June 5, 2012
Rizal Memorial Football Stadium
Kickoff: 7:00 pm
The Philippine Azkals just came off a nil-nil draw against reigning Suzuki Cup Champions Malaysia. Prior to that, Loyola FC defeated Singapore's Geylang United in a friendly match in Singapore.
The team has come a long way since the first time that the general public and the media have taken notice about two years ago. Several roster changes have also taken place and we now find ourselves with a deeper bench than ever before. Our veterans are now backed-up by Fil-Foreign stars who come home now and again to play for the team.
A year and a half ago, we were unable to host Indonesia in a home game when we needed to play against them in a home-and away semi finals series in the Suzuki Cup. We lost that on two games both played in Indonesia where our team fought a valiant battle against a much more experienced team. Indonesian fans were outraged when they found that they were not in fact going to walk all over us. Although Indonesia has never lost to us in all of the 19 previous matches, They never had such a hard time winning either.
Some notable changes are the absence of Azkals defender Anton del Rosario from the current team. Various speculations have come about to explain his exclusion but he is definitely missed at the back. Thankfully, Jason Sabio has been able to fill in the gap with his superb throw ins which have resulted in some fabulous goals in recent games. Another defensive issue is the injury that has plagued Captain Aly Borromeo in the past months. Without the Kaya FC del Rosario-Borromeo tandem at the back, the Azkals defense has been unstable. Hopefully, with Aly starting to play again and the addition of Juani Guirado, the back line will get their groove back in future matches. Aly won't suit up for this match and will perhaps be the most missed. Hopefully, Coach Weiss will be able to find beter use of Calie de Murga who is currently in defense but plays much better as a midfielder for his club, Global FC in the UFL.
For the Fil-Foreigner bunch, Neil Etheridge who plays as second goal-keeper in Premiership team Fulham has so far been the biggest star. Roland Muller has been a worthy replacement for him whenever he is unable to come to the games. This elbows out some of the local keepers but having a guy who is signed to a premiership team in front of your goal has helped us keep a lot of better teams at bay on many occasions. Hopefully, we will be able to develop more homegrown talents to take over from them in the future.
In the midfield, one name makes a mark and that is Stephan Schrock. right from the get-go, Schrocky, as his mates call him, has shown that he is in a league of his own. He plays with the fast-paced aggressive style that German players are known for. Whenever he is with the Azkals, even his teammates admit that he makes a big impact./ Able to be at all places at once, he is able to change the tempo and dynamics of the entire game for the Azkals. He has just made the move to the first division in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim and at present is perhaps the most successful member of the current Azkals squad next to Etheridge. If he clocks in a few minutes next season, Etheridge's time on the Fulham bench will look quite pale compared to what Schrocky can potentially achieve.
Having a handful of Fil-Foreign stars doesn't make a team though. Local start Chieffy Caligdong has been consistently making his mark on the pitch and at the back of the net. Youngster Jason Beloya has made a big mark in the SEA Games and will hopefully be called up again in the future. Marwin ANgeles has also been able to make a mark by being adept in penetrating the defense with his agressive style and excellent ball handling skills. He's also one of the few players who seem to be confident enough to orchestrate and make attempts at the goal. The UFL has been getting bigger and hopefully in time, more young talents will emerge.
Indonesia is quite confident that they will be able to beat the Azkals in tomorrow's match. They have every right to be confident. They know that the Azkals players haven't trained with each other enough. However, they shouldn't underestimate the Philippine team. A big blow was dealt to the Azkals following the announcement of Schrock's absence due to a family emergency. The midfield is lacking in ball handling quality. it appears as though we are in for a hard time but this team has been known to pull a few surprises.
In a statement issued by the Indonesian team, their coach Nil Maizar said that the Azkals still lack a certain something to win against his team.
Quite frankly, that certain something does show itself once in a while but I must admit it is elusive in most occasions. With a team that needs more time to gel, this series of international friendlies might just be able coax out the magical x-factor that the team needs.
Indonesia is one of the most established teams in South East Asia and they have a very good national program to maintain the quality of their team. They are part of the world wide exhibitions tours of the world's best clubs such as Italy's Inter Milan. The Azkals are definitely the underdogs in this match like we usually are. That puts the odds against us but that does not make it impossible. We have defeated better teams than this.
Squad lists:
Philippines:
GK: Neil Etherdige, Roland Muller, Eduard Sacapano
Defenders: Jason Sabio, Rob Gier, Juani Guirado, Carlie de Murga, Bong-bong Dorlas, Jerry Lucena, Dennis Cagara
Midfielders: J. Younghusband, Misgh Bahadoran, Manny Ott, JAson de Jong, Patrick Reichelt, Paul Mulders, Marwin Angeles, Lexton Moy, Chieffy Caligdong, Jeffrey Christiaens, Angel Guirado
Strikers: P. Younghusband, Dennis Wolf, Ian Araneta
Indonesia:
GK: Markus Maulana, Endra Prasetya
Defenders: Hengky Ardilles, Novan Setia, Novendi, Whayu Wijiastanto, Hamdi, Abdul Rahman, Diego Michiels, Satrio Syam
Midfielders: Hendra Bayau, Jajang Paliama, Taufik, Oktavianus Maniani, Fendri Mofu
Strikers: Syamsul Arif, Patrick Wanggai, Irfan Bachdim, Titus Bonai, Greg Nwokolo, Yosua Pahabol
Rizal Memorial Football Stadium
Kickoff: 7:00 pm
The Philippine Azkals just came off a nil-nil draw against reigning Suzuki Cup Champions Malaysia. Prior to that, Loyola FC defeated Singapore's Geylang United in a friendly match in Singapore.
