Neil has been doing well for his club and has been undefeated in 7 games, so just based on form Dooley probably thought he was the right man for the job. The conditions just didn't give him the opportunity to excel.
I'm talking about when Neil came back to the NT. Not before the spat with Schrock but before that. Neil was still the 3rd/4th GK at Fulham but Mueller was a starter.
Yes Neil wasn't playing back then, while Roland was a starter in Switzerland. Muller was definitely in form back then. Now though Neil is a starter as well and his team has defeated 2 Championship teams with him in goal recently, so he deserved the call at this time. Hopefully this debacle with the national team doesn't destroy his confidence. Walsall FC faces Chelsea FC on Sept. 23 in the Capital One Cup.
One questionable decision by Dooley is why he didn't start Schrock in this game. The guy not only made an immediate impact in the 2nd half but also scored the lone goal.
The Philippine Football Federation has issued call-up letters to the following players selected by Head Coach Thomas Dooley to compose the pool of the Philippine Men’s “A” Football Team that will play against North Korea on 8 October 2015 in DPR Korea for the 2018 FIFA World Cup RussiaTM – Asian Qualifiers / AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019TM Qualifiers (Round 2). MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM LIST OF PLAYERS CALLED UP – 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA – ASIAN QUALIFIERS / AFC ASIAN CUP UAE 2019 QUALIFIERS DPR KOREA VS. PHILIPPINES – 08 OCTOBER 2015: DPR KOREA SURNAME GIVEN NAME 1 AGUINALDO AMANI MANUEL 2 BAHADORAN MISAGH 3 BUGAS PAOLO 4 DANIELS KENSHIRO MICHAEL 5 DEYTO PATRICK PHILLIP 6 ETHERIDGE NEIL LEONARD 7 GIER ROBERT JAMES 8 INGRESO KEVIN 9 LUCENA JERRY RUBEN 10 MULDERS PAUL 11 MULLER ROLAND RICHARD 12 OTT MANUEL 13 PALLA STEPHAN 14 PORTERIA JOSE ELMER 15 RAMSAY IAIN 16 REICHELT PATRICK 17 SATO DAISUKE 18 SCHROCK STEPHAN MARKUS 19 STEUBLE MARTIN MARKUS 20 VILLANUEVA DENNIS 21 WOODLAND LUKE 22 YOUNGHUSBAND PHILIP JAMES They will be missing some key players this time around, who are injured like Patino, and Guirado. Rota continues to recover from his injuries as well.
The Philippines will miss top striker Javier Patiño for the crucial World Cup Qualifying duel with North Korea on Oct. 8 in Pyongyang. Azkals coach Thomas Dooley left Patiño out from the 22-man side bound for the North Korean capital, after the striker who has scored three goals in seven appearances for the national side, sustained what appeared as a hamstring injury in a Chinese Super League game last Sept. 20. Patiño who plays for CSL side Henan Jianye told Dooley he could be out for “two to three weeks” which means the striker could still make the trip to Manama for the game against Bahrain on Oct. 13. The Azkals are third in Group H after starting the qualifying campaign with two wins against a single defeat. They lost to Uzbekistan, 1-5, in their most recent WCQ match at Philippine Sports Stadium last Sept. 8. Dooley said preparations for the two away matches have been far from ideal as Manila-based players are on a break the past three weeks with the United Football League season already finished. “We will try to make the best out of the situation,” said Dooley. “These are two tough matches away and we hope we get some points from these two games.” Defender Juani Guirado has also been left out of the team due to an injury just like Simone Rota, but skipper Rob Gier has been recalled after undergoing knee surgery early this month. The Azkals are leaving for Pyongyang via Shanghai on Oct. 4. Read more: http://sports.inquirer.net/194782/azkals-face-n-korea-in-pyongyang-sans-patino#ixzz3n8OxH5Fk
Interview with Dooley. http://www.theguardian.com/football...entina-tom-dooley-on-coaching-the-philippines
I like what he brings to the table. If they don't get to the WC I hope they keep him on (pretty sure they will qual for the Asian Cup so hopefully he stays on for that and a bit past that).
Basically they need to make a WC to have a "soccer explosion" so to speak in popularity and change that he's talking about. Maybe with an AFC appearance too which is much more attainable. Probably unlikely this cycle either.
