Azkals (Philippine futbol's poster boys)

[blow_gobi]

Aha, I just realized that Lo Teng Cup has a marketing value after all because of the support the Filipino-Chinese community gives to Philippine football.

 

I heard this story that in the '80s, the Fil-Chi's offered to help financially in exchange for some of their kind playing for the national team, but this was rejected by the PFF. In the years that followed up to the 90's, PH football was in the pits, losing double-digits in Asian tournaments, for lack of support.

 

 

to those who are glad the azkals lost, or those who think they are overrated, etc.....

 

 

what's the reason for the hatred or antipathy?

 

Frankly, I ignore this kind of comments because apparently they either do not know football or have no idea of the personal sacrifices involved in promoting a sport (not just football, because nothing will happen if you just rely on the government for support) or both, so they add nothing to the discussion.

 

Besides, they're presence could only mean that the sport has indeed gained popularity. They're sniping and badmouthing also helps strengthen the fan base as fans tend to be defensive and close ranks when their idols are attacked.

Edited August 1, 2011 by blow_gobi

[silentkilla]

Can't we assemble a team of players that grew up in the Philippines, even if they are not pure pinoys?

 

this is my sentiment as well.

[jopoc]

this is my sentiment as well.

 

 

before the azkals were assembled, that is what we have been doing. and we never get past 1st round of the WC qualifiers.

[pinoywritingfool]

Can't we assemble a team of players that grew up in the Philippines, even if they are not pure pinoys?

The Younghusbands, Gier, Schrock, Mulders etc... aren't better because they're Fil-foreigners...they're better because they were trained better.

 

Take two kids of similar football talent and skill levels. Train one kid in Germany, England or Brazil. Train the other in Sri Lanka, Bermuda or Barbados. Who do you think will grow up to be the better football player?

 

Again, it is not blood that makes the difference. It is training. Proper training, cutting edge philosophies, out of the box strategies...these are what we need. And those are what other countries have.

 

We are not importing theses Azkals (and even then, I still love Marcus Douthit. The same way I loved Dennis Steele, Jeff Moore and Chip Engellund). They are Filipinos, with Filipino blood.

 

And they want to play for this country. Our country.

[blow_gobi]

We can pick up a handful of talents from the UFL. The coaching staff is already considering this. Unfortunately, most of the outstanding UFL players are non-citizens.

 

At any rate, the Azkals management is already recruiting very young homegrown players for the U-23 Southeast Asian Games, notably a goalkeeper from DLSU and a talented player from UP (not UV as I posted earlier). But they're also bringing in a Fil-Belgian teen to boost the team. The management said members of the U-23 will be the core of the next generation Azkals men's team.

Edited August 1, 2011 by blow_gobi

[blow_gobi]

I must admit, though, that bringing in Fil-foreigners playing abroad gives the team a big boost considering that these guys are already exposed to very competitive, high quality of play, and where kids at a very young age naturally breathe football. Korea, Japan, etc. heeded the call to allow their best homegrown players to play in Europe to further improve their skills, and the team also improved. We don't have to do this lengthy process anymore because Fil-foreigners are already playing in Europe. The local players also benefit with their presence.

 

The problem, however, is these players tend to give priority to the calendar of their mother clubs if there are conflicts in schedule, but this is also the problem of Latin American and other countries with their stars playing in the world's top football clubs elsewhere.

 

Maybe a 50:50 mix would be ideal. But we should already subject the pure-bred Filipinos to intense training and more international exposure.

Edited August 1, 2011 by blow_gobi

[pinoywritingfool]

Some excerpts from a Bill Velasco column on the Fil-foreign Azkals.

 

“I don’t understand when people ask us how ‘Filipino’ we feel,” explains Gier, who is expecting his first child in five weeks. “The blood that runs through us runs through our “homegrown” teammates. Just because we were born in another place or grew up in a different country doesn’t make us less Filipino. We feel Filipino every second of our lives.”

 

“I didn’t even know the Philippines had a national team, to be honest,” admits United Football League All-Star Nate Burkey, who is now based in the Philippines and headed in the lone goal against Sri Lanka. “But when I heard about it, I wanted to play, no question. It was a good chance to follow my roots.”

 

“It was an unbelievable feeling (against Kuwait) for the fans to be supporting us because of football, not because we were famous, or good-looking or anything,” Gier declares. “The goal against Singapore was my proudest moment as a footballer. But that was eclipsed when Schrocky (Stephan Schrock) scored that goal against Kuwait, for us to be going into the half up 1-nil – and we deserved to be up 1-nil – against a team that is ranked 70 places higher than us in the world is a tremendous achievement.”

[kanski]

i saw these men stand straight and proud, singing (or at least trying to sing, but by the looks of it, they know the words) the national anthem before their recent game against kuwait. that was all i needed to see that they are proud to be pinoys.

