I just wanted to add this info on one of the greatest Asian players to ever play the game of football, Paulino Alcantara on the Asian Cup website. Born and raised in the Philippines, he went on to become FC Barcelona's first superstar and greatest goalscorer. http://www.afcasiancup.com/news/en/...ar-with-asian-roots/iokvijo57s9f1b8q4fqs8kqgs In the club museum of CF Barcelona , there hangs a portrait of a man who became a revered figure for the Catalan club’s fans as their greatest ever goal scorer, the fabulous Paulino Alcantara. He deserves to be recognised as the first ever European star with Asian roots. His amazing career saw him find the net 374 times in 375 appearances for Barcelona, a record not likely to be bettered, even by Lionel Messi. Alcantara was born in the Philippines to a Filipino mother and a Spanish father but it was in Spain that his football life began. He was spotted by Barcelona’s Swiss founder, Joan Gamper, debuted for Barcelona while only 15 years old, scoring the first three goals in a 9-0 romp against Calala. The following season Alcantara starred in a Barcelona team that won the double of the Catalonian championship and the Copa del Rey, the de facto national title. In 1916, the Alcantara family decided to move back to Manila where Paulino played football with Bohemian Sporting Club. He was selected to play for the Philippines in the 1917 edition of the Far East Games, the world’s first regional football tournament for national teams to be played outside Britain. Alcantara blitzed the home side as the Filipinos pulverised Japan 15-2 in Tokyo, still by far the best ever result for the Philippines and the worst ever defeat for Japan. Alcantara returned to Spain in 1918 and led Barcelona into a golden era. ____ Back then the Philippines had thriving football leagues and had probably the most organized football infrastructure in Asia next only to Hongkong(China) which the British administered. Other Filipino players in this leagues went on to play for other famous clubs in Spain like Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, etc. Unfortunately because air travel was not yet possible back then, these Filipinos never got to play for the Philippine national team once they went to Spain. Only Alcantara came back to Manila, on his parent's insistence that he give up playing football and continue his medical studies, and therefore was able to play for the Philippine national football team. He however blackmailed them into letting him return to FC Barcelona, after refusing medications for malaria which he contracted over there. He eventually finished his medical degree after he retired from playing football. He was so good that Spain eventually recruited him for their national team as well as there were no regulations preventing this back then. Alcantara made his debut for Spain in 1921, scoring a double in each of his first three games against Belgium, Portugal and France. Football's popularity eventually died out in the Philippines, as American sports became the norm, specifically the game of basketball where the Philippines gained the most success internationally. It was not until a few years ago when they finally rediscovered their love for the sport.
Fil Swiss Martin Steuble is making his debut in the Malaysia game on Mar. 1. He plays attacking midfielder. He currently suits up for FC Wil 1900 in the Swiss Challenge League. Not sure if the Younghusbands will be playing in the Malaysia friendly as they are still recovering from some injuries.
Wow I never knew PHI had that kind of history in soccer back then. Maybe if more filipinos knew about this sort of history it would help in popularity.
Many of those who follow soccer in the Philippines know about this already, while those who don't either don't care or stigmatize and make fun of those who do, just like in the US.
Having made that pessimistic statement above, I would like to emphasize that football is now the fastest growing team sport in the Philippines today(both in terms of participation and popularity), so there is reason to hope that it can catch up with basketball's hold on the national sports consciousness someday.
Paulino Alcántara is a real legend, but he played back in the 1910s and 1920s...so you can hardly blame people for having hazy memories. How competent are the people running the FA and planning out the national youth development strategy?
They are okay considering the limitations in the budget that the current PFF has(but definitely an improvement compared to previous administrations), although a lot more could still be done. The DFB(German Football Federation) has been assisting them directly, loaning them a technical advisor and both FIFA and the AFC as well as other individual federations, have offered both technical and financial support in some form or another, recognizing the rapid growth in the sport, currently going on in the country. If you check out the Philippine boards on bigsoccer, posters have commented on the various youth programs that they have implemented, including the appointment recently of Australian World Cup veteran Jim Fraser as coach of the U-20/21 team. Progress in the youth programs has been somewhat haphazard, with progress being made in those youth levels, that have an enthusiastic manager who is willing to pay the bills and less so in those without. A national training center is being built with the help of FIFA, but I don't know yet when it will be finished. I think the national youth teams will benefit the most when this is done. I think most of the progress in the sport will depend upon how the professional leagues(the UFL or a future planned national league) develop and on whether they can fulfill their goals of having Academies for all age group levels for each team. Just like in Europe and unlike the US, it is better to have pros teach younger players and from what I have seen they prefer the European model with promotion/relegation as well as Academies, rather than the franchise model that the US and MLS has.
Surprise inclusion in the list that will play in friendlies against Malaysia and Ajerbaijan in March is 19 y/o Kenshiro Daniels, a prolific striker who graduated from Riverside La Sierra High School in California. He would be one of the youngest players in that list along with DC United Academy product and Richmond, Virginia native Jose Elmer Porteria who is also 19. I believe Dooley is familiar with him from his time coaching youth teams in California. http://www.pe.com/sports/high-schoo...-boys-soccer-daniels-is-la-sierras-closer.ece BTW, Kenshiro Daniels is the son of actor and former light heavyweight kickboxing champion and Englishman Gary Daniels. Gary is still best known for portraying the heroic Kenshiro in the American live-action version of Japanese manga Fist of the North Star, from which I presume he named his son after. Among Daniels's fans, films that stand out include American Streetfighter, White Tiger, Bloodmoon, Recoil, Rage, Firepower, Heatseeker and Cold Harvest. Daniels was once considered for the role of Johnny Cage in the movie version of Mortal Kombat. He was also a front runner for the lead role in the hit series Highlander: The Series but lost the role to Adrian Paul. He appeared in 2009 with Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, and Stone Cold Austin in the Expendables. I can see where Kenshiro gets his kicking skills from. If I were on the opposing team I would be wary of any flying kicks from this son of a kickboxing champion. His mother is from the Philippines.