It will be awhile. The US took 50 years to get back to the World Cup. It might take the Philippines just as long, although it is my hope that our large expatriate population might hasten the process considerably. The Asia cup is attainable though since the competition expanded to 24 teams starting with 2019. They are already among the 24 highest ranked teams in Asia and have a pretty good chance of making it through. As for the comment about Filipino French goalkeeper Areola(whose parents both hail from the Philippines) playing for the Philippines. He did declare publicly that he would be willing to do so if he was not called up by France, but after leading France to the U20 World Cup championship and Villareal to the top of La Liga standings last week ahead of Real Madrid and Barcelona, France has now rewarded him with his first call up, so I think that ship has sailed.
I am not too optimistic about the match against N Korea and Bahrain. They are missing a few key players especially striker Patino and had very little chance to train together with no friendlies scheduled before the October matches. The European based players just arrived recently and some of the players from Global FC are still participating in the Singapore Cup. Finally the local league finished their season a few weeks, so their players might not be as sharp as they have been in the past. My hope is they can get at least a draw in both matches in October as any point in away matches in this tough group is always a bonus. Some of the players have now arrived in Pyongyang. CPT Inquirer Sports @cedelfpt 8h8 hours ago Azkals arrived in Pyongyang around 4 p.m. local time(3:30 p.m. in Manila). Nice,cool weather here.Team staying at Hotel Koryo. Phil Younghusband admitted that time won’t be on the Philippine team’s side as the Azkals make their long journey to Pyongyang to play powerhouse North Korea in a World Cup Qualifying match. “Everyone’s excited but we’re also aware that we won’t have much time to train,” Younghusband said on Monday in a video taken by Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Cedelf Tupas, who’s traveling with the team. READ: Azkals set out to lick Pyongyang mystery “Our trip’s 10 days but we’ll be travelling for a lot of that and we may only have four training sessions and then we got two games so it’s a bit of a challenge but we’re also excited,” added Younghusband. Younghusband also expressed his delight in seeing the team come together during its layover in Beijing before finally heading to Pyongyang. Manila-based Azkals linked up with their foreign-based standouts along with goalkeeping coach Pascal Zuberbühler in Beijing after nearly a three-hour flight from Manila to Bangkok and another four-hour flight going to the Chinese capital for a six-hour layover. “It’s good to see everyone come together. [Seeing] all the guys from Europe. [It] feels like a team now.” http://sports.inquirer.net/195569/a...rea#st_refDomain=t.co&st_refQuery=/ARyRCTjx4f (includes a video with P Younghusband in N Korea)
What's there ranking out of the top 24 Asian teams? I agree it could take a long time but with the fil foreigners it'll be shorter in time. UFL needs to get stronger though not sure if it is or not.
As the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifier match against DPR Korea draws closer, Philippine National Team head coach Thomas Dooley once again needed to deal with a less than ideal preparations for the October 8 clash. The Azkals returned to training last September 30 at Emperador Stadium with only ten players available. Both Luke Woodland and Iain Ramsay were the only foreign-based players that were able to attend the training sessions after returning to the country last week. Kevin Ingreso arrived in Manila on the evening of October 3, Saturday. On the other hand, Misagh Bahadoran, Daisuke Sato, Amani Aguinaldo, Dennis Villanueva, Paolo Bugas, and Patrick Deyto were in Singapore with Global FC for their Singapore Cup semifinal first leg match. Global lost 1-0 to Albirex Niigata last Friday. Their semifinal match was postponed twice because of the haze currently choking Singapore. Global arrived back in Manila on October 3, Saturday. “We are confounded with issues,” said Dooley. “Everything is difficult, from the travel (to DPR Korea), from the guys available.” Another major issue for Dooley is the fitness of his players. Majority of the squad are currently on break as the United Football League season ended two months ago. “The (league) season is over but the other teams we play against (in the Qualifiers) are still in the middle of their seasons,” said the exasperated Dooley. “It will always be a concern about the fitness because if you are not fit, you cant be successful.” Still, Dooley decided to look at the positive ahead of the DPR Korea match. “We should all have the dream to win but we also have to be realistic on how we prepare for the matches and what level we are in,” added Dooley. “We only have a chance to win if everybody steps up.” The North Koreans currently sit on top of Group H with nine points while the Philippines are level with Uzbekistan at six points but are in third because of an inferior goal differential. The Philippines face DPR Korea on Thursday, October 8 at the Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang. Kick off is at 5:00 PM, Manila time. http://football.com.ph/dooley-we-have-a-chance-if-everybody-steps-up/
