Former PH Azkals captain holds tryouts for Fil-Am hopefuls in Bay Area Former Philippines Azkals team captain and now one of the major stakeholders in Philippine football, Anton del Rosario recently gifted the Filipino American community with a new pathway of an opportunity to play for the national team and play professional football in the Philippines. Del Rosario went back to his roots in the San Francisco Bay Area To hold the first ever football combine to give Fil-Ams and even non-Filipinos a shot at playing pro back home. "It was always one of my advocacies to be able to come back especially to the Bay and to provide opportunity to play just like this," he said. "I know how difficult it is to be able to get that shot to be able to play at the professional level. And now that I have access to be able to do it, I want to be able to provide it to Filipinos overseas. I want to provide it to college students who want to go pro but just fall through the cracks. And this is what this program is about." Del Rosario was in awe with some of the talent he saw, grueling it out amidst chilly winter weather in the Bay Area, and he looks forward to seeing some of the kids make their way to the Philippines. The combine was a special one as it was meant to find talent not just for the Philippine Azkals but also for a handful of professional teams playing in the Philippine Football League. One of the kids who tried his luck is Philippine-born Gabriel Bagtas who flew in all the way from Southern California. Bagtas moved to the US eight years ago and said it was his lifelong dream to be an Azkal. "We will do whatever it takes to take that chance, take that opportunity," he noted. One key component to keep this pathway going is the partnership Del Rosario struck with the SF Glens, a long standing soccer club in the Bay Area that he once played for in his younger years before heading to the Philippines. Ryan Maquiñana of the Glens is the driving force of that vision. "I feel like Anton is the perfect guy to lead this charge. This is someone who was born here in the Bay Area, or played here for the Glens and then went to the Philippines as a pro and as a captain of the national team for several years," Maquiñana said. "He's living proof that when these players show up to tryouts like these, that it can be done and you can make it and with him having the connections to get them to follow his footsteps. I feel like this is something that we could do for years to come." Maquiñana and del Rosario share that the success of the womens' national team was a big inspiration to establish this future pipeline of talent from the US. "I think one thing that really inspired us was the success of the Philippine Women's National Team qualifying for the World Cup for the first time. They did it with a lot of naturalized or dual citizen Fil-Ams, but that didn't happen overnight. And they did an amazing job, building a fairly extensive scouting network in the United States where the women's game is the most developed in the world so they can ID potential players for the team," Maquiñana pointed out. Though the Azkals in recent years had primarily scouted for talent in Europe, where the pro game is much more developed than in the US, Maquiñana and del Rosario believe that the youth development in the US has grown leaps and bounds in the last five years and there will be abundance of talented Fil-Ams coming up. They added that the long term goal for Philippine football should be self sufficiency with a grassroots program back home. But for now, they are ready to help give them a shot in the arm with the talent ready and willing to come from the Fil-Am community. news.abs-cbn.com/sports/12/28/22/former-azkals-captain-holds-tryouts-for-fil-am-hopefuls-in-bay-area @BostonRed
It is pretty amazing that so many Fil Ams have been flying from all over the US to California at their own expense to attend the Combine for a chance to play professionally in the Philippines as well as for the national team. US soccer players are still behind their European counterparts in terms of development and talent but they have improved leaps and bounds thru the years and should be an additional wellspring of talent for our national team to tap in the future along with Fil Euros. The success of their women counterparts in qualifying for the Women's World Cup has motivated a lot of Fil Am males to participate in the Combine and dream that they too will eventually make the WC someday while representing the Philippine national football team. The good thing about the Combine is that just like those in pro sports in the US, it is going to be held annually helping us unearth and scout Fil Am talents from all over the US for the foreseeable future. This is all thanks to former Azkal Paolo Del Rosario who has spearheaded the organization of the Combine in San Francisco in cooperation with his former club the San Francisco Glens.
