FT Philippines 1-1 Maldives Guirado adds to his total by scoring another goal against the Maldives today for a total of 12 international goals to tie him with James Younghusband for 3rd in the Azkal's all time tally. With a slot in the third round of the Asian Cup(along with a higher pot) assured it looks like they are giving playing time to the younger players including Winhoffer(who started for the first time), Bias, Tabinas, Diano(who gets his first cap) and Gayoso. Too bad Baldisimo didn't get his FIFA registration papers finished in time as this would have been the perfect opportunity for him to show what he can do. The Philippines still dominated most of the possession and attacking opportunities but was held to a tie by the Maldives.
Azkals post-match notes: Schrock is captain fantastic, the big picture looks good The Philippine Azkals ended the second round of their joint FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers with a frustrating 1-1 draw against the Maldives. Despite the result, there are a lot of positives to take away from their campaign. The Azkals finished in third place with 11 points after eight games played, with the highlight being the 0-0 draw against China last October 2019. This is the highest point total the Philippines has ever garnered, edging out the 10 points earned for the 2018 edition of the World Cup qualifiers. The Filipinos also saw a number of new faces take the stage, young guns now ready to carry the torch once the grizzled veterans start slowing down. All in all, there are a lot of positive takeaways as the Azkals come home from Shahraj. Here are some more of them: 1. Stephan Schrock is an ageless wonder Philippine team captain Stephan Schrock stole the show after the final whistle in their 3-0 victory against Guam, gathering the team and letting them know they weren't good enough even after the victory. The following match, Schrock played like a man possessed and tried to put the Azkals on his shoulders with his activity level for all 90 minutes. It was clear the Azkals veteran chose to lead by example - in addition to his stinging barks at friend and foe alike - to help his team across the line. At 34 years young, Schrock continues to defy human biology and is happy terrorizing opposing defenders. Credit his work ethic, the care he puts into maintaining his body, his fearlessness in his game, and his desire to make sure each and every one of his teammates take the fight to the next level alongside him. 2. The up-and-comers get invaluable experience Perhaps the biggest talking point during the Azkals' trip to the United Arab Emirates was the introduction of several new faces into the lineup and the younger players gaining international experience. Jefferson Tabinas and Oliver Bias, in particular, stood out to Filipino fans as future mainstays. Despite their young age, Tabinas, 22, and Bias, 19, gave reason for excitement for the Azkals' youth movement as they showcased the talent and composure to help the national team's level of play. Azkals fans also got to see extended minutes for Jarvey Gayoso and Mark Winhoffer, both of whom had the majority of their football development right in the Philippines. The two, as well as Mar Diano, keep paving the path young and ambitious local footballers could take to crack the Azkals lineup. Indeed, the homegrown talent displayed relative inexperience compared to their foreign-based peers, but with exposure to high-level competition such as this, the gap could, would, and should close sooner than later. 3. The Philippine Azkals' level of play continues to rise Though missing a landmark victory to celebrate in this campaign, the Philippine Azkals are going into the next round of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers knowing they have gotten much better. As already mentioned, this is already the highest point total for a Filipino team at this stage of the competition. While it is disappointing the Azkals will not progress to the next round of the World Cup qualifiers, they achieved their goal of directly making it to the next stage of the Asian Cup qualifiers. The Philippines could also argue that had the players who were initially called up made it to the U.A.E., they could have been celebrating a clean sweep of their games. Despite the absence of potential bigname debutants like Raphael Obermair, Gerrit Holtmann, and naturalized forward Bienvenido Marañon, there is optimism that we have only seen the tip of the iceberg with regard to how good the Azkals could be. In many ways, since the big names couldn't make it, the last three games felt like an audition to figure out who would best complement the reinforcements coming in. While Filipino fans would be divided on who has earned a spot moving forward, the Azkals management would surely be debating internally on who raised their stock high enough to feature in the future. What is clear, though, is the expectations and the overall talent level of the Philippine Azkals is still on an upward trajectory. https://tv5.espn.com/story/_/id/31642389/schrock-captain-fantastic-big-picture-looks-good
AFC let in more teams directly into the final round of Asian Cup qualifying – 22 in total. Also, the first match won't be until late January/early February. Philippines should be scheduling some friendlies in the fall international windows to stay in preparation. I assume European-based clubs aren't obligated to release their players for the ASEAN championship at the end of the year.