[Vegasboy32]

dude we are at #156 in football... pero consider naman there are more than 200 countries that are a member of FIFA. so our ranking is compared against 200 plus countries that are 100 times more fanatical than us. we still have a long way to go in terms of moving up the rankings ladder... we need to win more matches, play more friendlies and win them, train, start our own domestic league to improve the local boys. mas ok kung maging successful tayo sa world cup qualifiers coming up. mataas ang ranking points na makukuha dyan so dapat win the 2 games vs sri lanka, and pray for a fair result againt kuwait dahil mabigat na kalaban yan.

 

basketball naman #56 nga tayo sa buong mundo, pero out of 75 countries lang. so there is a huge difference. matagal na din tayong nagbabasketball at di pa rin tayo nakaabot ng olympics at FIBA world. kakahiya ata yan considering that patay na patay tayo sa basketball and all we gotta show for it is #56 in the rankings, zero NBA player to represent us, and constant whooping in international qualifiers.

 

unfortunately football does not appeal to the masses. bat mas maraming basketball court sa atin kesa football field. and nakikita ko lang hassle sa football e ing playing venue. saan ka maglalaro nyan pupunta ka pang schools na may football field para lang maglaro. nothing against the azkals but i hope they don't just become a fad that after 2 to 3 years laos na sill at nawala na and fan following nila. you have to consider that height is no longer a factor in international competition look at teams like Argentina and Greece. they don't have tall players but they have beaten the US in several games in the past. At the same time the no.1 sport in their country is football. you don't need someone from the NBA to support or philippine basketball team. the problem here is the training method. if we are gonna train our players the right way then we could get back as one of the top teams in asia. same thing with the azkals. with proper training this team could advance and improve their ranking.

Edited August 1, 2011 by Vegasboy32

[Edmond_Dantes]

I find it pointless to question the "Filipino-ness" of the Azkals. I know a lot of pure-blooded, homegrown Pinoys who hate everything about the Philippines...but they call themselves Filipinos anyway.

 

I do however question the Azkals fan' base. If you're gay or female and you're an Azkals fan, your motivation is already suspect.

[utouto]

unfortunately football does not appeal to the masses. bat mas maraming basketball court sa atin kesa football field. and nakikita ko lang hassle sa football e ing playing venue. saan ka maglalaro nyan pupunta ka pang schools na may football field para lang maglaro.

 

you can still play pick up games anywhere just like basketball. you can even play football on the beach.

 

nothing against the azkals but i hope they don't just become a fad that after 2 to 3 years laos na sill at nawala na and fan following nila. you have to consider that height is no longer a factor in international competition look at teams like Argentina and Greece. they don't have tall players but they have beaten the US in several games in the past.

 

i dont see how you can conclude that Argentina and Greece don't have tall players when more than half of both teams are at least 6'7". i would even hazard a guess that both teams' average height was higher than the average height of the US teams they had beaten.

 

At the same time the no.1 sport in their country is football. you don't need someone from the NBA to support or philippine basketball team. the problem here is the training method. if we are gonna train our players the right way then we could get back as one of the top teams in asia. same thing with the azkals. with proper training this team could advance and improve their ranking.

 

yep, proper training and good competition.

Edited August 1, 2011 by utouto

[blow_gobi]

Correction lang, because I confused the Lo Teng Cup with another 4-nation invitationals which I mentioned in a much earlier post.

 

The Lo Teng Cup will be held in Chinese Taipeh, not in the Philippines.

 

It will be the planned invitational tournament that will be hosted by the Philippines. This will be a great tournament should this happen (talagang patok!), with Singapore and Malaysia joining, together with either Thailand or Vietnam. It will be a good tune-up for Singapore and perhaps Thailand, which advanced to the 3rd round of the World Cup qualifiers, and for the Philippines, which is preparing for the AFC Challenge Cup. FIFA points here would be higher than Lo Teng, as the 3 teams (except the Philippines) are ranked better than #150. But the PFF first wants to make sure it fits into the FIFA schedule, so European clubs will allow the Azkal team members to play in this tournament.

[pinoywritingfool]

I find it pointless to question the "Filipino-ness" of the Azkals. I know a lot of pure-blooded, homegrown Pinoys who hate everything about the Philippines...but they call themselves Filipinos anyway.

 

I do however question the Azkals fan' base. If you're gay or female and you're an Azkals fan, your motivation is already suspect.

Not gay? Check.

Not female? Check.

Azkals fan? Check.

 

Yay! I'm not a suspect!

[pinoywritingfool]

Dan Palami is said to be going on a 2week scouting trip in Europe. he will be looking at other Filipino prospects, including a Filipino goalkeeper who plays in the French league.

 

That's good news, I think, because if Neil Etheridge gets sick or can't play, at least the talent and skill level at goal won't go down by a lot.

Edited August 2, 2011 by pinoywritingfool

[blow_gobi]

Mukhang hindi yata nila kayang kunin si Areola (French but with both Filipino parents), hindi ibibigay ng French national team because he's already playing with a first division club and it is being predicted that he will be France's #1 goalkeeper in a few years time. He'll probably play for the French team in the World Cup.

 

Para ding yung Fil-Nigerian striker na si David Alava, he'll most likely play for the Austrian national team.

Edited August 2, 2011 by blow_gobi