Stephan Schrock, the Darling of Philippines Football, Retires 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿. 𝙇𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙.🇵🇭 Stephan Schrock drew to a close his international career with tonight’s game.👏 Thanks for the memories, Stephan!#AFFMitsubishiElectricCup2022 | #BeTheGameChanger | #PHIvIDN pic.twitter.com/D4YwTBYMl0— ASEAN United FC (@aseanutdfc) January 2, 2023 https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/ar...-philippines-football-retires?searchOverlay=1
Schrock really loved playing for the Philippines and wants to stay involved in Philippine football even after retirement. Even while still playing in the Bundesliga and still a German national youth team player he volunteered to play for the Philippines years ago. He has now moved to the Philippines permanently now and hopefully his skill and talent can continue to be harnessed locally for the benefit of Philippine football perhaps in a coaching capacity.
@Filipinas50 We also have a very active thread on the Filipinas on bigsoccer on this page https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/f...ppines-womens-football-thread.2044996/page-32
Azkals Development Team's (Philippine U23 national development team that plays in the PFL) Jacob Maniti is now set to spread his wings to play for Denmark League 1 side @hobroik. In a message to his teammates, Maniti said that "We’ve made great memories," and "hopes that you guys can kill it for the remainder of the League as well as Copa!"
I heard some rumors that United City is on the verge of folding. Many players are leaving because the club may not be able to afford paying their wages anymore. United City/Ceres-De Salle folding would be a tragedy for the sport in the Philippines.
Not for the Women's side which has a very busy international and league schedule this year. They even announced the resumption of the Women's League(was on hiatus for a few years due to COVID) after the UAAP women's tournament is finished. It is not fully professional though unlike the men's league. From Futbol Brew: Earlier during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum. According to PFF Sec Gen Atty Gastanes: - March camp is set for the Filipinas - PFF not keen to host Olympic qualifiers due to same period as Holy Week. - Coach Nahuel Arrarte will coach Women's U20. - Coach Alen Stajcic will coach Women's U17. Feb. 15 to 21 Filipinas will compete in the Pinatar Cup also featuring Wales, Scotland and Iceland in Murcia, Spain. All Euro squads are ranked higher than the PH. Wales 16th, Scotland at 21, and Iceland at 25. The Filipinas are rated 53rd. The Filipinas will plunge into action on April 3 to 11 with the first round of the Olympic women's football qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics as they face Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Hong Kong in Group E at a venue still to be announced. Atty Gastanes said the Cambodia SEAG would serve as a key tune-up tournament in May for the wards of Stajcic before they compete in the FIFA Women's World Cup slated July 20 to Aug. 20 in Australia and New Zealand. The PFF hopes to organize a tri-nation tournament(for World Cup bound teams) for the Filipinas in June before they fly off to represent the country in the #FIFAWWC in July. They are also expected to see action after the World Cup in the Asian Games and the 2nd round of the Olympic qualifiers before defending their AFF Women's Championship trophy back home in November. He also did announce a couple of friendlies for the men's U23 team in March in preparation for the U23 SEA Games and that despite the disappointments at the pro and international level for the men's side, at the grassroots level nationwide the schedule of football activities and tournaments has been increasing tremendously including a nationwide U19 club tournament for the boys and regional level tournaments for the girls. Gastanes also mentioned that the Philippine NCAA are setting up their own football leagues similar to their counterparts in the UAAP which means more scholarships and development time for our boys and girls.
Correction the post above from Futbol Brew. The teams they are facing in the Pinatar Cup in February are Wales which is ranked 35, Scotland 22 and Iceland 16th. The teams they will be facing in the Women's World Cup in July are Norway which is ranked 13th, Switzerland at #21 and New Zealand #25. The Pinatar Cup is a good preparatory tournament for the Women's World Cup because they will be facing closely ranked European teams with similar football styles.
Yeah the women are borderline single-handedly carrying this sport in the country. I just don’t know how could you build build a sustainable men’s football league without losing money for a long period of time waiting for it to be stable. The ticket and merchandise sales aren’t there for owners to continue investing in this the PFL. I fear another folding.