I also hope they schedule some friendlies and you are right the European based players are usually not released for non FIFA scheduled tournaments like the Suzuki Cup so they usually rely on the players playing in the Asian region of which there are many playing in Thailand as well as at home.
Kaya FC-Iloilo nips Shanghai Port to reach AFC Champions League KAYA FC-Iloilo reached its greatest achievement in the 25-year history of the club, as it booked a seat in the AFC Champions League with a 1-0 win over Shanghai Port on Wednesday at the Pathum Thani Stadium in Bangkok. Audie Menzi scored the lone goal of the match, enough to seal a place in the AFC Champions League and give the club its biggest win since its inception in 1996. The win marked a landmark event for football in the country as Kaya FC joins reigning domestic league champion United City in the first year of Philippine representation in the expanded AFC Champions League competition. Kaya FC is now moving on to the group stage where it will face Thailand champion BG Pathum United on Friday still in Bangkok under a centralized set-up or bubble. The Philippine club will also be facing Viettel FC on Tuesday, and AFC Champions League reigning titlist Ulsan Hyundai FC on July 2. Despite the absence of broadcast arrangements for the match, the victory resonated among the Filipino football fans who followed the match via Kaya’s social media accounts. Menzi scored on a header in the 17th minute, before Kaya’s defense led by goalkeeper Louie Casas held on to force a clean sheet against the Chinese squad who came in as the favorites to win the match. Kaya came in to the match with new additions including head coach Graham Harvey and Jarvey Gayoso, who was fresh from his stint with the Philippine Azkals in the World Cup and Asia Cup qualifiers. Kaya FC only needed a victory to advance after its first round opponent Brisbane Roar withdrew from the competition. https://www.spin.ph/football/kaya-f...pions-league-a795-20210624?ref=article_feed_1 However Shanghai Port did not bring most of their first team players probably because of COVID restrictions. This means though that the Philippines will have 2 representatives(United City FC and Kaya FC) in the newly expanded AFC Champion's League group stage for the first time. Before the AFC Champion's League's expansion this year for their group stages, Philippine clubs mostly participated in the 2nd tier AFC Cup club competition or for the playoffs in the AFC Champion's League but not in the group stage proper.
Coach Cooper mentioned some friendlies in September and October in preparation for the Suzuki Cup in December in this article and video. https://www.cnnphilippines.com/sports/2021/6/25/Scott-Cooper-Azkals-strongest-squad-September.html "We'll play in some international games in September. We should have the strongest squad together by then. Azkals fans can look forward to a very promising next couple of years with a vastly improved squad," the English coach told CNN Philippines' Sports Desk on Friday. _____ I am not sure where they will play those friendlies though since Covid restrictions in the Philippines is still very strict. They might have to go abroad to play them.
