23 December 2010

Phl feat in SI top 10 football stories

by Joey Villar

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ astounding upset victory over dethroned champion Vietnam in the Asean Football Federation’s Suzuki Cup generated interest not just in the Asean and Asian regions but also the rest of the world.

Sports Illustrated, the highly popular US-based sports magazine and website, included the Filipino booters’ stirring 2-0 triumph over the heavily-favored Vietnamese in the group stages of the Suzuki Cup in its Top 10 soccer stories for the year about to end.

Written by Georgina Turner, the story described the Azkals’ win right on the Vietnamese turf as “the biggest upset in the history of the Suzuki Cup considering that RP is ranked a far 151st in the world by FIFA and that the Filipinos had never scored a goal against the Vietnamese in the last two decades.”

“The Asean Football Federation’s biennial Suzuki Cup might not be too high up on your list of priorities, but this year’s tournament produced arguably the biggest upset in its history: Defending champion and federation powerhouse Vietnam lost 2-0 to the Philippines, ranked 151st in the world and without so much as a point off Vietnam in nearly 20 years,” she wrote.

Turner also mentioned the unsportsmanlike gesture of Vietnam’s Portuguese coach Henrique Calisto towards RP’s British mentor Simon McMenemy at the end of the masterful triumph.

Vice President Jejomar Binay’s name was also mentioned in the story for reportedly promising to come up with an honest-to-goodness national battle plan in the Nationals’ future campaigns, including a crack at a chance to play in the 2014 World Cup.

“Accusing the Azkals of parking the bus, Vietnamese coach Henrique Calisto refused to shake his opposite number’s hand after that match,” said Turner.

“Simon McMenemy was upset by the gesture but wouldn’t be drawn into a slanging match after the result that prompted the country’s vice president, Jejomar Binay, to promise a national training program,” she added.

Philstar

6 comments:

  1. Philippines and Mcemeny = AWESOME

    Calisto loser = AWFUL

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  2. AZKALS = 100% Unbelievable Feat
    Mcenemy = 25 % Credit
    Calisto = 100 % ass hole

    Not Shaking hands of Mcenemy is his choice, maybe he knows he made a huge mistake and under estimated our team... He is more upset from the outcome of the game and did not anticipate the "Defense" Style of Mr. mcenemy. But Mr. Hyena maybe you know better, that Mr. Mcenemy had no solid game plan throughout the game. The defense style was used because we won over Vietnam , I cannot call it Luck because our Team showed more than that. Pero naman even Mr. Palami was even saying ,"we should venture more on our Attack System" . Sorry, but I really am not all hands up to Mr. Mcenemy, as much as the credentials Achievements and hard-work of others coach, Please correct me if I am wrong...
    I have been following up your comments and I know you are a fair man, and a great sportsman.I often answer your comment on this site "Agree or Disagree" , I still and always will respect your opinion.
    -Humble Fan-

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  3. Lets just give him more time to prove himself. Im not saying he's Mourinho, but Mourinho made a great impact as a new RMA coach thats why I never doubted him and so many coaches to mention. But we have to support em or else his case would be like Benitez of Inter having no support elsewhere and everything turned into a mess.

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  4. Keep it up Philippines!.. Even the best coaches "park the bus" look at mourinho and his defensive/counter attack style. Calisto is just a sore loser and come as no suprise when the Philippines hasn't drawn or beat them in 20 years. Awesome stuff.

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  5. Out of all the coaches involved in the Afc cup, only Calisto didnt give us credit and even managed to attack us with harsh words.

    Even Robson whose a quality coach applaud our performance.

    I really hated Calisto, he's a crying-baby-loser whose in the edge of losing his job. That's a worlds poor coaching manners and identity.The 2 nil win is like a 100 times worth of wins against em.

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  6. I agree 100% hyena. Calisto is an asshole. Even my 10 year old son doesnt need any encouragement to shake hands after a mach win or lose. He should be ashamed as after the final whistle it is just another game and what he showed was utter disrespect. Personal ika nga. Ive said my piece on the technical side and his "parking the bus" crap. The Vietnamese Federation should fire him. He had no plan B against us probably because he was overconfident (something a coach should never be) and did not do enough adjustment also against the Malaysians.

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