By Snow Badua
IF the head of the Philippine Football Federation will be asked to rate the performance of Azkals coach Michael Weiss, the German will surely get a failing mark.
PFF president Mariano 'Nonong' Araneta on Wednesday hit out at "weaknesses" in Weiss’ coaching style which he said impede the progress of the Philippine football team in the international scene.
The former national booter and two-sport star also pointed out "flaws" in the Azkals' game under the German mentor, whose contract as national coach expires on January 15 and is up for renewal.
“Itatanong ko lang kay (Azkals team manager) Dan (Palami) dyan, ‘Is Weiss the coach that could bring us to a higher level (in world football)’,” Araneta told Spin.ph in his most scathing criticism yet of the Azkals coach.
When asked to elaborate, Araneta declared: “Mahina pa rin hanggang ngayon yung ball handling natin, and walang improvement sa cohesion. Wala tayong system of play (under Weiss)," Araneta said.
Araneta also expressed displeasure over the Azkals' failure to keep possession for long periods against quality opposition as well as the team's penchant for resorting to long balls.
“Balik tayo ulit sa long balls eh, from the defense laging diretso ang bola sa strikers,” said the Ilonggo sports official. “Kaya madalas makikita mo si Phil (Younghusband) mag-isa lang umaatake sa front. Swerte na kung dalawa sila.
“Yung ibang teams like Singapore and Thailand, pag umaatake, they have at least four people in front," he continued.
Araneta also rued the lack of cohesion of the Philippine eleven, whose regulars are mostly based overseas.
“Cohesion, dapat andyan 'yan sa team. Pag titignan mo yung mga players natin kasi iba iba ang posisyon nila,” said the PFF head. “Dapat kung midfielder ka, midfield ka lang. Iba yung right wing sa left wing.
“Kaya madalas may misccomunication."
The PFF technical team is currently evaluating the status of Weiss, who is currently on vacation in Germany and unavailable for comment. He is not expected back until Sunday.
Although the Philippines went from No. 159 in the world rankings to an all-time high of 147th during Weiss' first two years in charge, Araneta said it could have been better.
“We have the players now who have the experience,” he said, rattling off the names of new recruits like Dennis Cagara, Jerry Lucena and Stephan Schrock.
However, Araneta gave Weiss credit for the discipline he has instilled in the Azkals as well as the team's conditioning.
“In fairness, maganda ang conditioning ngayon ng mga bata. Kita mo parang mga diesel, pag second half duon bumabanat,” said Araneta while praising the Azkals third-place finish under Weiss in the last Challenge Cup.
spin.ph
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Tama ka Mr. President wlang system of play si Weiss kaso si Palami ang masusunod hindi ang PFF.
ReplyDeleteWTF! Youre the PRESIDENT, Araneta! You can do whatever suits you, why ask Palami when youre the one with the power, or is the one with the money who calls the shots?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, cant do worse than Weiss, and we can certainly do better. We need a coach with more authority, a coach who can get the best out of our players. Weiss didnt manage that.
That Mr. Araneta speaks about this in public is just wrong. In private, yes, he can lash out as hard as he can at Weiss, torture him, tell hiim how he really feels. But as PFF President he shouldn't be making very specific statements like he did.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mr. Araneta's statements. And I'm not in favor of extending Weiss's contract. But that doesn't mean I like it when the PFF President gives specific advise on coaching matters to the coach, especially when his contract is under review for extension.
If he's unhappy, let him just not renew the contract.
Let's get a new coach!
About time actually he says something. I find it ballsy that he can speak his mind and throw it out there in the open. He's president he can say what he deems important to get a message across. Maybe that message is NOT for Weiss. Anyway, itd be interesting to find out what happens next. I'm with you re: NOT renew contract, also agree with 17:07 about coaches that can "bring out the best in players". Happy New Year!
Deletesus! he didn't need to say it. it was us who asked for help in the first place so pasalamat na lang tayo and move to the next coach. para namang maraming international coaches na nagkakandarapa na kunin natin.
Deletewe should have just helped him by preserving his name which where he livelihood is based and just thank him.
Mr. Araneta, if you have any gripes about one of your staff members, the best way to address it is to talk to the person. Going to the press about issues regarding your staff members is very disrespectful and demeaning. It only incites division within the organization. "Praise in public, and criticize in private." I'm sure you have heard this being a leader you are. Mr. Weiss has done a lot to ensure continuity of football in this country. Something you and your other federation officials could not do for so many decades.