United City settles draw in ACL after conceding second-half goal UNITED City FC conceded a goal in the second half to settle for a 1-1 draw against Beijing FC in its 2021 AFC Champions League opener at the Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Stephan Schrock scored in the 28th minute, but Beijing FC found an equalizer with Liang Shaowen converting a lovely free kick in the 73rd to salvage a point in their AFC Champions League campaign. UCFC settled for a point, but could have easily been a historic win for Philippine football. Schrock, who was coming off a stint with the Philippine Azkals in the World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers in Sharjah, shot from the left side of the box to the top corner as United City grabbed the upper hand early. Beijing FC equalizer For the most part, United City also controlled the match even until Beijing FC won a free kick after a foul by Jung Da-Hwon. Liang’s shot to the top left corner over United City goalkeeper Anthony Pinthus tied the match as a result of the foul. United City still had chances, the closest at added time when substitute Mark Hartmann hit the crossbar from outside the box. Despite missing out on the win, it was still an auspicious start for United City, which got an outright berth in the ACL for winning the Philippines Football League crown last year. www.spin.ph/football/united-city-fc-settles-draw-in-acl-after-conceding-second-half-goal-a795-20210627?ref=article_feed_1
Kaya FC-Iloilo gets reality check with ACL loss to BG Pathum United KAYA FC-Iloilo absorbed a 4-1 defeat at the hands of BG Pathum United on Saturday at the start of its 2021 AFC Champions League campaign at the Pathum Thani Stadium in Bangkok. The Thailand champion stamped its class over the Philippine team that is making its debut in the tournament following its playoff victory over Shanghai Port on Wednesday. National team standout Teerasil Dangda and Diogo Luis Santo scored a pair of goals each in the victory by the hosts against the heavy underdogs. Marwin Angeles becomes first Filipino to score in ACL Marwin Angeles knocked in a goal, the first for a Filipino in the AFC Champions League, in the 82nd that only prevented a scoreless finish for Kaya FC. Teerasil opened scoring in the 23rd before it became 2-0 on a goal by Diogo in the 35th. Brought down by Simone Rota just outside the box Diogo struck once again with a lovely free kick to score pass Kaya goalkeeper Louie Casas in the 51st. Teerasil then scored the insurance goal in the 59th. Kaya will next play Viettel FC on Tuesday in Bangkok. www.spin.ph/football/kaya-fc-iloilo-absorbs-defeat-against-bg-pathum-united-in-afc-cl-a795-20210626?ref=article_next_featured
So halfway through group stage, Kaya and United City are bottom of their groups. Kaya have zero points and -11 GD, while United City have one point but a -15 GD. (I have not seen any highlights, just the scorelines.) Going in, I thought United City would have a tough time against East Asian opposition, while Kaya could get some results against the SE Asian clubs, especially coming off the playoff win that got them to the group stage. It's nice to see two Filipino clubs at group stage, but they have a ways to go to keep up with the powerhouse clubs of the AFC.
I expected this. Except for the Chinese teams which weren't sending their first teams because of COVID, I expected the Philippine reps to struggle in the AFC Champion's League. They do well in the 2nd tier AFC Cup but are just not at the same level as those in the Champion's League especially since the Philippines hasn't had an active league because of COVID except for a handful of games in nearly 2 years while other countries at least had partial seasons in the same interval. In East Asia, Japan, S Korea, China(when sending their first team) and Australia at the professional level have a much higher standard and a bigger budget from the rest of the region. Only Thailand and recently Vietnam in SEA has come close to being competitive professionally with their relatively mature professional club infrastructure consisting of different divisions that mimic the promotion/relegation mechanism in Europe.
United City (formerly Ceres) have done well in AFC Cup, winning their groups and getting to the knockout stage. But Champions League is a totally different beast. Thanks for clarifying about the Thai and Vietnamese club systems. I thought they would have been on par with how those countries do internationally relative to the Philippines.
Unfortunately football is not popular enough at this time in the Philippines to replicate the vertically integrated multi division professional infrastructure with pro/rel setups that is the norm in Europe and in other countries in Asia. They could do that in basketball which is the number one sport there if they wanted to since practically everybody plays the sport and there is a lot of professional level players that could fill up several leagues at different divisions, but not in football where they only have one professional league that is only a few years old just like MLS was at the beginning. The Philippines do have the advantage(compared to many other countries in Asia) of having a large expatriate population living abroad from which ranks, they can call up professionally trained football players to strengthen their team which will help their national team to be very competitive internationally but at home they have just started laying out the professional infrastructure to serve as a breeding ground for international professional level players they can rely on in the future.
