By Joey Villar (The Philippine Star)
MANILA, Philippines – Fil-Britons Neil Etheridge and midfield Simon Greatwich appear to be front runners for the position of team skipper of Philippine Azkals team to the 26th Southeast Asian Games slated Nov. 11-25 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Current team skipper Aly Borromeo and manager Dan Palami felt either Etheridge or Greatwich, members of the RP squad that beat the Blue Wolves of Mongolia, 2-0, in their AFC Challenge Cup duel last Feb. 9, would fit the bill for the Jakarta-bound Azkals.
“They’re (Etheridge and Greatwich) both capable but we’ll see what happens when we already have the team,” said Palami during his visit to The STAR with some members of the Azkals and Philippine Football Federation officials Wednesday.
“I think Neil Etheridge would do but he’s not here often though,” said Borromeo.
“Simon Greatwich could too,” he added.
Palami, however, said the two players could be named co-captains of the Under-23 SEAG squad.
“That’s possible but we will wait for the team to be completed before we decide on it,” said Palami.
Among the current members of Azkals, only six are eligible to play since the SEA Games allows only players 23-years old and younger to see action in the biennial meet.
Aside from the 21-year-old Etheridge, who plays for Fulham in the English Premier League, and Greatwich, also 21, who is with the Hartwick Hawks in college, 20-year-old midfielder Jason de Jong, 21-year-old David Basa and Fil-Germans 19-year-old Mark Drinkuth and 18-year-old Manuel Ott are shoo-ins for the team.
The rest of the slots will be filled after the PFF stages a regional Under-23 tournament where the best players from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao are expected to vie for berths.
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They still plan on using Etheridge for the U-23's?? Wag na! He has nothing to prove and is clearly first choice GK for the full national team.
ReplyDeleteThey should use this opportunity to give another player some game time, for the sake of experience and therefore have a better second choice GK for the full national team.
Same thing for the likes of De Jong. He's a regular in the senior squad, they should give another player some game time instead.
We are not going there to participate but to compete so why should bring untested player, bring the best possible talent, this is very important games to us.we know that we need to give chance to others but it's not yet the right time to be complecent.remember that we are not yet land any medal of this SEAG, will keep the momentum go azkal
ReplyDeleteIt is good that we are forming a U-23 team for the SEA games though we again lost an opportunity to send the same team to the Olympic qualifiers which all our neighbors are doing. My question why we don't send teams to the FIFA youth tournaments?
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to understand why we can't send players to this youth tournaments when FIFA sends us $250000/yr plus the $300000 share from the World Cup to be used particularly for this tournaments.
Island nations here in the CONCACAF smaller than Cebu do it at U-17, U-20, and U-23 youth levels all the time. Even Timor Leste is sending a team to the U-17.
I get the impression that the PFF just doesn't want to bother with all the hassle having to organize tournaments and tryouts, as they have a full plate with the men's national team. In the previous administration, it was bec. some officials wanted to pocket the extra money, but what is the excuse this time?
Now that there are no women's football event at the SEA games, what are they going to do with all that funding. Just sit on it. People have higher expectations now. If need be, hire people and make it work PFF.
"All that funding" for the WNT? I haven't heard of any funding going there. In international football, the purpose of enterring a tournament is to WIN! Friendlies are for experience. You don't leave a 22 year old off the U23 team just because he plays for the national team. Tournaments are not for development. Go for Gold.
ReplyDelete@ Anonymous February 18, 2011 4:30 AM -
ReplyDeleteObviously tournaments are there to be won, but you also need to know what level your own team is as a whole and as individuals to see if you are realistic contenders to gain any medals. And for the Philippines point of view, it's not yet realistic to be aiming for a top three finish.
Maybe in the 2013 SEA Games we could but this year? Too early. There are too many inexperienced players that will form the U-23's to be considered medal contenders.
Tournaments may not be for development but what other matches, tournaments/competitions do you actually see that will be for developmental purposes? Why don't you tell me? This is only SEA Games football and it's only U-23 level. This is THE PERFECT time/place to give experience and develop the younger players especially since we're not realistic medal contenders yet!
Why do you think we are not medal contenders? After the result of the AFF Suzuki Cup, we have finally send the message that anything is possible and we are live underdogs. I think you are just too pessimistic.
ReplyDeleteI predict that Mark Drinkuth will show his class on this tournament. Remember that! Simon Greatwhich will also do great a midfield.
That's the problem! One over achievement in one tournament, all of a sudden you and a lot of other people think we're contenders to win every tournament we join from here on out.
ReplyDeleteOn the same time, just because the Philippines reached the knockout stage for the first time in the Suzuki, didn't mean we were contenders to win it either.
Make no mistake, we still have a lot to prove on the international stage and you musn't get carried away with the Suzuki Cup achievement. But sadly you already have.