Philippines[R]

Thai League Football ‏@Thai_League
Chiang Rai Utd say signing of Philippines intl Paul Mulder from Dutch Eredivisie club ADO Den Haag on 2yr contract "90% done"
He is already listed on their Wikipedia website as being part of the roster.

 

Acc. to inquirer reporter Cedelf Tupas, the AFC has accepted UFL champion @GlobalFC_PHL into the AFC Presidents Cup competition this year(2013).

The entry of @GlobalFC_PHL marks the first time a club from Philippines has been accepted into the competition

This is good news for professional football in the Philippines as it provides more chances for our players to gain international experience and adds another competition for our growing fanbase to follow. The Singapore Cup experience allowed our league a chance to see where they stand vis a vis against other ASEAN clubs. This event takes it a step further by allowing our clubs to compete against teams outside ASEAN. Hoping they can surprise in this tournament just like they did in the Singapore Cup.

 

One of our national team players and Kaya FC mainstay Jason Sabio has left for the US to finish his law degree at the U of Alabama. This is a big loss to the Azkals, as he has developed into a reliable centerback for the team in a position where there is not much depth.

Fortunately, one of our national team players who was also supposed to leave for the US this year, left mid Chieffy Caligdong, has decided to stay and play in the UFL this season with the the Green Archers FC.

 

Not confirmed yet but the captain of the U-16 French national team, Neal Maupay apparently has Filipino heritage:

http://www.footballzz.com/jogador.php?id=286481&epoca_id=142

He already has 7 caps and 1 goal for the senior team of French Ligue 1 club OGC Nice and at 16 is the 2nd youngest goal scorer in French top league history. If his Filipino heritage is confirmed, he will be the 2nd French national youth team player after u18 starting goalkeeper and PSG 2nd choice keeper Alphonse Areola, to be eligible to play for the Philippines.

There is even rumors of AC Milan having interest in this kid.

http://martina22acm.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/milan-to-sign-nice-wunderkind-neal-maupay

 

As I have anticipated, the AFC has allowed the Philippine Football Fed to move the schedule of its Challenge Cup Qualifiers group match which it was hosting to FIFA match dates from March 22-26, which will allow the Philippines to call on all its European based players for the the qualifiers.

http://filipinofootball.blogspot.com/2013/01/afc-challenge-cup-qualifiers-in-march.html

 

Filipino Footballers Abroad (December 26-January 1)

http://soccercentralph.com/feature/pinoy-footballers-abroad-december-26-january-1

 

As part of its buildup for the AFC President's Cup, Global has tapped Scottish manager Brian Reid to handle the team starting this month.
The 42-year-old Reid is an experienced player with stints in the Scottish Premier League with Rangers, before managing Ayr United, which he helped secure to promotion to the first division during a five-year spell until last year.

inquirer.net

 

I remember Brian Reid as the Ayr manager who scouted now-Stallions player Jason de Jong last year and asked him to try out at the club before joining the national team for the AFC Challenge Cup. And Reid did told that due to financial reasons the club couldn't acquire De Jong as he was with Dordrecht then.

It's quite sad that Ayr United had to let go of Reid after it got relegated a season after they got promoted last year. I do hope now that with his stint with Global things will get better.

 

Apparently the Azkals turned down an opportunity to play Hungary in a friendly in Dubai in February.

http://sports.inquirer.net/80515/azkals-shun-friendly-with-crack-hungary

That would have been the first time they played a European team since the 1970's. It would have been a huge mismatch, so in retrospect probably the best decision for the team.

 

Philippines 0-1 Estonia - Nov. 1997

Same mentality of Antigua and Barbuda when they accepted to play them 2005...

 

Thanks, got my dates mixed up. Hungary would have probably have not fielded their best team, but would still beat the Azkals handily. It would be a nice match to see on another date, except they were considering this friendly as a way to prepare for the AFC Challenge Cup the following month. A less formidable but higher ranked team would be more appropriate I think.

 

Neal Maupay scores another goal for Nice against Metz in a Coupe de France game, which Nice won 3-2 on extra time.

 

I'd say this decision of Palami to deny the offer to play Hungary is bordering between ideal and pathetic. For one thing, wasn't this the same scenario they had when they were drawn to play Kuwait in the World Cup qualifiers? Aren't they suppose to gauge themselves on where they are now on the world stage, with all their Euro-trained players on hand? This invite alone is telling the Azkals that they are in the radar of the European nations now.

If they want to be one of the big dogs of the ASEAN region in the next two years, they must battle the big dogs outside Asia. Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia aren't afraid to go up against European opposition in years; why can't the Azkals who are just stepping up, but with good individuals at hand? Hungary can send their U21 players or their local players for all I care, but this is a wasted opportunity.