FT | 🇨🇳 Beijing FC 2-3 United City FC 🇵🇭🙌 History-makers! What a turnaround as a Mark Hartmann-inspired United City come from two down to win 3-2 and become the first side from the Philippines to win an #ACL game.#ACL2021 | #BJGvUCF pic.twitter.com/V73VMlOZVR— #ACL (@TheAFCCL) July 8, 2021 They pretty much dominated the stats as well. Since the blowouts in their respective first few games(understandable since they haven't played a league game in nearly 2 years due to COVID) both Philippine reps Kaya FC and United FC have only lost close matches to their big budget opponents in their group in the AFC Champion's League. Both teams have been gradually been improving every match in the tournament group stage. In their most recent matches before today, Kaya FC lost only 1-2 to defending AFC Champion's League and K1 champion Ulsan FC and United FC to J1 champion Kawasaki Frontale 0-2. They might not advance to the next stage of the AFC Champion's League but they have shown in their first time playing in the tournament proper that Philippine clubs can be competitive at this level and deserved their place in the tournament.
Bienve Maranon finally granted Filipino citizenship BIENVENIDO Maranon is officially a Filipino. The Spanish-born striker has finally been granted Filipino citizenship after President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11570 into law last Friday. It's a longtime coming for the United City FC striker, who is looking to bolster the Philippine Azkals in its numerous international campaigns. Maranon even sung the Philippine national anthem Lupang Hinirang before the senators in one of the plenary sessions discussing House Bill No. 8631. The 34-year-old has brought glory to the country in club competitions, leading Ceres-Negros to as far as the ASEAN Zonal Final of the AFC Cup in 2017 and 2018. He is also the all-time top goalscorer in the AFC Cup with 35 goals to boot, on top of him winning the Golden Boot in the 2020 season of the Philippines Football League (PFL). www.spin.ph/football/bienve-maranon-finally-granted-filipino-citizenship-a2437-20210707?ref=article_next_featured The Philippines usually only fields players with Filipino blood ties in the national football team, but they made an exception for Maranon, because of his contributions and commitment to Philippine football and the country and his goalscoring exploits in the AFC Cup where he holds the records for most goals. He has lived and played in the Philippines since 2015 and apparently plans to live there permanently. https://tv5.espn.com/story/_/id/31781111/bienve-maranon-moved-tears-learning-naturalization In fact, it's the privilege of growing with his family in the country that made his naturalization even more special. "Not only because I will play football, I will play with Azkals, but also because my family can be there in the Philippines," he expressed. "We can make a business, I can live there, I can be one more of you."
I saw the highlights video for United's win (not able to embed). The sequence of United's winning goal off Beijing Guoan hitting the post was impressive, as was coming back after giving up two goals in the first five minutes. The win also means United will finish third in their group, as they will rank ahead of Beijing on the head-to-head record. After their final games on Sunday, United City and Kaya will have played more games in this tournament (six and seven respectively) than they did in all of last year's PFL season (five)! And congratulations to Marañón finally getting his citizenship. I'm sure he's keen to get his first cap for the Azkals!
Yup. Last year's 5 games (held in a bubble) was the shortest football season I have ever heard of for any league as COVID nearly wiped out all football(or other sports for that matter) competitions including even at college level last year but it was enough for them to declare a champion and runner up so they can have representatives for the AFC club competitions. Hopefully they can have a longer season this year assuming the government task force responsible for the COVID lockdown allows it. As for Marañón, it is a shame he couldn't get his citizenship earlier. He applied for it many years ago, but since it had to go through Congress(to bypass the jus sanguinis laws in the constitution), the process took a long time, so he only received it when he was 34 y.o. long after his prime years.
Philippine national team midfielder Michael Kempter just signed up for Swiss club FC St Gallen in the Swiss Super League which adds to the small pool of players the Azkals have who play in top tier leagues in Europe.
