That article elicited a lot of heat and criticism in filipinofootball blogspot especially in regards to Quinito Henson's ignorance of international football. Here are some samples(sorry about the language):
Anonymous said...
"A former national football coach said recently the practice of importing Fil-foreigners for short-term duty must be rationalized because in the long run, it could be detrimental."
- It's so obvious that the unnamed coach is Juan Cutillas! He's said something very similar before. He's a waste really. He would've been a very respectable coach but some of that respect has gone out the window with this bull he keeps repeating.
"Enlist five or six to fil-fors..."
- Bull! This is the national team. You need to pick the best players available. If all the best players half Filipinos, so be it, they should get picked.
"We should build the team around 14 to 15 locals who stay in the country."
- This is tied in with the above. Would these potential 14-15 players be of international standard and be better than any potential foreign born Filipino? For the most part the answer is no. More BS!
"The Fil-foreigners should also live in the country and play in local leagues."
-Putangina is all I have to say about this!! Right off the bat, what league?!?!? There is none! Let alone a league where one can they can make a good living off of. Even if there was one, it won't be as competitive or prestigious as playing a more competitive and recognized league in a different country abroad. On the same time, why would they choose to live in the Philippines when they clearly have a better life and better living conditions where they are?!? Be it England, Germany or wherever else.
" They should show the fans their spirit of patriotism."
- So them playing for the country isn't patriotic enough? It's not like they were forced to play for the Philippines! Again off!
I could go on and on but it's wasting my time! These foreign born players for the most part are better than the locals and yet it's all of a sudden their fault. Blame the PFF for its incompetency for not being able to develop the local game all these years... decades even! Like I said, it's obvious it's Juan Cutillas who's saying these things, so for him, STFU! But if it's not... still STFU!
March 19, 2011 6:23 PM
Anonymous said...
AMEN to the above!
I wholeheartedly agree that local talent must be developed and nurtured...but if any of our homegrown talents have an opportunity to develop their skills in foreign leagues, should we begrudge them for looking to improve their game?
Playing for a local club doesn't make a player more "Pinoy" than another; the logic just isn't there.
The argument that players need to be playing in the same country is ludicrous. Look at Argentina and Brazil as prime examples. Their players are spread all over clubs around the globe. How about England? Their players play almost exclusively in the Barclay's EPL; where's their "chemistry?"
- The point is, unless the NT is based on a regime like North Korea, all nations' squads are going to be 'scrambling' for chemistry...any chemistry they have will be formed over YEARS over a core squad, with older players being replaced by younger players, and the cycle continues.
P.S. - On a personal note, while I honor differing opinions and healthy debate as much as the next person, this "Former National Football Coach's" thought pattern is mind-boggling. Our NT should be comprised of the BEST Filipinos at our disposal; be they local/foreign. Playing local players only because of their availability/"patriotism" is stupid. I can't even sense a motive...political? Whatever. Anyway, "Former National Football Coach" just blew my mind with his ignorance.
cjeagle said...
Yeah sounds like comments that Juan Cutillas has said before. National teams the world over deal with issues like this all the time. And full Filipino players given a chance to play abroad will also act the same way as their foreign based counterparts irregardless of patriotic fervor or whatever. We can't blame them for staying with their clubs if their clubs refuses to release them and we can't blame the clubs who are paying their salaries if they need to keep them for games, when it is not considered a FIFA mandated international break. Some of the things he said just doesn't make sense.
March 19, 2011 9:39 PM
Anonymous said...
Agree with most of the sentiments here. Quinito Henson doesn't know what he is talking about. Someone mentioned it quite correctly, clubs are not mandated by FIFA to release players for minor competitions. So we have to deal with that challenge as best we can.
Secondly, almost all the top national NTs have their players playing all over the globe. Even during FIFA sanctioned qualifiers, a NT coach usually has his players for 3 days at most. Only during the World Cup or Regional Cups (Euro cup, Copa America, etc) do they get a few weeks with their players but that is because it is off-season for most of the leagues.
Thirdly, it is quite stupid to rely on a core of local based players if we have no decent and competitive local league available for them play. They won't be up to standard, no matter their chemistry. That's why a club coach is much different as a NT coach. The world over, a NT coach has to put together a number of players in a short time and expect to perform as a team, fluid and in sync. That's why you see NT coaches going all over the leagues watching potential players to see not only if they're good enough but also whose playing styles will fit with the other players he has in mind.
It is a long process and this is growing pains. But one cannot deny the advantage of having foreign based players plying their trade in top clubs. What we need to do is make the local league competitive to have enough of our players get noticed by the top clubs and given a chance to play professionally. This is where the Africans and South Americans have benefited a lot. They have top clubs instead of their FA spending resources developing their players, making them better and improving their fitness levels. When time to suit up for their country, they just call them in with all those players very much willing to play for the flag and country.
We're still a long way from that, but at the moment I believe along with the others here that the current leadership know what they are doing.
GO AZKALS!!!