Mindanao booter happy with RP national team

MINDANAO's lone booter in the Philippine men's national football team, Peter Jaugan, is contented and happy with the way his career is going.

Jaugan, 27, was born in North Cotabato but he finished his college education at the University of Mindanao (UM) in 2004 with a degree in Commerce Major in Management.

He became a national team member sometime in 2002.

"I'm happy to be a national athlete. This is very fulfilling for me to be able to play for our country," Jaugan said in the vernacular in an interview before the team, which conducted a 10-day training camp in Davao City, left for Manila on Thursday afternoon.

He also said that he thinks highly of his teammates and their new British coach Simon Alexander Mcmenemy.

He added, "I am very happy that the team has a new coach whose tactics may be simple but he is very thorough on the basics. That's really helping us a lot. He carries the team to a higher level of commitment and morale. We are confident to finish strong in our upcoming tournaments."

He said half-bred and Filipino players are jelling well together lately.

Jaugan, however, was injured in one of the friendly matches they played with local teams. But he said he will heal soon enough and that there's no cause for worry.

The team is back in Manila and will stay there for a few days before flying to Taiwan to play a series of exhibition games in preparation for the AFF Qualifiers set in Vientiane, Laos next month.

Sun Star Davao