Philippines[R]

Arsenal could look to sign France Under-21 goalkeeper Alphonse Areola from Paris Saint-Germain this summer, [football] direct news understands.

The Gunners are set to lose backup keeper Lukasz Fabianski on a free transfer at the end of the season, and Arsene Wenger could look to raid his native France for a promising young player to replace the Poland international.

Areola, 20, is currently on loan from PSG at Ligue 2 side Lens, and has impressed greatly with his displays this season, prompting talk that he could be ready to compete for the number one spot at his parent club next year.

Much will depend on what PSG do in the transfer market in the summer, but Arsenal sense that the player could be available for the right price.

"Arsene keeps a close eye on French football and Areola is a player I know he rates highly," a source close to the club revealed.

"If PSG are ready to sell him or loan him next season, I'm sure Arsenal will be in there trying to get him."

http://www.footballdirectnews.com/p...eep-tabs-on-young-psg-keeper.php#.Ux4CVs6wXjK

Napoli could rival Arsenal for the signing of Paris Saint-Germain youngster Alphonse Areola, [football] direct news understands.

The Italian side are facing the prospect of losing their current number one Pepe Reina in the summer, as the on-loan Spaniard is expected to return to parent club Liverpool before likely completing a switch to Barcelona.

This has seen manager Rafael Benitez keep an eye out for new players between the posts, with the likes of Stoke City's Asmir Begovic and Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois mentioned as possible targets in recent months.

However, Napoli now look set to join the hunt for promising young shot-stopper Areola, 21, who is currently out on loan from PSG at Ligue 2 side Lens.

The French Under-21 international has impressed, and may be in contention for the number one spot at the Parc des Princes next season, unless the Ligue 1 champions continue their policy of bringing in big-name signings, which may see the player made available again.

Arsenal are known to be keen on Areola, though a club insider has now revealed that Napoli are stepping up their interest in bringing him to Serie A.

http://www.footballdirectnews.com/premier-league-news/42199-napoli-join-chase-for-arsenal-target.php#.Ux4DDM6wXjI

 

Of the 3 new players that impressed during the past 2 friendlies against Malaysia and Azerbaijan(Simone Rota, Martin Steuble and Patrick Deyto) to be added to the national team pool, 2 of them(Rota and Deyto) were actually born in the Philippines. Steuble is Fil Swiss but Deyto and Rota are entirely Filipino by blood, with Rota born in Paranaque City, Philippines but adopted by Italian parents and Deyto born and raised in the Philippines.

Rota, who played solid at right back, learned his craft in Italy, mostly with Italian clubs in Serie C and later in the Div 2 level in Switzerland. He was selected to be a member of the U-20 Lega Pro, which is considered the B team of the Italian national under-20 football team. He prefers to play right back but can play centerback and midfielder as well(his height is 5'10"). He now currently plays for Stallion FC in the UFL.

Deyto(appox. 6' in height) who solidified his standing as alternate to European trained goalies Etheridge and Muller during the past 2 friendlies, is entirely homegrown and will probably carry the colors at tournaments like the Suzuki Cup which are not scheduled on FIFA match dates.

 

hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2014/02/21/three-facts-about-arsenal-target-alphonse-areola/

The Daily Mail are reporting the Gunners' interest in the youngster who, at just 20 years of age, would certainly represent one for the future as understudy to No.1 Wojciech Szczesny.

Here are just a few notable facts about the man who could solve a prospective crisis between the posts at the Emirates Stadium...

1) Under-20 World Cup winner

Areola was one of the stars of the show for the France U20 side and was particularly instrumental in the final for the national team, saving two penalties in a shootout against Uruguay which clinched the French a maiden title at this level.

The young talent also made two stunning saves in normal time to deny the Uruguayans as his stock began to rise off the back of an impressive tournament.

2) From the finishing school of Henry et al

Areola is a graduate of the famed Clairefontaine academy, where the likes of Gunners legend Thierry Henry, another former player in William Gallas and well-travelled Premier League striker Louis Saha, to name just a few, all began to hone their skills.

The 20-year-old spent a year at the Paris-based complex having been spotted playing for lowly outfit Petits Anges before signing professional terms with PSG in July 2009.

3) One of Ligue 2's finest

Areola has used last summer's international triumph as a springboard for his club career, which has truly taken off this year while on loan at Lens.

The Paris-born shot-stopper has kept eight clean sheets in 23 games this season, working out at 0.35 clean sheets per match and has conceded just 20 goals.

Lens, in total, have let in 27, so can it be considered mere coincidence that deputy Rudy Riou's only start this season resulted in a 6-2 defeat at Le Havre?

