BY BONG PEDRALVEZ
SOFTENING his stand against a prodigal Azkal, national coach Hans Michael Weiss said yesterday he is willing to take back mercurial Filipino-Dutch midfielder Jason de Jong into the team—with certain conditions.
"De Jong is like a stray dog now and he needs encouragement, which is why I am willing to take him back into the family," said Weiss after learning the player was sacked by Indonesian ballclub Persiba Balikpapan for breach of contract and lack of discipline.
De Jong’s relationship with Weiss soured after he failed to play for the nationals last March, first in the second leg of their Asian Challenge Cup qualifiers against Mongolia in Ulan Bator and in the event’s group tournament in Rangoon, Myanmar.
He claimed his club commitments had kept him from playing for the Philippines in both competitions.
The German mentor also cited Dejong’s uncooperative attitude as a major reason why he had not been keen on tapping him again once he skipped the squad’s last two assignments.
Weiss disclosed the 21-year-old defensive specialist had been phoning national squad media officer Richard Pacana from overseas several times and expressed his interest of rejoining the team.
Malaya.com
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De Jong to return right away? No thank you. He should sort himself out first before being anywhere near the national team!
ReplyDeleteIt shows that the management are a bit 'soft' when it comes to decision making with player selections.
They keep calling up the likes of Barsales, Gener, Margarse. Ian seems to be undroppable for whatever reason, and now they're gonna let De Jong come back just like that?? BS!
In case you don't know they are the ones who brought football fever back in the Philippines. They deserve some credit and let em play for at least a year before overhauling the NT.
ReplyDeleteSi Dan Palami at Coach Weiss ang may last decision, so relax. We need every help we can find to strengthen this team and bring us to the top. De Jong deserves a second chance because he has contributed so much to this team before he got into trouble.
ReplyDeleteTo start with hindi po natin alam kung De Jong acted that way in his Club maybe may valid reason.....kaya he'd rather be sacked than to stay in his club.
ReplyDeleteAlso, wala rin namang attitude problem c De Jong nung nasa NT ng Pinas pa xa so, I think deserving pa rin sa NT.
It doesn't matter what a player has done in the past. If they get in to trouble to the point of getting their contract with their club terminated, you definitely deserve to be left out of the national team!
ReplyDelete"Also, wala rin namang attitude problem c De Jong nung nasa NT ng Pinas pa xa so"
How are you so sure with this? Unless you're a member of the national team as well!