MANILA, Philippines -- Simon McMenemy, the British football coach who used to handle the Philippine team, lauded the Azkals’ performance against the Mongolian Blue Wolves in the recent Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup qualifier.
McMenemy, who is currently in the United Kingdom, followed the Azkals’ game against the Mongolians.
He said he could not explain his feelings while watching his former team perform versus the Blue Wolves.
"Mixed emotions watching the team. Sadness at not being involved but pride in the part I did play. Boys look good. Will go through easy," McMenemy said via his Twitter account.
Although sad for no longer being part of the team, McMenemy believes that there are more victories to come for the Azkals.
"To be honest it is personally kind of sad, but have to watch, want the boys to go on to greater achievements," he tweeted.
McMenemy even commended Emilio “Chieffy” Caligdong for scoring the first goal for the Philippines.
"Chieffy is capable of things like that. Glad it was him that scored first," he said.
It was McMenemy who steered the Azkals up to the semifinals of the 2010 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup.
The Azkals scored successful matches against Southeast Asian football powerhouses Vietnam and Singapore, before bowing to Indonesia in the semifinals.
The Azkals management did not extend McMenemy’s contract after December 2010 because the British coach has yet to get his Union of European Football Associations coaching permit.
He was then replaced by German coach Hans Michael Weiss.
abs cbn news
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
ABSCBN should have hired him to be one of the commnentators of the telecast. He is articulate, knowledgeable about the game and would have had great insight on the team itself. He would be like Ron Jacobs, the former coach of the Philippine national basketball team. Besides he could have taught the broadcasting team the proper terminology for a football game in the international scene.
ReplyDeleteDespite the win, the game was not well coached. McMenemy should be called back.
ReplyDeleteI understand why Simon was replaced, and if you guys knew the truth, you would perfectly understand the decisions that were made.
ReplyDeleteSimon seems like the type of person who sincerely wants to help Philippine football. It is disappointing for the PFF to just let him go.
ReplyDeleteOn the bright side, at least he has one hell of a credential to add to his resume.
The guy has class which is more than what we can say for the Vietnamese Coach. I still havent forgiven that SOB. We all know why Simon was replaced and it has been discussed very deeply and passionately on previous blogs. I am just glad he still monitors the Azkals and has no animosity in his comments. Im sure there will be a lot of opportunities for him if and when the Professional League takes off here and if the offers will be good enough.
ReplyDelete