 

http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/laliga/id/1556?cc=4716

Feature about Paulino Alcantara Riestra on ESPN FC.

 

I am watching Barcelona live right now playing Osasuna. Messi just scored his 369th goal a few minutes ago, tying Alcantara's record for the most goals in FC Barcelona history.

Messi is not only close to breaking Alcantara's record at Barcelona but also Raul Gonzales record as the the top goalscorer in the history of the Champions League at 71. He has 67.

www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/detail/article/paulino-alcantara-and-raul-gonzalez-next-leo-messi-objectives

 

Image honoring Messi for equalling Filipino legend Alcantara's record in today's game against Osasuna:



Update:

Messi has now scored his 2nd game of the game, for a total of 370 goals breaking Alcantara's record.



Messi ends the game with one more goal for a hat trick.

 

Paulino held Barcelona’s scoring record for over 87 years, scoring 369 goals in 357 official and friendly matches.

Alcántara made his debut for Barcelona at the age of 15 and remains the youngest player to play or score for the club and the first Asian and Filipino to play for a European club.

Upon retiring in 1927 at the age of 31, become a medical physician, while also managing the national teams of Catalunya, Spain and the Philippines.

Messi made his debut at a similar age and despite being one of the most prolific scorers in European football history, it still took the diminutive Argentine 95 more appearances to break Paulino’s long-standing record.

Messi, who as just 26 years of age, will continue scoring for many years to come and in all likelihood, hold the record for another 100 years.

http://www.insidespanishfootball.co...-the-highest-goalscorer-in-barcelona-history/

 

Alcantara still has a better goal per game record than Messi.

 

Messi is a fantastic professional player, but he still has to prove he can be a great player in international football as well, esp. in the World Cup, without his Barcelona teammates and their system of play. Alcantara( just like Pele and Maradona) dominated in international football, for Catalan, the Philippines and Spain with different teammates, even at a very young age. Only if Messi dominates in the World Cup can you compare him to all time greats like Pele and Maradona.

 

Photo: Messi puts on Paulino Alcantara's jersey
Messi puts on shirt used in the time of Barcelona’s previous topscorer Paulino Alcantara after beating his record in the last game against Osasuna!

 

Dooley's evaluation of the team in an interview and his review of the previous 2 friendlies:



He said that Azerbaijan had to change their game when they found out that the Philippines can play. That is why Azerbaijan adopted the counterattacking style in the second half when most of the play was in the Azerbaijan side of the field.

 

As is mentioned in the video, Alcantara's priorities even while playing for Barcelona, was his medical studies. He could have played more games and continued his football career making it even harder for Messi to match his record today, but he gave that all up and later on his career, ocassionally skipping games for the club, because he wanted to become a doctor. He also spent 2 years away from Spain to continue his medical studies, in the Philippines even though he continued having success playing football by winning the Philippine national league championship twice and playing for the Philippine national football team.

In the video they named him the greatest ever player from Asia.

 

Dissecting Paulino - Barça’s first and the Philippines’ last goalscoring machine

By Gustavo Gutiérrez-Mercado

He is, alongside Hidetoshi Nakata and Ji-Sung Park, one of the finest footballers the Far East has given to the world. Chronicles of that time describe him as a skilful forward; thin, but strong-legged. Paulino Alcántara, product of the marriage between a Spanish soldier and a Filipina, was born in Iloilo City, the Philippines, on 1896; two years prior to the independence of the archipelago from Spain and subsequent occupation by the U.S.

Although registers from the era don’t give away a precise date, Alcántara moved to Barcelona alongside his family at the beginning of the 20th century; being that same city where he started and ended his footballing career. But what’s so remarkable about him?

He still is FC Barcelona’s all-time top goalscorer: 369 goals in 357 matches. And you may ask: isn’t Messi their top scorer? Yes, he is Barcelona’s most prolific scorer in official matches (340 goals up to the date this article is published), and he may well shatter Alcántara’s record this season. Nevertheless, we shouldn’t scorn Paulino’s achievement, mainly because during his time friendly matches were the rule while official competitions were the exception.

Alcántara also holds the record of being the youngest player in history to start an official match for the ‘blaugranes’ and for any club in Spain: 15 years, 4 months and 18 days old. If that isn’t enough, Paulino was the first and original ‘romperedes’ (net-breaker); nickname given to him after breaking the net with a fiery strike during a friendly match in Bordeaux against the French national team. Long story short, Alcántara was Barcelona’s first superstar, and one of the first in Spanish and world football.

