OLE, OLE, OLE! Azkals striker Ian Araneta (23) and co-captain Emilio “Chieffy” Caligdong (13) lead the national football team play against Central Philippine University mostly composed of South Koreans in an exhibition match at Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo Tuesday. The practice game for the World Cup qualifiers ended in a 1-1 draw. (Photo by Tara Yap)
By Tara Yap
BAROTAC NUEVO, Iloilo – The exhibition game of the Azkals Tuesday proved that football reigns in this town.
“Bisan wala kami inugsulod sa kaldero, basta maka lantaw lang kami football, ok na (We don’t mind our hunger for as long as we can watch football),” the stage announcer said halfway through the friendly game of the famed national football team against Central Philippine University (CPU).
The crowd, mainly natives of Barotac Nuevo, cheered on their very own townmates in the Philippine Azkals.
They proudly boast that star striker Ian Araneta, co-captain Emilio “Chieffy” Caligdong, Mark Ferrer, Roel Gener, Nestorio Margase, Joebel Bermejo, Yanti Barsales, and Ricardo Becite III are all natives of the town considered as the football capital of the country.
The open field in front of the San Antonio De Padua Church became a mute witness to jampacked crowd of 7,000 fans that came to support the practice game of the Azkals, who are preparing for the country’s first World Cup qualifying match since 1993.
Not even the 19th minute goal of Jovanni Sempron of CPU team can dampen their spirits.
They kept cheering for the Azkals and were rewarded when Becite scored an equalizer in the second half. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Caligdong has earlier said that as Ilonggo players, they are always putting their best foot forward as they are representing the essence of what it means to be products of the country’s football capital.
Caligdong and the rest of the Ilonggo Azkals played on the very same field as young kids prior to having the opportunity to represent the national team in several international games, most notably at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup last year.
Now, they are hoping to bring more pride to their hometown as the Azklas will face Sri Lanka on a two-leg qualifying match for the World Cup, considered to be the world's biggest sporting event, on June 29 and July 3.
The Tuesday exhibition match was made possible by two of the town’s natives—Iloilo 4th District Rep. Ferj Biron and Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta Jr.
Daily Guardian
i've watched the match between azkals and cpu koreans in barotac nuevo. actually some cpu koreans are high school students. and azkals are bigger than them. pero nahirapan pa ang mga azkals maka score. nauna pa ang cpu makapag score. at i think it's a filipino member of cpu korean team that made the goal. mas marami pa yatang attempts ang mga batang koreans kaysa sa team azkals. kung sa takbuhan lang, naiiwan ang mga defenders ng azkals sa mga batang koreans. i'm an azkals fan but parang nakaka disappoint lang kasi dahil sa wala ang mga younghusbands sa game against the young koreans, pero parang walang nangyayari sa laro nila. most koreans na nakalaban nila ay under 18, nahirapan pa sila. ano pa kaya kapag mga professional players ng ibang bansa ang makalaban nila. sana ang mga local members ng azkals ay magsumikap din. it only shows that their only winning factor are the half-breed pinoys. talagang mahirapan tayo sa qualifying pa lang sa world cup.
ReplyDeletei agree with you sir! World class performance ng CPU korean team. Azkals needs more practice.
ReplyDeleteCPU was not all Korean. Somebody commented last night that their 3 strikers were Ilonggos and so was the GK who couldn't play for IFA in the 2nd game of U-23.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of raw talents locally but the PFF is remiss on grassroots development. Nothing's gonna happen if they continue to neglect grassroots development and just rely on the Fil-fors for international competitions.
There something wrong about the team selection for Azkals. If you are not living in Manila or abroad ,you dont get a fair chance to play for Azkals. A Negros selection team drew Azkals 4-4 earlier this year , Im sure some players were good enough for the national team.
ReplyDeleteI think the Azkals team in Iloilo would have been beaten by NOFA U23 champions.
Did PFF really scout for new players for Azkals and U23 during PFF U23 qualifiers and finals and PFF Smart qualifiers?
Yes it was a big scare and embarassment for the Azkals if they lost even if it was only a practice game.
ReplyDeleteSome comments/observations:
1) Did the half-breeds played 100%? its either they under-estimated the youngsters from CPU or they're now behaving like stars. If you noticed it was the natives who did most of the work.
2) It was very glaring that the CPU team out-run, out-maneuvered and out-hustled the Azkals. The CPU team made almost perfect passes and intecepted a lot of the Azkal's passes.
3) The CPU team are disciplined and physically conditioned. they made the Azkals look like old men.Part of their rigid training.
4) One thing is sure, though, it was the Ilongos who carried the day for both teams (they made the goals). Johnny said it right - there are a lot of talents residing outside of Metro Manila but they dont get noticed. Maybe Araneta should revise his grassroots program.
By the way, students at Central Philippine University (CPU) start kicking balls in primary school - maybe they should look more this way.
"There are a lot of raw talents locally but the PFF is remiss on grassroots development. Nothing's gonna happen if they continue to neglect grassroots development and just rely on the Fil-fors for international competitions."
ReplyDeleteLOL! You talk about greassroots development then all of a sudden you're talking the foreign born players in the national team?!? lol!!
It seems like you don't understand english very well. Didn't you see the words "Nothing's gonna happen if ......" In simpler terms, it means nothing is going to happen if they continue to neglect grassroots development and rely on fil-fors instead. What is not clear about that?
ReplyDeleteThe original statement is broken down as follows:
ReplyDeleteNothing's gonna happen IF THEY
1.) continue to neglect grassroots development
AND
2.) just rely on the Fil-fors for international competitions.