‘Climbing fast’ – Scott Cooper and the football revolution in the Philippines The Englishman on being national team coach in a country where boxing and basketball have traditionally ruled the roost Until Lionel Messi, Paulino Alcántara was the top scorer in Barcelona’s history with 357 goals. But until the advent of the internet, many had forgotten that “The Net Buster” had been born in the Philippines and inspired the Asian team to their biggest win, a 15-2 thrashing of Japan in Tokyo in 1917. Alcántara’s history is talked about more these days in Manila and the provinces but it is the future that is really starting to excite. It is not that surprising that his exploits were somewhat overlooked given the fact that the Philippines was an American colony at the time and that influence remains in a sporting sense. Basketball and boxing are still ahead of football but the beautiful game is catching up with a potential that is unparalleled in the region according to the national team’s English coach, Scott Cooper. “We can be competitive in Asia but we don’t know how far we can go and we are very excited.” It is not just about a population of 100 million people and plenty of ambition but there is another not so secret weapon: the country’s diaspora. Just as Alcántara had connections with the Philippines and Spain, there are others in a similar position. “There are many, many players around the world who qualify to play for us, through parents and grandparents,” said Cooper. “We are chatting to them and we are in the process right now. That is one of the reasons I am here. I was told that there are so many players that haven’t been called up yet. I actually got a text today asking me if I knew of an eligible right-back who made his debut for Bayern Munich II.” Cooper did indeed know about Angelo Bruckner and, it is possible that fans back home will see the teenager one day in the white shirts of the Azkals, as the national team are widely known. At the turn of the century the Philippines had had enough of being the whipping boys in south-east Asia, the region of 650 million people between India and China that is the most football-crazy on the continent. But then came the realisation that there were players such as Phil and James Younghusband on the books of Chelsea, the goalkeeper Neil Etheridge in the Championship in England and many more besides, who were eligible. Such talent was led by Simon McMenemy, another British coach, to the semi-finals of the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup, south-east Asia’s biennial battle royale, defeating the defending champions Vietnam in front of 40,000 in Hanoi. The success was such a surprise that there was no stadium ready in Manila for the home leg of the semi-final meaning both games were played in Jakarta in front of a combined attendance of more than 160,000. Soon after that Cooper started coaching at Leicester City’s academy. In 2013, with the club owned by King Power, he was asked if he wanted to work with the Thai giants Buriram United which also has links to the duty-free company. In June 2018, after five years in Thailand and a deep knowledge of south-east Asian football, there came an invitation from the Philippines to assist Terry Butcher who had just been appointed as head coach. For some reason, the former England captain changed his mind within weeks and Cooper was named caretaker. The Azkals then turned to the former England coach Sven-Göran Eriksson to lead them into a first appearance at the Asian Cup in January 2019 with Cooper as his assistant. “I’d known him at Leicester,” says Cooper. “I was an academy coach and he spent time coming to games and talking to us but I was surprised he remembered me. We had a good relationship and he brought his wisdom and knowledge. You can learn things from everyone and he was so cool and calm, and I learnt that sometimes you have to sit back, observe and take your time.” The Swede’s contract was a short one and soon Cooper was the main man and determined to make the most of the overseas-based talent. “I started putting together a scouting network in Europe as well as North and South America. I started to communicate with players who had been contacted once in a blue moon before but couldn’t see a vision. Then I started to share my vision and slowly but surely we got more players saying ‘yes’.” As the national team improve then it becomes a more attractive proposition for talented players. “These days we are not begging, it is more about how they feel about playing for the Philippines. We have to think about the opinion at home and what people think. We interview players now and find out how they feel about the culture and representing the Philippines.” Players such as Gerrit Holtmann of Bochum and the former Bayern Munich midfielder Raphael Obermair could not quite get their passports in time to play in the June qualifiers but, when international travel settles down, they will be called up. Better results internationally should help the domestic scene in terms of profile, sponsorship and all the rest. There is still some way to go but the signs are