When he arrived into the Catalan capital, he was just a kid. His family were fleeing the turmoil from the Filipino independence and U.S. occupation brought along. Paulino began playing for an amateur team – called FC Galeno. That squad, formed mainly by health workers, was the first step in the Spanish-Filipino wonderkind’s footballing career. He joined the team after a physician whom he assisted (Paulino’s first formal job) discovered the precision and power he gave to every shot. This way, Paulino started becoming the conversation topic in every football pitch throughout the city.

In Belle Époque Barcelona news spread swiftly, which was how Joan Gamper, FC Barcelona’s founding father and coach, heard about the promising Asian youngster. Gamper attended a FC Galeno match to watch the prodigy in action. The rumours were true after all.

Impressed by Alcántara’s skills, Gamper approached him with a contract. Paulino didn’t think it twice and signed right away. That same weekend, the Filipino striker made his debut with Barça. The match was for the Campionat de Catalunya (the Catalan Championship) against Català SC. Barcelona won 9-0 with a hat-trick from the new signing. Gamper had, indeed, an eye for success

Alcántara played for Barcelona from 1912 to 1916 and from 1918 to 1927. Alongside other greats like Romà Forns, Francisco Bru and Jack Greenwell - and coached by Mr. Gamper - the blaugranes won one Copa del Rey and two Campionats de Catalunya.

However, in 1916 the Alcántara family decided to move back to Manila. Paulino asked Mr. Gamper if he could return to his homeland, to what the Swiss chairman answered positively under one condition: if he ever returned to Spain, he had to play for Barcelona. Alcántara agreed and moved back to the archipelago. In Manila, he represented his local club Bohemian FC, where he won two Filipino Championships.

During his stint at home, Alcántara wore the colours of the Filipino national team that attended the 1917 Far Eastern Games in Tokyo. An inspired Paulino beat Japan 15-2; being that match the Philippines’ biggest victory in its history. The team of “the thousand islands” - led undoubtedly by Alcántara - reached the final against a Chinese side that was everything but Chinese, since most players were European expats living in Shanghai, Canton and Hong Kong.

The referee ended the match before the final whistle, mainly because of the aggressive and unfair play the Filipinos were allegedly committed against the “Chinese” side. The Philippines’ silver medal in that tournament is the only piece of silverware the country has achieved in football. Alcántara also represented the unofficial Catalan national team and Spain. We have to remember that during those times there was no limit to the amount of national teams a player could represent.

Alcántara returned in 1918 to Barcelona, thanks to a letter from the Barça board asking him to come back. Curiously but to no surprise, during Alcántara’s two year absence, the club didn’t lift a single trophy. Back in the Mediterranean city, Paulino also resumed his medicine studies at Barcelona University. He wanted to be a physician after his footballing career and he genuinely had a passion for that field of study.

However, his studies didn’t affect his performances on the pitch. From 1918 to 1927, he was part of Barcelona’s first “Dream Team”. During those nine years, he played alongside other figures such as Emilio Sagi Liñan, Josep Samitier, Ricardo Zamora and Félix Sesúmaga; besides being coached by former teammate Jack Greenwell. Later on, Hungarian Jesza Poszony, Englishman Ralph Kirby, and Austrian Jack Dumby managed that same team.

Many players came and went through the dressing rooms of the Camp del Carrer Indústria and Les Corts – Barça’s first footballing grounds; but Paulino remained. Alcántara was still the man to follow on the pitch and their most skilful player. During his second stint, he won 4 Copas del Rey and 8 Catalan Championships. During Barça’s first epoch of domination, Alcántara shone with his own light. He missed the chance to play for Spain during the 1920 Antwerp Olympic Games, due to his final university exams. With Spain he made his debut in 1921 and his last games was in 1923. With La Roja he wasn’t much of a net-breaker: he only scored 6 times.

During a tour Barcelona made throughout the UK, one person described Paulino’s talents spot on. The responsible was Herbert Chapman, Arsenal’s manager extraordinaire, who defined Alcántara as “a ruthless striker, with gunpowder in his feet. He does things with the ball we haven’t seen over here.”

On July 5th, 1927, Alcántara retired from the sport. His testimonial match sided Barcelona against the Spanish National Team; playing a half for each side.

Alcántara had, after retirement, a life of lights and shadows. He dedicated himself to medicine, becaming a renowned urologist at a private clinic in Barcelona. He even was member of the directive board of FC Barcelona from 1931 to 1934. However, when the Spanish Civil War raged on, Alcántara, who sympathised with Franquist ideals, joined the corps during the conflict. He became Medical Lieutenant for Franco’s forces until 1940. In 1951, possibly as a form of gratitude from Franco for his services during the war, he became the manager of the Spanish national team. He managed the national side for 3 matches: one victory and two ties.