But well and good, maybe Palami thinks he just wants to the team to train and gain confidence before the Challenge Cup qualifiers, and not to get an inflated score against a European team. Maybe he is just being practical as of the moment. However, which nation team should he invite now? Most higher-ranked AFC teams will be competing at the Asian Cup qualifiers, other UEFA teams have already scheduled friendlies beforehand, so the only choices for them for now are CAF or CONCACAF teams, which could be difficult due to costs involved.

 

Actually I can see the logic in trying to match up against Ajerbaijan in this friendly as Palami indicated. Their strongest opponent in their group in the Challenge Cup is Turkmenistan. That is why they are trying to arrange a friendly against a Central Asian team which would approximate Turkmenistan's style of play. Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan would be good choices as well. As I said I don't mind playing a friendly against Hungary, just not at this time. Palami knows what he is doing stellarboy.

 

Azerbaijan has already scheduled a match with Liechtenstein as mentioned in the article earlier. Kazakhstan has a friendly with Moldova on the same date. Tajikistan already has plans to play UAE or Iran, but there's a slight possibility that they'll be convinced to play the Philippines. As of this time, though, chances are slim for them to play a senior Asian team.

Their last resort IMO is to play an Asian youth team (which won't give Fifa ranking points) like they did last year in Dubai, or as I said an African or a Central American team, which is doubtful. But I certainly hope Dan Palami knows what he's doing.

 

Indeed that is what happens when you try to arrange a friendly late as in this case. BTW, it is the PFF that communicates with the other feds, not Palami. Dan can suggest what he would prefer, but it would be the PFF who would have the responsibility of communicating with the other feds. Unfortunately they didn't communicate early enough.

 

Global FC is set to formally announce their new head coach, former Ayr United manager Brian Reid, who will arrive in Manila this week.

Team manager Dan Palami has told the press that the team hasn't had a coach of this calibre before and his arrival came at a time the team qualified to compete at the AFC President's Cup this year.

His possible first assignment will be Global's PFF-Smart Club Championship match against Nomads on January 13th at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

http://globalfc.ph/news/global-set-unveil-new-coach

 

The Philippine Football Federation plans to extend the current contract of German coach Michael Weiss, who was expected to return to Manila from a Christmas vacation this weekend.

PFF president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta told the Manila Standard that general secretary, Atty. Edwin Gastanes would meet with Azkals team manager Dan Palami and Weiss on the extension of the coach’s contract.

Araneta said they would discuss the duration of the extension and a few other salient points.

“Based on the findings of the technical committee, there are some weaknesses that need to be addressed,” said Araneta, who however added that overall, the performance of Weiss and the Philippine national team has been good.

Araneta also disclosed that the Asean Football Federation had donated $100,000 to the PFF for the victims of Typhoon Pablo (international name: Bopha), with contributions coming from member nations.

The donation was agreed upon at the meeting of the Asean Football Federation in Bangkok last Dec. 22.
At the same time, Araneta said AFF president Sultan Ahmad Shah, who heads the Malaysian Football Association, would arrive in Manila on Feb. 1.

The publication also learned there are plans to bolster the fund campaign for the typhoon victims by organizing a friendly match between the Azkals and an Australian team sometime next month.

In the meantime, the Azkals will resume training on Sunday for the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers to be held at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in March.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/01/05/weiss-pact-extended/

 

It looks like most folks at usapang agree that Hungary would not be a good fit at the moment. As one member said, "the Azkals need to practice their attacking movement and cohesion, not their defensive positioning". Hopefully they can find an adequate dance partner for the February friendly in the time remaining.

 

I had a quick conversation with some people at the Scotland board here and informed them about the former Ayr United coach Brian Reid, who will now manage Global FC. They've got some good input about him.

https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/...ing-to-the-philippines.1980648/#post-27006912

 

Good initiative stellarboy. I have done the same in the past and have found bigsoccer members in other forums are very helpful with their comments whenever I have a question or two. You might want to ask those folks what style he prefers using, the long ball technique that is preferred over there or the possession type style of football that is more prevalent in the European continent and in Latin countries.

 

The PFF offered Coach Weiss a 6 month extension. He has asked for more time to consider the offer.

http://sports.inquirer.net/80799/pff-offers-coach-weiss-six-month-extension

I think they did this to have some0ne in place to handle the team for the Challenge Cup qualifiers, which is only a few months away. However I doubt he will take this short term contract as he will essentially be a lameduck coach during the next few months.

The PFF cannot wait too long for him to make his decision as they need a coach to prepare the team which starts training this weekend.

 

I actually think it would of been a great idea to play them, and given that most players are going to be from Europe, organising a camp in Europe plus a friendly would of been great preparation.
Anyhow, Philippines should easily qualify, I am convinced they are going to be favorites to go to Asian Cup 2015.

 

There is no such thing as an easy way to qualify. Besides, the highest ranked team in the tournament Turkmenistan, is also in our group. There is a possibility that one of these teams, either Turkmenistan or the Philippines might not qualify simply because they will not be able to make up the numbers to get the best 2nd placed slot overall. Right now with only a few months to go, our coaching situation is still unsettled as well, so that also will affect our chances.