MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Azkals will still have to rely on Filipino-foreign players to be competitive against teams from football-crazy countries.
Azkals team manager Dan Palami said the Filipino squad will still have to depend on these players while football remains in its infant stage in the Philippines.
“At this time, since there is yet to be a grassroots development program to be implemented by the [Philippine Football] Federation, we really have to rely on our Fil-foreigners. That has been a proven formula,” he said.
The Philippine Azkals, who made it into the 2010 Suzuki Cup semis, will be playing against Mongolia in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup this February.
The Philippine football squad that competed in the recent Suzuki Cup is composed of full-blooded Filipino players and Fil-foreign booters.
Among the Fil-foreign players in that line up were goalie Neil Etheridge and strikers Phil and James Younghusband.
Next month, 6 Fil-foreigners will be coming to the Philippines to try out for the team.
They are:
•· Patrick Herget
•· Patrick Hinrichsen
•· William Guerridon
•· Oliver Potschke
•· Jason Abot Sabio
•· Jerry Lucena
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Those people want to try out with the Azkals just now? It kinda makes me wonder what their intentions are.
ReplyDeleteIt also makes me worry if people like Ian Araneta, Chieffy Caligdong, Yanti Barsales, and Roel Gener will be displaced.
Like what Etheridge said on an interview in Youtube, you don't really have to change the team any more. If you think about it, a team of normal players that has played together longer will be better than one full of star players who have just recently met.
maybe they will meet each other to know each other better for future! who say chieffy will be out and others in? let them come and to show if they are good enough.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - Hence the term "tryout."
ReplyDeleteNothing is guaranteed for anyone trying out for the Azkals. And I certainly hope, no current Azkal player is guaranteed a spot on the team whether he's full-blooded or part Filipino.
For our team to continue improving its overall talent level and world rankings, it has to assemble the best athletes that also play cohesively. Our objective is to challenge for a spot in the World Cup, which means we cannot deny the opportunity for anybody wanting to be a part of our national team as long as they meet the citizenship requirements.