15 February 2011

Two Indonesian clubs woo Azkals’ skipper

Cedelf P. Tupas

Two Indonesian football clubs have expressed interest in tapping the services of Philippine team skipper Aly Borromeo.

The 27-year-old Borromeo, who plays central defense for the Azkals, told the Inquirer that Semarang United and the Medan Chiefs have contacted him for a possible deal to play in the Indonesian Premiere League.

“I’m still negotiating right now and if the league is a go and the offer is something I can’t refuse then I’ll do it for a few years,” said Borromeo, who currently plays for Kaya FC in the United Football League.

Borromeo has also been invited to try out with a few teams in League 1, the third-tier league in English football. Among the teams are Plymouth and Brighton, he said.

But Borromeo is intrigued by the offer to play in Indonesia since the “money is better.”

Phil and James Younghusband, who are Borromeo’s teammates in the national team, have also been offered a contract to play with Jakarta FC in the IPL, considered by the Indonesian Football Federation as a “rebel league.”

But the deal has been stalled because of concerns that the brothers could be sanctioned for playing in a league not sanctioned by the International Football Federation (Fifa).

Philippine Football Federation president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta yesterday said he will ensure that the national players will be protected when they play in Indonesia.

“We want to look after the interests of our players,” said Araneta. “We know there is a problem in Indonesia but it’s an internal problem. We want to make sure that our players can still play for the national team.”

Borromeo said that the league set to be put up by PFF sponsor Smart Communications is “promising.”

“However, I also have to concentrate on my own career and clubs abroad are interested,” Borromeo said.

“The support towards football abroad is still far from our local league. Hopefully in the near future we can make a comfortable living playing locally.”


inquirer.net

7 comments:

  1. aly have served the country for a long time, if he chooses to play for money i won't take it against him, i understand the situation. its a good thing these opportunities present themselves to filipino football players.

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  2. It is a good thing in my opinion when he or other Pinoy players get offers from abroad. It is a good sign for Philippine football that certain foreign clubs show interest in signing some of the players. That proves that the level has increased and our players can only learn from their experience abroad (apart from the attractive earning opportunities). Our players can only improve when playing on a higher level and at the moment the UFL (even a good thing) does not meet this characteristics (even it is a good platform of playing on a regular basis).

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  3. Well. he is one of the best players in the country right now and he has to take advantage of opportunities that come his way. He is not getting any younger and these offers wont be there in the next 3-4 years. Any athlete will tell you, you will want to compete at a higher level and prove yourself.

    On another level, we will now have to contend with the fact that without a competitive league in place, we will continue to have these problems where in a majority of the first team is out of the country. And the sad thing is some of them arent even playing professionally. The league to be set up with the seed money from Smart is still months away from taking off and it remains to be seen if the salaries to be offered to the players are enough for them to live decently. But it still is a fantastic opportunity for the next generation. Maybe its too late for Ali which is a pity because he has been around forever and has been a great servant to the national team. But at least the offers are coming in. I think he should take them as he can only improve with that experience.

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  4. "The league to be set up with the seed money from Smart is still months away from taking off and it remains to be seen if the salaries to be offered to the players are enough for them to live decently."

    This proposed competition in cooperation with Smart is NOT an actual league. It's just a cup competition which is similar to the PFF National Open Championship which was last held in 2007. So at best, it will be like the UFL, players only earning allowances and not actual wages or salaries!

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  5. ^

    Back when it was first being organised, the UFL used a cup competition to separate its teams into two divisions.

    Let's just hope that the new cup competition to be created will lead to a real league.

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  6. In terms of quality, League 1 is far better than the Indo league. As for the money, well, Aly is loaded. If i were him id do it for the challenge, and that would be League 1. I dont think he is good enough for that level anyway, but doesnt hurt to try.

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  7. Well, lets see first on what is going to happen to the money Smart invested. We keep on saying it is a cup tournament but MVP has committed that 4 other corporations will sponsor teams. If it is just another cup tournament for so called regional champions will compete, then it is not worthwhile. I dont think you need an 80 million peso windfall to do that.

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