It is kind of similar in volleyball in the Philippines. The Women's Professional Volleyball League is more successful than the men's and is able to hire a lot of women professionals from around the world to reinforce their clubs. Unfortunately when it comes to men's professional and college sports, basketball hogs the limelight, signs the lucrative TV contracts and attracts most of the sponsors so other men's sports leagues struggle to compete. The PFF hopes the participation of the PWNT in the Women's World Cup will change the perception of football in the country and start to attract more fans and sponsors to their leagues for both men and women. The PFF should have just let the UFL(the predecessor of the PFL) to grow organically even though it was mostly semi pro. At one time the UFL had 2 divisions with 10 teams each with the first division mostly semi pro(with a few full pro) and many of the players in the 2nd division reinforced with amateur players from local UAAP universities and clubs.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/01/31/23/young-azkals-star-sandro-reyes-headed-to-german-club Sandro Reyes just signed with SpVgg Greuther Furth II, the u23 reserve team of the 2. Bundesliga club playing in the fourth division. I think its remarkable that a boy with so little games played with the ADT and then Kaya was able to make a transfer abroad to a big club but I don't want to get too excited considering he's only playing in their reserves in the fourth tier and probably a long way from the first team. He's only 19 and now he is on the radar of scouts throughout Europe. Hopefully he can pull through and eventually become a first teamer in a strong league like the 2. bundesliga or higher.
He is a Barca academy graduate which he joined at 9 years old after being offered a scholarship by FC Barcelona and played on many Spanish junior clubs after graduating so that attracts European attention.
With the expansion of the women's world cup and the Philippines qualifying, does this mean with the expansion of the men's world cup from 4 to 8 spots, does the Philippines have any chance of qualifying?. We could try and get a lot of Filipino-American players like the women's team has done.
It is not just the players. The general manager of the men's team is not as deep pocketed or as savvy as the women's team so they won't be as well prepared. The men's team also need to find a coach that knows how to build a team like Coach Stajcic has done for the women's team. Also unlike women's football US where there is a much bigger Filipino immigrant base in the US to choose from and is deep in talent because of Title IX, the best players in men's football come from Europe where most teams including the Philippines prefer to recruit so they don't have as deep a pool to pick from compared to other countries.
A few observations on the Philippines Iceland game. I noticed that Coach Staj rested many of the starters including Eggesvik, Guillou, Barker, etc. and instead started and liberally substituted a host of alternates. I think he was giving a final test on who among the nearly 30 to 35+ players that are competing for spots will be able to contribute in the Women's World Cup and other international tournaments moving forward. Winning or keeping the goals against down was secondary to the need to identify which players deserve a spot moving forward. The roster needs to be cut down for the first round of the AFC Olympic qualifiers in April(which is when they meet again) and many of these players either strengthened or weakened their chances of being called up for that tournament as well as the World Cup as a consequence of their performance in the Pinatar Cup. Newly invited players like Barker(not fielded in the Iceland game) and Serrano in particular seems to have cemented their spots on the team as well with Barker in particular winning the starting spot at right back by playing really well against Wales and Scotland shoring up a position of weakness for the team and Serrano scoring the only goal for the Philippines in the tournament. One bright spot in an otherwise dismal result for the Philippines in the Pinatar Cup is that Randle seems to have earned a contract for a top flight club in Iceland due to her excellent performance showing that she can physically handle and shut down international caliber attackers from higher ranked nations like Scotland, Wales and Iceland. That makes 5 Filipina players that will now be playing in top flight leagues in Scandinavia with a 6th, Eggesvik choosing to stay close to her med school in Norway by signing with a 2nd division club instead of playing for a top flight club in that country. They did better with higher ranked Wales and Scotland though in the first 2 games losing only by one goal margins. Besides when you are ranked #53 in the FIFA rankings and are facing a team that is # 16 ranked in the world, it is more or less expected that you will lose by a sizeable margin to that team and that is reflected in the points awarded or taken away in the FIFA rankings.