A taste of Pyongyang, North Korea for you guys: It was a nice first impression to say the least. The Philippine Azkals arrived here Monday afternoon pleasantly surprised at how clean and developed the city looked despite its reputation as one of the most isolated cities in the world. Riding the bus from the newly-refurbished Pyongyang International Airport to Hotel Koryo in downtown Pyongyang, the Azkals saw a glimpse of life in the North Korean capital ahead of their showdown with the hosts in a World Cup Qualifying match on Thursday. They saw farmers hard at work in a rural area near the airport, before passing through monuments, parks and schools. Just as the Azkals bus approached the city, school children were rehearsing a parade. On intersections, uniformed officers saluted as the Azkals convoy passed. Noticeably, there are designated bicycle lanes, but electric buses and trains seem to be the main mode of transportation for locals. The Azkals bus also came across a few taxi cabs on the way to the hotels. Apartment units and mid rise buildings abound in the capital with pink and light blue as the dominant colors. Huge billboards of late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jung Il are plastered on major thoroughfares as well as school buildings. “I was surprised about the look of North Korea over here from the beautiful airport to the streets, it was very clean,” said Azkals coach Thomas Dooley, the German-American mentor. “At the moment, the place is very clean and people are very friendly.” The city is notorious for power outages and players were surprised to see buildings not as well-lit as those in Manila when they returned from training Monday night. For several players like Misagh Bahadoran, seeing Pyongyang was like a welcome respite from the chaotic traffic situation in Manila. Azkals captain Phil Younghusband liked the cool, breezy weather and hoped it stayed that way on Thursday when they face North Korea for a critical Group H game. Unlike the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bulacan where natural grace is the playing surface, Kim Il Sung Stadium is equipped with astro turf and Younghusband said the playing area is wider than that of Rizal Memorial Stadium and PSS. The Azkals were allowed to bring their mobile phones to the country as well as their laptops, although they needed to declare it with customs at the airport. There’s no wireless internet connection in the hotel where the team is staying, but broadband connection is available for a fee of 10 dollars an hour. Social network sites Twitter and Facebook can also be accessed in the hotel. Read more: http://sports.inquirer.net/195603/a...ad-of-wcq-duel-with-north-korea#ixzz3npK1Hmcg
Of course, the team is only allowed to see the part of North Korea that has been printed above. If they strayed anywhere they were not supposed to, they would have likely gotten arrested unless of course they had official escorts guiding them around.
This week, the the Philippine national men’s football team embarks on a rare journey to North Korea for the resumption of its FIFA World Cup qualifiers campaign. Unlike regular Azkals games, this match against North Korea on Thursday won’t be having television coverage – really not surprising, since the reclusive nation’s state TV rarely airs live broadcasts. But you’re a big fan of the Azkals, and you believe that you shouldn’t miss this one. Well, there is just one and only option left: go to North Korea. Is it even possible? Of course it is, only if you are willing to subject yourself to the strict rules of the Hermit Kingdom. InterAksyon.com provides you this Q-and-A guide on how you can visit North Korea, the world’s most isolated country in the world. Q: Where is North Korea? A: It’s situated, err, North of South Korea. But don’t ever dare of entering the North from the South. The two countries remain at war for over 50 years now, since the Korean War ended in an armistice instead of a peace agreement in 1953. While they share the same border, called the Demilitarized Zone, it is heavily guarded by soldiers from both sides who, technically, can just exchange shots and resume the war at any moment. But this is actually utilized as a tourist spot, and if you are coming from the South , this is the closest you can get to North Korea. Q: OK, so how do I get to North Korea? A: Tourists wanting to visit North Korea are required to avail of the services of a state-accredited travel agency, which will arrange all of your travel needs – from your visa, flight tickets and hotels, to itinerary. The easiest entry point to North Korea available right now is China. Here, you have two options: ride an overnight train to Pyongyang from Dandong, China’s border city next to North Korea; or fly via Air Koryo, North Korea’s flagship air