Here's the roster: http://www.spin.ph/sports/football/...zkals-places-in-dooleys-34-man-training-squad
That is the training camp list. Here is the official list for each of the friendlies in March: http://the-pff.org/website/pff-calls-up-azkals-for-malaysia-and-azerbaijan-friendlies/ Some players like Fil Italian defender Simone Rota who impressed in training were not included as his Philippine passport is still pending and he also mentioned that a few players not on the list are still in the running for a slot on the national team. There are 3 teenagers on the list. As is mentioned in this article which detailed his itinerary in the Philippines, Dooley is adamant about training a competitive UFL based side that he will train personally twice a week for future games. http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/350045/sports/football/thomas-dooley-old-azkals-and-new-tricks I am really impressed by Dooley's work ethic so far, watching not only UFL but also UAAP(college) games, looking for talent. He has been working non stop since his arrival, working even on Sundays which is one of the two days per week, allowed by the UFL for national team training.
Kensiro Daniels sounds like a very promising Fil - Am player. With Dooley's contacts in Cali he should scout for more dual nationals like him. Cali must have plenty. I hope Simone Rota can have his passport problem fixed in time for the Asia cup for for you guys
You must mean Challenge Cup in May. They have to win the Challenge Cup to make it to the Asian Cup next year.
Ya that's the one I forgot the name for it.. Challenge Cup. I think Dooley can take this team to another level with his new selections better than his predecessor Weiss.
He should enlist the Philippines women's coach as a scout. He spends all his time in California, loading up with dual citizens for his squad.
The Philippines doesn't have a women's pro league, so the are dependent upon college students and at that level, the US with their entitlements mandated by the government, are the best in the world, so it would be prudent to look for talent here.
Indeed. Title IX has allowed womens college athletes to dominate many sports including soccer. It would be irresponsible to not look for players here, considering the depth of talent available.
Some changes to the lineup for the friendlies in March: http://www.azkalsfootballteam.com/news.php?id=452 Fil Italian defender Simone Rota will be playing in both friendlies after all and will be making his debut. Neil Etheridge(Fulham backup currently loaned to Crewe Alexandra) and Paul Mulders(SC Cambuur of the Dutch Eredivisie) will not be coming because of injury concerns. The top 3 goalies Etheridge, Muller and Sacapano will not be playing in the Malaysia friendly, so a new goalkeeper, either Deyto or O'Donnell(both UFL based), will be tried in this game. Muller will start in the Ajerbaijan friendly. Thai based player Patino will be also be coming for the 2nd friendly. Other notable absences in the list from Europe, for one reason or another, especially for the Ajerbaijan friendly, some of whom normally start are veterans Dennis Cagara, Ray Jonsson, and Angel Guirado. Carli de Murga, now based in the UFL, and who also normally starts, will also be missing because he is still recovering from injuries. The 3 teenagers who will be receiving their baptism of fire in the squad(except for Porteria who has played before) are Daniels, Porteria and local 18 y/o player Amani Aguinaldo. If you include the debut of Fil Swiss Martin Steuble, and other new additions, I would consider this lineups as somewhat of an experimental one, that could help increase the depth and options for the team although it might affect the results in the friendlies in March. The lineups for the first game is mostly UFL based as it is scheduled on a non FIFA match day. The 2nd lineup will be much stronger, since it will include many of the foreign based players, but will also be playing against a stronger(on paper) and higher ranked team than the Philippines. The Ajerbaijan friendly, will be the first game against a UEFA based squad that the Philippines will have played since 1997 when they lost to Estonia 0-1 in Manila.
Simone Rota just received his passport yesterday. That is why he was included in the roster for both games in March. This is great news as they needed new blood in defence with the other potential centerbacks getting on in years. BTW, I just wanted to mention after the Challenge Cup this May, the next big tournament for the Azkals will be in November/December for the regional ASEAN Championship, the Suzuki Cup. It will include not only the Southeast Asian countries but also Australia as well as they just joined the ASEAN regional grouping of the AFC last year. This will be good preparation for Australia and hopefully the Philippines(if they win the Challenge Cup) as the Asian Cup will then follow forthwith in January 2015.
Here is a nice interview that Thomas Dooley gave the other day, on one of the football related talk shows in the Philippines, starting approx. at the 14 minute mark: BTW, Puma is the official gear provider of the Philippine national team. That is why he is wearing a PUMA shirt for this interview. In the interview, he mentioned that the reason that US had a bad 1998 World Cup tournament was because of the selfishness of some of the players. If I remember right, Harkes was replaced by Dooley as captain of the national team during this time, because of some indiscretions that Harkes was alleged to have made that might have affected team unity. Harkes was kicked of the team by Coach Sampson as a result.