Azkals kick off Suzuki Cup campaign against hosts War Elephants

Karl Decena, InterAKTV

BANGKOK, Thailand – The Philippine national men’s football team kicks off its campaign in the 2012 ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup when it battles host Thailand Saturday night at the Rajamangala Stadium here.
The Azkals, whose fame surged after their Cinderella run to the semifinals of the tournament two years ago, look to end their losing tradition to the Thais, to whom they suffered large beatdowns in their last 12 encounters. Thailand’s 9-0 demolition of the Philippines in 1999 remains the most lopsided result of the matchup.
But this year is a different story for the Azkals, who have been beefed up by ample international experience and more talented players based in the Philippines and abroad. Leading the charge for the Azkals are veteran skipper Chieffy Caligdong, as well as brothers Phil and James Younghusband, Jerry Lucena, Rob Gier and Eduard Sacapaño, among others.
“We’ll be very competitive,” Azkals coach Hans Michael Weiss said. “We look to exploit all our talent in the squad and we’re excited to play the match.”
However, the squad will miss striker Denis Wolf, who suffered an ankle injury before the match.
Thailand, meanwhile, doesn’t want to look at their past results against the Philippines and considers the Azkals as a tough challenge.
“That is the past. That was before,” Thailand coach Winfried Schaefer said.
The Thailand football team, nicknamed the War Elephants, will rely on forward Pipob On-Mo, who Schaefer regarded as the squad’s best striker, as well as Teerasil Dangda, another striker, and midfielder Datsakorn Thonglao.
The Azkals will play Thailand in the nightcap, while Vietnam and Myanmar clash in the tournament opener at 5:30 p.m Bangkok time.
AKTV will start the coverage of the Azkals-Thailand match on Saturday at 9.p.m. Manila time.

Interaksyon