Azkals coach: Forget about 2014 World Cup
By Cheska D. Geli and Virgil B. Lopez
Saturday, July 23, 2011
MANILA — Azkals’ German coach Michael Weiss was candid enough to admit that the Philippines will not make it to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
“It’s ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous,” Weiss told the Bahrain-based Gulf Daily News last Thursday when asked if the Philippine football team stand a chance to make it to the final 32 squads for the World Cup.
Instead of pinning hopes for a possible 2014 appearance, Weiss said the country should pour more resources in developing its grassroots program and create a formidable team that can match up against Asian juggernauts.
“It’s much too early for the Philippines to think World Cup. I have said to our internal circle that we can think about 2018, and that now is just a building process as we are trying to establish ourselves more and more,” he said.
The Philippines (Fifa rank: 159) and the heavily favored Kuwait (rank: 102) will begin their match on Saturday (12:30 a.m., Sunday, Manila time) at the 22,000-seater Mohammed Al-Hamad Stadium in Kuwait.
Both countries are eyeing a spot in September’s third round of the continental qualifying matches, where 2002 World Cup semifinalists Japan and South Korea are among the teams to reckon with.
Despite the voluminous support from Filipino migrant workers in Bahrain, the Azkals still lost its two tune-up matches against the kingdom’s Under-23 Olympic team.
However, these results fail to dim the hopes of Azkals’ wingman Emilio “Chieffy” Caligdong, who remain optimistic that the Philippines will be able to move past Kuwait, which made its first and last trip to the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
“If we want to have any chance to beat them, we must show them in this first game that we are capable of playing at their same level. Then, hopefully we can have some advantage at home in the next game,” Weiss said.
Weiss said the Azkals should get the job done early, limiting Kuwait to zero goal if possible before flying back to Manila for the second leg on July 28 before an expectant sell-out crowd at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
“If we lose 4-0 this first game, it will be very difficult to come back from such a big margin, of course, even if we are playing the second leg in Manila,” he said.
In Cebu, local coaches believe that Philippines has a slim victory against Kuwait.
“Slim ang chance pero pwede na mahitabo na madaog gihapon ta. Ang bola lingin, dili pwede mawala atong paglaum (There’s a slim chance but we can still win. The ball is round, let’s not lose hope),” said Little Azkals coach Oliver Colina, who was once part of the Under-23 training pool.
Colina, who has been coaching the 13-Under team since 2009, said whatever the results in the away game, the Philippines will bounce back in the second leg in the country.
“The Azkals are the Azkals. We need to trust our Azkals, we need to support them whatever happens,” he said.
Colina believed that the Azkals’ performance should be consistent with their last game, where they were more on the offensive.
Meanwhile, Cebu Football Association board member and University of Southern Philippines-Foundation Coach Eleazar Toledo predicted that the squad will focus on defensive strategies in the opponent’s turf.
“Kuwait, based on history and statistics, is a strong team but then again, we can’t give up. They won’t play loose on us, they will play tight against the Philippines,” Toledo said.
He believes that the Azkals should focus more on defense, particularly on team blocking, and guard possible attackers in the middle from going close to the goal.
“In an away game, we have to hold it for the whole 90 minutes, and ari na sa Pilipinas mubanat sa second game (and win it in the second game here in the Philippines),” Toledo said.
He also mentioned that a draw will still be a good result but if the Azkals can score, it will be better.
“If we can hold on until the end, then we can have a good chance in the home game, which is a big factor. But we can never tell because Kuwait is an attack-oriented team,” Toledo said.
And with Aly Borromeo and Stephan Shrock missing the first leg, Toledo thinks Paul Mulders and Rob Gier will replace the booked players.
Borromeo and Shrock got two yellow cards in the first round and got one-game suspensions. The Philippines filed an appeal and the Asian Football Confederation granted it. However, Fifa, which has the final say, denied the AFC decision and upheld the original one-game ban.
Both coaches believed that in the away game, a draw will do for the national team. They can have the chance to redeem themselves in the home game in front of a cheering Filipino crowd at the Rizal Stadium. (With Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)
Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/07/23/azkals-coach-forget-about-2014-world-cup-168472
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