The team has come a long way since the first time that the general public and the media have taken notice about two years ago. Several roster changes have also taken place and we now find ourselves with a deeper bench than ever before. Our veterans are now backed-up by Fil-Foreign stars who come home now and again to play for the team.
A year and a half ago, we were unable to host Indonesia in a home game when we needed to play against them in a home-and away semi finals series in the Suzuki Cup. We lost that on two games both played in Indonesia where our team fought a valiant battle against a much more experienced team. Indonesian fans were outraged when they found that they were not in fact going to walk all over us. Although Indonesia has never lost to us in all of the 19 previous matches, They never had such a hard time winning either.
Some notable changes are the absence of Azkals defender Anton del Rosario from the current team. Various speculations have come about to explain his exclusion but he is definitely missed at the back. Thankfully, Jason Sabio has been able to fill in the gap with his superb throw ins which have resulted in some fabulous goals in recent games. Another defensive issue is the injury that has plagued Captain Aly Borromeo in the past months. Without the Kaya FC del Rosario-Borromeo tandem at the back, the Azkals defense has been unstable. Hopefully, with Aly starting to play again and the addition of Juani Guirado, the back line will get their groove back in future matches. Aly won't suit up for this match and will perhaps be the most missed. Hopefully, Coach Weiss will be able to find beter use of Calie de Murga who is currently in defense but plays much better as a midfielder for his club, Global FC in the UFL.
For the Fil-Foreigner bunch, Neil Etheridge who plays as second goal-keeper in Premiership team Fulham has so far been the biggest star. Roland Muller has been a worthy replacement for him whenever he is unable to come to the games. This elbows out some of the local keepers but having a guy who is signed to a premiership team in front of your goal has helped us keep a lot of better teams at bay on many occasions. Hopefully, we will be able to develop more homegrown talents to take over from them in the future.
In the midfield, one name makes a mark and that is Stephan Schrock. right from the get-go, Schrocky, as his mates call him, has shown that he is in a league of his own. He plays with the fast-paced aggressive style that German players are known for. Whenever he is with the Azkals, even his teammates admit that he makes a big impact./ Able to be at all places at once, he is able to change the tempo and dynamics of the entire game for the Azkals. He has just made the move to the first division in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim and at present is perhaps the most successful member of the current Azkals squad next to Etheridge. If he clocks in a few minutes next season, Etheridge's time on the Fulham bench will look quite pale compared to what Schrocky can potentially achieve.
Having a handful of Fil-Foreign stars doesn't make a team though. Local start Chieffy Caligdong has been consistently making his mark on the pitch and at the back of the net. Youngster Jason Beloya has made a big mark in the SEA Games and will hopefully be called up again in the future. Marwin ANgeles has also been able to make a mark by being adept in penetrating the defense with his agressive style and excellent ball handling skills. He's also one of the few players who seem to be confident enough to orchestrate and make attempts at the goal. The UFL has been getting bigger and hopefully in time, more young talents will emerge.
Indonesia is quite confident that they will be able to beat the Azkals in tomorrow's match. They have every right to be confident. They know that the Azkals players haven't trained with each other enough. However, they shouldn't underestimate the Philippine team. A big blow was dealt to the Azkals following the announcement of Schrock's absence due to a family emergency. The midfield is lacking in ball handling quality. it appears as though we are in for a hard time but this team has been known to pull a few surprises.
In a statement issued by the Indonesian team, their coach Nil Maizar said that the Azkals still lack a certain something to win against his team.
Quite frankly, that certain something does show itself once in a while but I must admit it is elusive in most occasions. With a team that needs more time to gel, this series of international friendlies might just be able coax out the magical x-factor that the team needs.
Indonesia is one of the most established teams in South East Asia and they have a very good national program to maintain the quality of their team. They are part of the world wide exhibitions tours of the world's best clubs such as Italy's Inter Milan. The Azkals are definitely the underdogs in this match like we usually are. That puts the odds against us but that does not make it impossible. We have defeated better teams than this.
Squad lists:
Philippines:
GK: Neil Etherdige, Roland Muller, Eduard Sacapano
Defenders: Jason Sabio, Rob Gier, Juani Guirado, Carlie de Murga, Bong-bong Dorlas, Jerry Lucena, Dennis Cagara
Midfielders: J. Younghusband, Misgh Bahadoran, Manny Ott, JAson de Jong, Patrick Reichelt, Paul Mulders, Marwin Angeles, Lexton Moy, Chieffy Caligdong, Jeffrey Christiaens, Angel Guirado
Strikers: P. Younghusband, Dennis Wolf, Ian Araneta
Indonesia:
GK: Markus Maulana, Endra Prasetya
Defenders: Hengky Ardilles, Novan Setia, Novendi, Whayu Wijiastanto, Hamdi, Abdul Rahman, Diego Michiels, Satrio Syam
Midfielders: Hendra Bayau, Jajang Paliama, Taufik, Oktavianus Maniani, Fendri Mofu
Strikers: Syamsul Arif, Patrick Wanggai, Irfan Bachdim, Titus Bonai, Greg Nwokolo, Yosua Pahabol
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