carrier. The trip is just about two hours from Beijing to Pyongyang. Q: How much will I need to go there? A: Travel agencies offer all-in packages for its North Korea tours. There are others which offer tours that are specialized for the Azkals-North Korea game, with one amounting to $1900 for four full days. Q: Is it hard to obtain a visa? A: While there is a perception that acquiring a North Korean visa is very tough, getting one is actually not that difficult. The agencies claim that North Korea rarely denies a visa if you’re going on a tour; however, it’s the complete opposite for journalists and South Koreans. Q: Will my phone be confiscated upon entering North Korea? Is there internet? A: North Korea has been known for barring its citizens to have any sort of access to the outside world, and that applies also for tourists. However, its rules have become lax as it now allows outsiders to bring their phones in. Of course, you still have to buy a local sim worth $42, and if you want to stay connected to the internet, you have to purchase a 3G sim card for a whopping $200 that comes with free 15 MB of data and charges $0.28 for every succeeding MB. But North Korea prohibits any gadgets that can connect through satellites and GPS. Q: Will I be allowed to walk around and take pictures? A: Tourists in North Korea are very tightly guarded, and you shouldn’t even think of sneaking out. The communist state slaps hefty penalties to those who violate rules. Taking pictures is allowed, but only of the places permitted by your guide. They won’t hesitate to get your camera or phone and delete any photos if they feel that you disobeyed them. It is also important to note that any tourist visiting North Korea should respect the country’s customs and traditions. At home, you may talk all you want about how you hate this communist nation. But once you are there, you should just keep your mouth shut if you don’t have anything good to say. Q: Are there Filipinos in North Korea? A: You can find Filipinos everywhere in the world, and unusual as it may seem, there are seven OFWs in North Korea. Five are working for international organizations while two are from a cigarette company. There have been only two reported visits by Filipino officials in North Korea: one in 2007 when then-Foreign Affairs secretary Alberto Romulo made the first visit by any Philippine government official, and in 2013 when top officials from both countries met to strengthen their bilateral ties. However, it is very rare for any sports team to go to North Korea, and the Azkals will be the first Philippine sports team to ever set foot on this nation. Q: I am pumped up to watch the Azkals against the North Korea football team! What should I expect? A: The match will take place at the Kim Il-sung Stadium, which is listed as having a capacity of 55,000. The venue is usually packed every time the North Korea national team plays, and expect nothing less as the match is part of its journey towards the FIFA World Cup. Q: I’m convinced! I still have a day left before the game! I’ll pack my bags tonight and go to North Korea immediately! A: Sorry to burst your bubble, but you just can’t just decide to go to North Korea and hop on a plane the day after. Travel agencies require weeks, or even months, for them to process and arrange all your travel needs. www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/wanna-watch-the-azkals-play-in-north-korea-heres-a-guide-on-how-you-can-get-there
A little insight into soccer in the Philippines: The Philippines' Imported National Soccer Team https://sports.vice.com/en_us/artic...nal-soccer-team/?utm_source=vicesportstwitter The Azkals coach knows all about dual allegiances. Thomas Dooley — the former U.S. international — was born and raised in West Germany, and played as a sweeper for Bundesliga giants like Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke during the mid 90s. (His father was an American soldier who served in Germany at the height of the Cold War.) Dooley believes the Philippines has a huge amount of untapped potential at home. "We could have a place like Argentina where we can develop many good players," he recently told ESPN FC. Schröck agrees. "There is a big US influence, basketball and hip-hop and all that," he says. "But football is coming, and one day football will be the number one sport in the Philippines, I'm quite sure about it." When I first arrived, my first few games were on natural caribou grass, and when it rained everything was just a mess," Daniels said. "There was no way there could be quality games or training going on. But since then, there have been artificial turf pitches showing up, which has helped immensely and the sport has already grown since I arrived three years ago." Daniels is one of four North Americans on the books at Kaya FC, who just finished fourth in the Philippines' ten-team United Premier League. Each team features around two local players for every imported one. But it's a competition that's dwarfed by leagues like Japan's and Qatar's. Also, its winning team does not get a spot in Asia's Champions League.
