BY BONG PEDRALVEZ
TOWN that was a major battle front in the Allied invasion of Germany in World War II will be the venue of the last training camp of the Philippine Azkals before they clash with Sri Lanka in the opener of their Asian World Cup first-round match in Colombo on June 29, according to national coach Hans Michael Weiss.
"The camp will be in Duren. It is 45 minutes from Cologne and close to the Dutch border," Weiss said of the camp site where he expects to tune up his final 23-man roster with four to five practice games against mostly Third Division German clubs from June 13-25.
"Many will be third league teams but for the moment we cannot disclose the names because there is a league going on and there are some teams still battling for promotion while some are trying to avoid relegation," he added. "The success of the camp will be determined by the opponents we will play."
The German mentor described their prospective tune-up opponents as "balanced teams with some experienced and very young players."
While not exactly a rural town, Duren, heavily destroyed by Allied aerial bombardment in 1944, is secluded and will enable the coaching staff to "have all players under control," according to Weiss.
"But they will have an opportunity to go out sometime and go shopping, because all work will be boring," he added.
"However, the focus will be the matches, and if you play four games in eight to nine days, the players may no longer interested to go out," Weiss noted.
He underscored the significance of the Duren preparations by saying "Germany will be a big issue; it will be an interesting camp."
Malaya.com
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