DeleteThe Philippines has just gone past infancy in the international football arena. We are just learning to walk, and we must walk properly before we learn to run. That doesn't mean the Azkals can bite the big boys now.
Sir, for the sake of keeping the integrity of your organization, I think you should deliver a public apology to Coach Weiss.
Pretty sure Weiss reads filipinofootball.blog
ReplyDeletejust to see how much he's loved by the fans.
Araneta's comments are of course disgraceful
with the coach out of the country but maybe he's hoping Hans Michael will be so annoyed he'll just
tender his resignation without any face to face
unpleasantness.
Problem is in the development of our midfielders. They are no show on the attack aspect. Their passing in the mid is also quite bad. Touch in also not so good. Stop the long balls and bring the ball forward. The reason sometimes we find Phil alone in the attack is because we play a bit too deep defensively and resort on counter attacking. But then again we don't have good, fast, skilled playmakers, and attacking mids. We can find a few more underdeveloped aspect in the Azkals game. So time for someone who can finally fine tune our players? perhaps it's in the skills of our players that is just not quite there like, good touches, accurate passing, and vision and understanding of the game maybe? Idk. But we really need to improve. But right now we are hungry for result and winning it all so I guess bringing in a better coach is not bad at all.
ReplyDeleteWe can find somebody better??? Really? Like who?? Who's out there that's willing to take this gig??
ReplyDeleteHey, Anonymous 2 Jan 22:56. You are showing a losers mentality. hahaha. If your lazy and just wait for a blessing well shit ain't going to happen. Do I think we can find a better coach, yes of course. Do I expect to get JM, AW, PepG??? Of course not. But to suggest that we can't find anyone better is just plain foolish and so dumb. If you want to improve then you do everything you can to get there.
Deletetry getting another coach WITHOUT spending a centavo like we did on weiss. tinulungan na nga lang tayo ng german FA, kayo pa ang parang di marunong magpasalamat.
DeleteGerman FA paying Coach Weiss salary! Get your facts straight before commenting.
DeleteAnonymous 20:28, you should fvcking learn how to comprehend what you are reading because nothing in the above comments ever mentioned that the PFF is paying the coach. hahahaha. Don't just blab and throw words on here. Everyone seem to know that the German FA is paying the coach already; that's OLD info.
DeleteAnonymous 19:53, I don't know what you are trying to get at. The above comment before you was simply saying that "if you want to improve then you do everything you can to get there." I take that as spending, bargaining, asking other FAs for assistance, etc., to get improve results. I don't think that suggests anything near ungratefulness towards the German FA. Just because the German FA is lending us a coach, God knows how bottom he is in the pool of German coaches, doesn't mean that we should just let the German FA dictate our future and stunt our development by sticking to what is not working. Sure we have improved but we have plateaued it seems either. Time for a change because we have become a defensive team for the most part. This system of defend and counter attack would only give us a draw for most contests. If you look at our stats we are anemic in scoring and possession. How do you expect to command a game or a tourney with that trend. Like what Anonymous 10:20 said, "do everything you can to get there" (to improve).
Nothing against the coach, he knows more than I do, but from the outside looking in, I think the task of a National team coach is monumental, specially in our case. It's two folds actually: 1st to win and be one of the teams at the top, 2nd to create the condition for the rest of the growing potential players in the country to succeed.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion he comes short on both fronts. For the 1st one, it's a result-driven game and no matter the numbers we still didn't improve from the past standings, being "equal" with our past result in the tournament doesn't cut it.
Regarding the 2nd task, there's not really a clear philosophy in the coaching campaign. I think coach weiss doesn't have any kind of signature or clear-cut and simple philosophy that can sort of offer players in the future growth or something that they want to be a part in. If im a player and good one for example, I'm looking for a coaching philosophy that can allow me to utilize my skills and intelligence around the game to the maximum; and this is important because there are players now in the Azkals that's been playing as though they are always doubtful of whatever their tasks are in the pitch.
The PFF President said it right. For all those who's into coaching, and playing in the high level of football in our country, it is clear that there is no direction nor a system of play.
ReplyDeletePutting players in different positions clearly states no direction, it's like sending soldiers without guns. Even the first eleven is very inconsistent.
Having foreign coaches to coach the national team is indeed needed years ago, to spark a change, and hopefully transfer technology to the local coaches. Did Weiss give direction to our local coaches, was there a conference where he told everyone, the direction he wants to be taught to the next generation of Azkals?
