Post by Usapang Football on Aug 27, 2010 13:03:53 GMT 8
archives.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/villaflor-azkals-need-all-luck-world
THE Philippine men’s national football team has got heart. What it doesn’t have is luck.
The team has had the insufferable misfortune of being under an inept leadership, courtesy of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF), which lately has been changing coaches like underwear.
"The Manny Pacquiao Blog". Click here for stories and updates on the Filipino boxing champ.
So naturally, the Azkals foray into tournaments away from home soil half the team it’s supposed to be.
And in the field, it is as luckless, of the kind that keeps them from winning games or advancing in tournaments.
In its second game in the AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers last Thursday, luck played on skipper Ali Borromeo, the hero turned goat.
He scored the opener against hosts Maldives with a beautiful header, but moments later was unceremoniously shown the red card, after bringing a player down and giving away a penalty.
Borromeo was a hero in the first 10 minutes, then a goat in the 23rd. That’s a span of 13 minutes. The superstitious would be gloating, but the Azkals fan bleeds for Ali.
For more than two-thirds of the game, the Philippines played with only 10 men, and the hosts, the tiniest country in Asia, exploited this weakness to the hilt, scoring two more goals before conceding a late goal.
Yet following their 3-2 win, the Maldives coach, in a report posted on the country’s football website, said he considered the Philippines as the most organized team in the tournament.
“One good thing we see today is we hold the opponents even when we were one man down. I think that’s a good thing from our team,” said Philippines coach Aries Caslib after the game.
The Azkals, along with its coaching staff, get the worst treatment from its feudal lords in the PFF yet reward the country with a performance even the most cold-blooded of pundits can be proud of, no matter if it’s a losing one.
In the last minute of the game against the Maldives, the Azkals didn’t relent, as Fil-Brit Chad Gould produced a header that could prove crucial when it comes down to goal differences. (Gould, whose mother Anne hails from Boljoon, Cebu, earlier
scored the winner against Bhutan, and has now netted six goals for the national team.)
Getting their heads together despite being 10 men down and scoring an important goal in the process have unraveled much about the Azkals’ character. If that’s not called heart, I don’t know what it is.
Following Thursday’s loss, the Philippines remains second in the standings, three points behind Turkmenistan with six. The Maldives also has three points but squirms in third place owing to a lone goal difference. Pointless Bhutan is at the bottom of the heap.
Today, the Azkals fight for dear life in the qualifiers against Turkmenistan, ranked 157th according to Fifa. (The Maldives is 158th in the world, four rungs above the Philippines.)
To qualify, the Azkals must beat Turkmenistan and hope the Maldives doesn’t flood the Bhutan net with goals.
But it is an uphill battle. Not only did Turkmenistan dump Bhutan, 7-0, and humble the hosts, 3-1, the Central Asians have pedigree and the experience at a higher level, having shot up to 98 in the Fifa world rankings just five years ago.
Turkmenistan might have fallen from its lofty rankings, but judging from its performance in this tournament, the team is out to prove that they belong to a different class.
And that’s a dangerous impediment facing coach Caslib and his crew, who must exceed past performances and play a perfect game today to advance to the next round.
As for us mere fans, we can only implore: May luck show up on our side, even just this once.
THE Philippine men’s national football team has got heart. What it doesn’t have is luck.
The team has had the insufferable misfortune of being under an inept leadership, courtesy of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF), which lately has been changing coaches like underwear.
"The Manny Pacquiao Blog". Click here for stories and updates on the Filipino boxing champ.
So naturally, the Azkals foray into tournaments away from home soil half the team it’s supposed to be.
And in the field, it is as luckless, of the kind that keeps them from winning games or advancing in tournaments.
In its second game in the AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers last Thursday, luck played on skipper Ali Borromeo, the hero turned goat.
He scored the opener against hosts Maldives with a beautiful header, but moments later was unceremoniously shown the red card, after bringing a player down and giving away a penalty.
Borromeo was a hero in the first 10 minutes, then a goat in the 23rd. That’s a span of 13 minutes. The superstitious would be gloating, but the Azkals fan bleeds for Ali.
For more than two-thirds of the game, the Philippines played with only 10 men, and the hosts, the tiniest country in Asia, exploited this weakness to the hilt, scoring two more goals before conceding a late goal.
Yet following their 3-2 win, the Maldives coach, in a report posted on the country’s football website, said he considered the Philippines as the most organized team in the tournament.
“One good thing we see today is we hold the opponents even when we were one man down. I think that’s a good thing from our team,” said Philippines coach Aries Caslib after the game.
The Azkals, along with its coaching staff, get the worst treatment from its feudal lords in the PFF yet reward the country with a performance even the most cold-blooded of pundits can be proud of, no matter if it’s a losing one.
In the last minute of the game against the Maldives, the Azkals didn’t relent, as Fil-Brit Chad Gould produced a header that could prove crucial when it comes down to goal differences. (Gould, whose mother Anne hails from Boljoon, Cebu, earlier
scored the winner against Bhutan, and has now netted six goals for the national team.)
Getting their heads together despite being 10 men down and scoring an important goal in the process have unraveled much about the Azkals’ character. If that’s not called heart, I don’t know what it is.
Following Thursday’s loss, the Philippines remains second in the standings, three points behind Turkmenistan with six. The Maldives also has three points but squirms in third place owing to a lone goal difference. Pointless Bhutan is at the bottom of the heap.
Today, the Azkals fight for dear life in the qualifiers against Turkmenistan, ranked 157th according to Fifa. (The Maldives is 158th in the world, four rungs above the Philippines.)
To qualify, the Azkals must beat Turkmenistan and hope the Maldives doesn’t flood the Bhutan net with goals.
But it is an uphill battle. Not only did Turkmenistan dump Bhutan, 7-0, and humble the hosts, 3-1, the Central Asians have pedigree and the experience at a higher level, having shot up to 98 in the Fifa world rankings just five years ago.
Turkmenistan might have fallen from its lofty rankings, but judging from its performance in this tournament, the team is out to prove that they belong to a different class.
And that’s a dangerous impediment facing coach Caslib and his crew, who must exceed past performances and play a perfect game today to advance to the next round.
As for us mere fans, we can only implore: May luck show up on our side, even just this once.