Well the popularity of the football(both in terms or participation and as well as fans during games) in the Philippines is steadily growing ever since we started recruiting players from abroad. They used to to tear down football fields because of lack of interest. Now they are springing up everywhere. Most importantly it has allowed a professional league to finally spring into existence and flourish which has given local players the opportunity to earn a living and develop their game. All of the players have a Filipino parent(with many born in the Philippines) and have been exposed to the Filipino culture since childhood. Unlike in other countries like the US, they don't use immigrants or local born players with parents without native heritage, which is the majority of US born national team players(the US Imported National Team) before MLS and the NASL came into existence. So I would say the Philippines is pretty much ahead of the curve at a similar point in their football development compared to the US. The important thing is that their main goal is to grow the sport at home and this policy has allowed them to do that.
Azkals Training in Kim Il Sung Stadium in North Korea https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=3&v=mLwqosMPx0c
Azkals starting XI vs N Korea: Etheridge, Woodland, Lucena, Aguinaldo, Sato, P. Yhusband, Ott, Steuble, Ramsay, Schrock, Reichelt. HT 0-0 N Korea playing a direct style relying more on their size and speed while the Philippines relies more on the possession game.
Selection of songs from the N korean fans acc. to a Korean guide on inq.ph tweets: "We will follow the Party." "we are the Korean youth." "We will defend the general Kim Jung-il."
Azkals box now under siege but they stay strong. Etheridge collects a high ball. 89' now still 0-0 Chinese referee now declares 8' stoppage time. Unbelievable.
A brave Philippine side held its ground in the face of a North Korean barrage to claim a precious point after a scoreless stalemate in their World Cup Qualifying clash Thursday at Kim Jung-il Stadium. The Azkals survived wave after wave of attack from the hosts who were backed by a lively, boisterous 50,000 strong crowd. The result also boosted the Azkals haul to seven points as they responded impressively from the 1-5 beating they suffered to Uzbekistan last month. It marked the first time the North Koreans dropped points in qualifying after three straight wins including a 4-2 win over Uzbekistan here last June. sports.inquirer.net/195845/ph-azkals-hold-north-korea-to-scoreless-draw-in-wc-qualifiers
Philippine national men’s football team coach Thomas Dooley lauded the Azkals for putting up a tough fight against a more fancied North Korean side before 50,000-strong hometown fans in the FIFA World Cup qualifier on Thursday at Kim Il-Sung Stadium here. The Azkals stunned North Korea to a scoreless draw in one of the rare winless results by the hosts. “Not anybody can force a draw in North Korea,” Dooley said. “We could see that it was a very difficult game, we know why North Korea is in first place. Very physical, very tall players, long balls in the second half, very quick. “With the long journey that we had, people were cramping up, guys were cramping up… but overall I’m very happy that the team fought and never gave up. “The players were playing with heart, never gave up and tried to play football.” The Azkals had to go through a lot on this rare trip to the reclusive state, having to endure long travel and also weather the overwhelming crowd that from start to finish cheered loudly for the home team. The result was huge for the Azkals as they earned a point and kept their hopes of advancing to the next round alive. North Korea (3-0-1) is still on top of Group H with 10 points while the Filipinos (2-1-1) are still hanging at third in Group H with seven points. “If we lose this game North Korea will have 12 points and we have six points, we will not catch them,” Dooley said. “We have to collect points wherever we can to survive. “To survive with that kind of stadium, it speaks of the character of the team. We are still in business.” http://www.interaksyon.com/interakt...nd-against-north-korea-they-played-with-heart In the other match in this group, Uzbekistan won 4-0 in Bahrain to take sole possession of 2nd place with 9 points after 4 games. The Philippines, with 7 points total, need to win against Bahrain on Oct. 13 in order to have any chance of catching up with either N Korea or Uzbekistan. Fatigue will be factor with the Philippines though. They have already taken 18 hours to reach Pyongyang and probably will take even longer to reach Bahrain crisscrossing the continent on only a few days rest. Bahrain, in contrast, is playing their 2nd consecutive home game.