Phil refused to sign for MLS' LA Galaxy
Monday, 19 May 2008 GITAGUM, MISAMIS OR. - When we were covering the Asian Challenge Cup elimination tournament for Pinoysoccer.com recently, we had a chance of sitting down with the Younghusband brothers Phil and James.
The meeting was made possible through their pretty manager Joyce Ramirez of PR Asia.
I arranged the meeting with Joyce mainly just to straighten things up and to simple have a small talk with the country's hottest footballers.
You see we had a misunderstanding with PR Asia last year when they announced that Phil was signing with David Beckham's team.
Just like every Filipino football fans we were very excited but then as a veteran journalist I had to confirm if the story was true or not.
So I decided to write a letter to the Galaxy PR department asking if the story was true. Galaxy confirmed that Phil was training with the team but denied that they have signed him.
I wrote a story about the incident and made some harsh comments. I got some negative reactions from Phil's fans and PR Asia.
A week after, I wrote to the Galaxy again and this time Galaxy confirmed that Phil had stopped training with them and had gone back to England. Again, I wrote a story and added some harsh comments.
But since I really did not know what really happened in the negotiations and what was the real story behind Phil's LA Galaxy adventure, I decided to track him down and get the real story.
I did not know that Phil's camp and even Chelsea had read my articles and were offended.
I went to see Phil play for the Chelsea reserve in Richmond South of London and wanted to get an interview. Instead I was met by his Chelsea reserve manager and blasted me for the things that I have written.
He gave me a mouthful but the most significant statement from his mouth that I could remember was "Phil is a good boy and as a Filipino you should support him", he said. But my response was classic. "So what do you think I am doing here,'' I wanted to add more but he turned his back and went to the Chelsea dugout.
Well, I wanted to tell him that of the thousands of Filipino journalists in the world I was the only one present during that time to witness Phil play. I wanted to tell him that I travelled by train and bus for two hours and I did not deserve that crap.
That was almost one year ago. Had I met Phil and done an interview there could have been no need for this piece anymore. But then again, they always say better late than never.
LA STORY
So what really happened in LA? During that time, Phil said, Chelsea wanted him to go on loan to LA Galaxy for a year to gain more experience and possibly to work with David Beckham.
But LA did not want a loan but instead offered him a three-year contract. Phil was of course excited to work in LA and possibly play first team football.
Phil has been with Chelsea for years but has been languishing in the reserves for sometime. To play first team football with a team as big as the LA Galaxy was exciting for him. Plus he knew about the large Filipino community in California and chance to play for LA would boast not only his football career but also the image of Philippine football.
But the most shocking news that Phil got during the negotiation of his contract was the amount LA offered on the table. Phil was offered $15,000 in his first year, $20,000 in the second and $25,000 in the third year. Those were not monthly salaries but annual salaries.
Of course who would not be insulted by such a small offer. It was slap on his face. Phil has not made a name for himself yet in England but giving him a salary that little is an insult to the extreme. I get a lot more than that working in England as a nursing assistant at the North Middlesex University Hospital in North London.
So, Phil refused to sign on the dotted line. He ended up being loaned to a Danish club but later on suffered a hamstring injury. He returned to Chelsea for rehab and then early this year was loaned to a Championship diivison team where he also did not stay long.
He came back to Chelsea and saw action in few of their reserve matches including one where he played along former European scoring king Andri Shevchenko.
Phil was later named to play for the RP national team in the ACC elimination tournament with his brother James. The RP team finished the tournament with two wins and one draw and with a clean sheet. They however failed to qualify with a lower goal difference compared to rival Tajikistan.
Phil's contract with Chelsea will expire by June this year and he is thinking of taking a rest from football and staying in the Philippines for the meantime. However, going back to Chelsea next season is very tempting.
A lot of Chelsea's current stars like forward Didier Drogba, Shevchenko plus manger Grant might be on their way out. There might be a new manager next season and Phil's chance of getting into the first team is very positive.
Chelsea want to sign him again, but only Phil could really decide what is the best for him. GOD BLESS