Azkals kick off bid

BY BONG PEDRALVEZ

WITH new faces yet to be fully integrated into his squad, Philippine Team coach Hans Michael Weiss will aim for a more conservative approach against host Myanmar today as the country kicks off its campaign in the Asian Challenge Cup.

"Since we will play on Myanmar’s home ground, we will be have a much more defensive game, much more counterattacking," said Weiss, whose charges tangle with the Burmese at the Myanmar Football Federation Youth Center at 3:30 p.m. (5 p.m. Manila time).

The Nationals arrived in the Myanmar capital of Yangon last Saturday, merely three days after entering the stage despite losing to Mongolia 1-2 in Ulan Bator last Tuesday.

Thanks to a 2-0 win over the Mongolians in Bacolod last Feb. 9, the Pinoy booters advanced to the four-nation tourney, which also includes Palestine and Bangladesh, with a 3-2 aggregate tally in the home-and-away series.

But Weiss was concerned with the short run-up to today’s match, a sentiment he shared during the team’s only practice last Friday on the eve of its departure to Myanmar.

"The boys look tired and didn’t look sharp in practice. It must be because of all the traveling," he said, noting that before Mongolia they also trained in Japan the week before.

Weiss used the two-hour practice to size up new strikers, Filipino-Spanish Angel Guirado, who arrived that same day, and Germany-based William Espinosa, whose parents are from Laguna.

While generally satisfied with the form of the 6-foot-3 Guirado, Weiss was unhappy with what Espinosa showed on the pitch.

"I was unimpressed with Espinosa compared with the last time. He didn’t look match-fit. I expected better," related Weiss, who was earlier impressed by the 29-year-old forward when he trained with the Azkals in Bacolod.

"Maybe given one more week, Espinosa would be better, but we do not have that much time."

Guirado and Espinosa are expected to pick up the slack for striker Phil Younghusband, sidelined by a torn right hamstring suffered in the Mongolia outing and will be out of commission for at least a month for rehab.

"He (Younghusband) is a big loss, but I hope his replacements will be able to step up," the German mentor said.

Weiss also welcomed the return of regular goalie Neil Etheridge, who has been released by his English club Fulham, and key defender and fellow Filipino-British Rob Gier, who are both expected to shore up the nationals’ defense.

Another addition is Filipino-Danish defender Jerry Lucena, who will make his Philippine debut against Palestine on Wednesday and also suit up for the team’s third and final match against Bangladesh on Friday.

"Because of their (Gier and Lucena) experience, they will be able to fill the gaps in our defense," Weiss said.

In a separate interview, team manager Dan Palami said he was optimistic about his wards clinching one of the two slots at stake in the group to the Asian Challenge Cup main draw in 2012.

"We have a stronger team compared to what we had in Mongolia, so our chances in advancing are good," he said.

But while the Filipinos have the highest FIFA ranking among the four teams at No. 151, Weiss warned this did not mean they were the favorites to win it all.

"We are not yet at that level where we can dominate matches," he said. "We are not a super football nation yet."

"It took Japan 20 years to get where it is right now. We only have had six months," he pointed out.

Weiss noted that Myanmar and the Philippines fought to a scoreless draw in last year’s Suzuki Cup group stage "and now they are playing on their home turf. It is going to be a tough match."

He declined to make predictions about the country’s bid, except to say "we should qualify."

On the other hand, football chief Nonong Araneta said he would give a bonus to the Azkals should they hurdle the group stage, although he did not disclose how much the incentive would be.

Araneta added he and ABS-CBN, which holds the broadcast rights to the Azkals’ matches, were still trying to arrange to the live telecast of today’s game through the Myanmar Football Federation.

He said they had made inquiries about the live feed since March 3 but were unable to get a reply from the MFF since then.


Malaya.com