Azkals coach Weiss to Pinoy fans : Forget 2010 Suzuki Cup glory , look to bigger picture

For long-suffering fans of Philippine football, the 2010 ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup will always hold a special place in their hearts.


It was the tournament that saw the Cinderella run of the Philippine national men’s football team to the semifinals, forever changing the football landscape of a country that had previously been immune to the charms of the beautiful game.


Two years later, the Azkals are ready to take a bigger bite out of the competition. And their coach, Hans Michael Weiss, who took over shortly after the team’s breakout tournament, prefers to take a sober look at that result.


“[The Azkals] don’t depend so much on the glories of the past. I’ve never been a fan of that,” said Weiss in an exclusive interview with InterAKTV days before the Azkals flew to Thailand for the competition.

“It was a lucky run, and you manage to be in the semifinal, but forget about that.”

For Weiss, it wasn’t merely dismissing the achievements of the team before he got here. He is just as unsentimental about Azkals achievements under his watch.


“Challenge Cup or Peace Cup, it’s already past,” he said. Weiss piloted the Azkals to a third-place finish in the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup and a victory in the Philippine Football Peace Cup, the country’s first tournament victory in 99 years.


The coach challenged local football fans to take a look at the bigger picture when assessing the Philippines’ place against other football powers.


“Many of the fans, if we beat Macau 5-0, they are more happy than when we play in Bahrain 0-0,” he said, adding that winning against other teams in Southeast Asia isn’t as important as improving to become competitive with Asian football powers.

“Under my leadership, we’ve been winning much more than the very, very past. I think that’s already a good achievement, and I think we have a good chance to do well in the Suzuki Cup,” he said.

“But we have to see that it as [just] one of the tournaments for our team.”


Weiss said the Southeast Asian tournament is just a stepping stone for bigger competitions for the Philippine team in the future.

“We are very positive for this tournament. We are very ambitious to win the tournament,” said Weiss.

“But the bigger picture is Challenge Cup, the next bigger picture is Asian Cup. And the biggest picture is to stabilize football in the Philippines in five to ten years.”

interaksyon