Some good news from the men's game. The Azkals are scheduled to face Kuwait on Mar 24 and Jordan on Mar 28 in a series of friendlies next month in the Middle East. This will probably mean they will invite many of their European based veterans and prospects (including Etheridge from the Championship and Holtmann from the Bundesliga) who were not included in the AFF Championship(scheduled outside the FIFA window) where mostly those based in the Philippines were fielded.
Philippine MNT roster in the March friendlies against Kuwait and Jordan. Bundesliga Gerrit Holtmann is still recovering from his injuries which have sidelined from league play for weeks now. Some new faces but I am disappointed they still haven't invited the Fil Canadians with MLS experience to the team such as Kadin Chung and the Baldissimo brothers.
Finally some good news. A week or so after I recommended on the PFF facebook page that they should start hiring former Azkals as coaches because they are more invested in the team than other recent hires, the PFF comes out with news that they have just hired former Philippine goaltender Muller as national team goalkeeper coach and today long time former captain Rob Gier as head coach of the U22 team to the SEA Games. He has prepared for this opportunity by coaching in various capacities in England and obtaining the required license to work in Asia. He immediately provides a boost for our U22 team as a fan favorite who has been thru the AFF wars as a captain and player and has first hand knowledge of what he is going to face when playing teams from SEA.
I'm obviously not there but I'm starting to feel like the PFF is slacking off on getting dual nationals to decide to pick them. The Choiniere brothers really don't have a good chance to play competitively for Canada so why aren't they at least attending camp on FIFA dates. Phoenix Patterson with Fleetwood Town in League 1 is never going to get a chance to play with England or Scotland. Aiden Daniels and Kadin Chung won't make it the senior Canadian team. The Markanich brothers aren't making USA camps. I don't think Bruckner or the Wolff brothers would make any switch now but they should step up with getting new faces aboard. Santi Rublico from Atletico Madrid was an interesting invite but he hasn't made any senior appearances at club level.
Can you provide me a list of players with their respective clubs and achievements? I will try to post it on the PFF social media page so they will be aware of them.
Kadin Chung (24) - Vancouver FC (Canadian Premier League) - 1x Canadian Cup with Toronto FC and 1x CPL with Pacific FC. Former Canadian Youth National Team player. Projected starter at Vancouver FC. Jose Angel Carrillo (29) - Levante (La Liga 2) - career regular in Spanish Segunda Division. Randy Schneider (21) - FC St.Gallen (Swiss Super League) - club teammate with Azkal's Michael Kempter. Rotational player at St. Gallen. Nick Markanich (23) - Charleston Battery (USL Championship) - Plays in the American second division. Has started all USLC games so far this season. Starter for the Battery. Anthony Markanich (23) - Colorado Rapids (MLS) - Twin brother of Nick. Made first senior competitive appearance and start 4 days ago with the Rapids and went 90 minutes. Likely rotational player for Rapids. Michael Baldisimo (22) - San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) Former Canadian Youth international. 1x Canadian Cup champion with Whitecaps last season. Previously invited to Azkals camps but still has yet to file one time switch. Rotational player for SJ. Aidan Daniels (24) - HFX Wanderers (Candian Premier League) - 1x Canadian Cup champion with Toronto FC. Semi consistent starter at HFX. Tyler Wolff (20) - Atlanta United (MLS) - Older brother of Owen Wolff. Current CONCACAF U20 Champion with USA but recently had an unsuccessful loan in Belgian second division. Rotational player for Atlanta. Angelo Bruckner (19) - Bayern Munich II (German 4th Tier) - Consistent starter for Bayern Munich II but turns 20 next month and has yet to make senior appearance in a fully professional league. Raphael Obermair (26) - Paderborn (2. Bundesliga) - Has been called up multiple times by the Azkals but at this point I feel he is just not interested in an international career with the Philippines. Unlikely for now Owen Wolff (18) - Austin FC (MLS) - Consistent USA youth international and is considered a borderline wonder-kid. Son of famed USMNT player Josh Wolff. Is projected to be a starter for Austin this season.