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.
