “It’s phenomenal what the Azkals have done for football in the Philippines,” said Rodriguez. “When I used to play goalkeeper for La Salle in the 1960s, I remember there were more cockroaches, mice and bumble bees in the stands than fans. I never thought I’d live to see the day when the stadium would be packed for football. The Azkals have brought passion back into the game.”
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