promising as the league is poised to expand from six to 10 teams. “There are plans for a National Training Centre and a National Football Academy and high school participation is growing. Football is getting more popular with young people. We are climbing pretty fast.” The World Cup is the ultimate goal of course and becomes more realistic after 2026 when Asia’s allocation is expected to double to eight. “We know we can get there and if we’d beaten China in June – and we had the chances – then we would have been close to the last round of qualification for 2022.” That may have been too soon but next time, who knows? “We are nowhere near as good now as we are going to be in the next two years or so. I know that a lot of teams are concerned about us coming up on the rails.” https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...nd-the-football-revolution-in-the-philippines
pff.org.ph/2021/07/29/phi-wnt-training-camp-to-be-held-in-the-united-states/ PHI WNT training camp to be held in the United States Thursday, July 29, 2021 With the target of reaching the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in sight, the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) aims to strengthen its player pool of the Philippine Women’s National Team with a training camp and player tryouts set this August 2021 in Orange County, California, United States. The tryouts and training camp mark the team’s preparations for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers scheduled for 13-25 September 2021. The Philippines, ranked 68th in the FIFA Rankings, will face Hong Kong (ranked 76th) and Nepal (ranked 100th) in Group F of the qualifiers. The top team at the end of the group stage will qualify for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 next year, for a chance to qualify to the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Philippine Women’s National Team head coach Marlon Maro will oversee the tryouts and training camp in the United States. Joining him are assistant coaches Rose Ton Barinan, Michael Agbayani, Anthony Albao, and Marlon Pinero, together with physiotherapists Red Sajonia, Anna Demigillo, and Stella Perreras. PFF invites all interested US-based women’s football players to join the tryouts which will be held on 04-12 August 2021. Player requirements are as follows: Must be at least 18 years old Hold a valid Philippine passport Players must also send the following items to PWNT2021@gmail.com and fill in the form in the QR code attached on or before 30 July 2021: Player CV Three (3) minute highlight video link One (1) full match video link (preferred) https://www.facebook.com/philfootballfederation/posts/2991076294503851 The Philippine Women’s National Team will conduct tryouts for players based in the United States this August 2021. The tryouts are part of the team’s preparations for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers this September 2021. Interested US-based players may fill up the form in the QR code and submit their requirements to PWNT2021@gmail.com ___ I think even if you don't have a Philippine passport at the moment, you can still apply and send your credentials as long as you state your intention in getting one for future events. You can apply for a passport as long as you can prove that at least one of your parents is from the Philippines.
Fantastic end to end solo goal by Azkal prospect Gerritt Holtmann in the Bundesliga. Gerrit Holtmann with an incredible solo goal for VfL Bochum 🔥 pic.twitter.com/DgCeN4NHNF— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) August 21, 2021 He scored this in Bochum's first win(2-0) in the Bundesliga this season!
Hopefully Gerrit continues to perform well in the Bundesliga this season but not too much. Otherwise Germany's national football team might take notice and call him up. As it is, he added a post on social media showing him receiving his Philippine passport. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1...090728¬if_t=watch_follower_video&ref=notif Hopefully he gets capped soon.
Nope his team Vfl Bochum won the 2Bundesliga championship last season and got promoted. This season they are playing in the top tier Bundesliga. Holtmann has also played in the Bundesliga before for 3 years with Mainz 05 and in 2019-20 with SC Paderborn. He only transferred to Vfl Bochum in the 2Bundesliga last year for one season. In fact that spectacular goal he scored was made against his old team Mainz 05. He also played some games with the German national football U20 team. He is also only 26 y.o. in the prime of his career.
Well regardless..... 26 is a bit old to be reintegrated into the german setup...his only chance is with us now.
I hope so. However I don't think any German national team manager can afford to ignore a player if he continues to score consistently at that level in the Bundesliga, so until he is capped by the Azkals, I still have my fingers crossed. In fact I remember reading of some football players who got their first cap for Germany later in their career and even made the World Cup despite the depth of the German pool of football players.