When he passed away in 1964, his coffin was carried by Barça’s legends Samitier and Zamora through some parts of the city. The blaugrana fandom mourned their first superstar who, ironically nowadays in politically charged Barcelonism, was a self-proclaimed fascist. Buried in the Les Corts cemetery, his grave still lays there. Forgotten.

Alongside boxer Manny Pacquiao, Paulino Alcántara is the most talented sportsman the Philippines has given to the world. There’s no question his ability was ahead of its time, as there’s no question that his political stance was quite debatable, especially looking at it in hindsight. He was a complex character that was able to please Franquists and Catalan Nationalists at the same time, in different fields.

Ironic? Paradigmatic? Treason? You decide.

This article is an AFR debut from Gustavo Gutiérrez-Mercado based in Mexico City. You can follow him on Twitter @elgustau. Comments below please.

afootballreport.com/post/79356457375/dissecting-paulino-barcas-first-and-the

 

In addition to the scheduled International “A” Friendly Matches against Nepal on 11 April 2014 in Doha, Qatar and Al Ahli Sports Club on 14 April 2014 also in Doha, Qatar, the Philippine Football Federation has announced a return International “A” Friendly Match against Malaysia which will be held on 27 April 2014 at the Cebu City Sports Complex, Cebu City. PFF is now submitting requisite documents to AFC and FIFA for official sanction of the return match.

Because this games will be held on non FIFA match dates, they will be relying mostly on Philippine based UFL players.

 

Listed roster for Nepal and Qatar club game in April almost entirely UFL based(as both games are not on FIFA match dates) except for Robert Gier and Martin Steuble. Veteran Sacapano and youngster O'Donnell are the goaltenders as Patrick Deyto who impressed in the last 2 friendlies is not available bec. of a family wedding. Charles Pettys and and Curt Dizon have been invited for their first callup in the absence of Porteria and Bahadoran who are both recovering from injuries. Otherwise lineup is similar to Malaysian game in March.

 

UFL 1st division standings 4/1

Pos Team Pld Pts
1 • Global FC 15 37
2 • Kaya F.C 16 33
3 • Loyola Meralco Sparks FC 16 33
4 • Stallion Fc 15 23
5 • Green Archers 15 20
6 • Pachanga Diliman FC 15 14
7 • Army FC GTI 14 14
8 • Team Socceroo 15 9
9 • Pasargad FC 13 4

 

Photo: Azkal Coach Thomas Dooley with assistant coaches Bruno Baltazar and Jorge Kuriyama(goalkeeping) in Qatar.


Bruno Baltazar from Portugal is new assistant coach for Philippines national team (Azkals)
He has previously been head coach for Portuguese second and third division club.

Kuriyama played 10 years in Liga MX, the Mexican professional league, most notably a four-year stint with Mexico Cruz Azul. He has coached in Japan for six years. Last year, he assisted with the development of players of the under 23-year old national team of the Republic of the Philippines.

 

I'll be in the Philippines around Manila during the first week of May. Any good matches to catch during that time? Or any other recommendations of just good stuff to do in the area?

 

Hey Thai,

There were some games initially scheduled for our top tier league, the United Football League, during the first week of May at Emperador Stadium:

http://ufl.ph/fixtures-results/

but because the national team(players will be released 2 weeks prior to the tournament) will be preparing for the AFC Challenge Cup which will be held from May 19-31, there will be some possible changes made to this schedule. As mentioned in this announcement, they will give an updated schedule soon after April 22, so please check back then.

http://ufl.ph/change-in-schedule/

The teams to watch are Global, Loyola, Stallions and Kaya. Here are the current standings:

http://ufl.ph/standings/

As for things to do in Manila, I haven't been there in quite some time, but I am sure there are plenty of things to do, whether you are interested in the arts(orchestras, musicals, concerts, etc.), or the night life. I think this is the site promoted by the Tourism Authority for helping you plan your trip:

http://itsmorefuninthephilippines.com/

 

Dooley is fielding a young and experimental lineup fielding mostly rookies and young players except in central defence:

Starting line-up v Nepal

GK: Nicholas O'Donnell

DF: Simone Rota, Rob Gier, Juan Guirado, Daisuke Sato

MF: James Younghusband, Christopher Greatwich, Martin Steuble, Curt Dizon

FW: Jason De Jong, Patrick Reichelt

link for the game right now:

http://tv.goalnepal.com/

One of the rookies(Dizon) just scored. 1-0 Philippines. The Philippines has most of the play and possession so far.

Steuble scored his first goal. 2-0 Philippines.

 

FT 3-0 Doctora scored final goal. 4 players had their first cap.

 

Great info, thanks