Being the national coach is a tough job, and while we pay him so much, he has to do a good job. The PFF has spent a lot to bring in those filforeigns, but they're not fully utilized, perhaps there is no plan... All he did was bring in people, and let the federation spend.
His various "international friendlies" looked more like a vacation trip for the team.
Even preparation camps locally have no clear direction. Pass and go??? He should have focused on set-pieces and corners...
The president has spoken, and we gave Weiss the chance to handle our national team and indeed paid a lot for it. A change is clearly acceptable.
All the best to the new year, go Philippine Football.
focus on set-pieces and corners??? Focus on that??? I mean yeah practice those but in reality those only come sparsely. Plus we dont have a player that has a pretty accurate curls and etc.. Nway, they should have focused more on bringing the ball up systematically so that there are multiple options up the top instead of just single striker doing all the work or crosses from the flanks which are really more like 30% chance. Nway, a more systematic game. Also mids that do initiate the attacks too instead of getting bypassed through long balls. improvement in dribbling, passing, touch, and just awareness and understanding of the flow of the game. In other words, EVERYTHING. hahahaha... nah, we just got to do better whatever that may be for the next campaigns.
Deleteno we did not pay him. the german FA did.
DeleteMr. Araneta, i agree with your statement. The coach must bring out the fullest of each individual player, that is every coach responsibilty. There are many factors that you must consider... Most of the players came from different parts of the world that they hardly play with each other and considering that they play together for very short time. But if you are asking coach Weiss to make azkal to play fluid passing like barcelona or even those asean team like thailand, we are still ten years behind from our asean neighbor. A power house football team cannot be made in two years time. It is not what we want to hear from you as a president of PFF. If you don't like coach Weiss job, so be it... The way you react is very unprofessional, can you please communicate with your management before you let this kind of news come out which is pretty unfair to the coach of our national team. Can you please lay out your long term plan for the Philippine football not just band aid solution before you react like that...
ReplyDeletewhat's your grassroots project mr araneta? your FAs are not doing their jobs. they're always relying on clubs and schools to develop their players. they are not even thinking of ways to help them.
ReplyDeletesa festivals lang kayo magaling. buti sana kung may FIFA international 7-a-side, wala naman.
stop the kumpadre system!
stop the "secret" tryouts/selections in the provinces!
help the UFL!
you don't own philippine football! you are just there to guide it to its destiny without stepping on anyone's toes.
The local FAs have their own presidents, board members etc. In which they can organize leagues, and they can also organize festivals, and they can give support to organizers who wants to organize a 7-aside festival. Dont put all the blame on the PFF. I can understand why festivals are being organized. The availability of fields around the country isnt that great, and with festivals you dont need a lot of fields.
DeletePersonally i think festivals are just for fun, and nothing more than that, but i still wouldnt put all the blame on Araneta. The FAs can do something themselves, but i agree that the PFF should somehow be involved. Ive witnessed FAs working against organizers who wanted to organize leagues for youth teams and senior teams, and the FAs didnt want to sanction it etc. In some cases you can blame the FAs.
Theres is alot of work to be done for Philippine football, but with the recent success and gain in popularity, all we can do is to hope for the best and that the progress will go in the right direction. Im sure Araneta and everyone involved in the sport, that there are still alot to be learned and alot to be done.
When it comes to the UFL, they can help themselves by expanding the league in the other regions. As of now its purely Manila based, except for a couple of teams. Think how fun, and great it would be if the UFL included the whole nation.
Id personally scrap the SMART championship, its old format, and its not as interesting as the UFL. Get the sponsors to spit in money into the UFL instead and make it bigger and better.
I think the UFL is open to any team that has a viable and sustainable logistics. I mean a Mindanao team would really be spending more in travelling expense compare to Capital based teams. Do you remember the MBA once??? Yeah, that was much more fun because of home games, but the reality of travelling expenses hurt the teams and league eventually. For now, I think the UFL is right where it needs to be (a manageable size and location) before expanding and become prone to imploding. Maybe in the near future the UFL would be ready to accept expansion teams. Well, there's the Smart Cup. That's I guess comparable to the FA Cup where it is national level.
DeletePFF grassroots program follows FIFA. For ages 6-8, 5-a-side is encouraged to allow players to touch the ball more often. For ages 9-10, it's 7-a-side. For 11-12, they now introduce 9-a-side.
ReplyDeletethe Grassroots program of Mr. Araneta is the PFF KASIBULAN Grassroots Football Development Program. You can search it in google or yahoo.
ReplyDelete