AN eight-day training stint in Japan from Oct. 23 to 31 will get the Philippine national under-23 football team ready for the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia.
Coach Hans Michael Weiss said that the preparations for the national team will have to be hastened now that organizers in Indonesia have moved the schedule of matches from Nov. 7 to an earlier date (Nov. 3).
The Philippines is expected to have a lighter schedule in the SEA Games football competition after the team was put in Group B during Wednesday’s drawing of lots in Jakarta.
The Filipinos are bracketed with last year’s runner-up Vietnam, Brunei, Laos, Timor Leste and Myanmar.
Defending champion Malaysia is in a tougher bracket (Group A), along with Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Cambodia.
“We want to give the players international exposure and have them experience games against university and high school teams in Japan, so that they are prepared for tougher games in Indonesia,” explained Weiss.
The camp in Japan will be in Gotemba, the same venue the Philippines utilized when they prepared for the AFC Challenge Cup playoff match against Mongolia.
Weiss will bring a 30-man squad to Gotemba, but a final cut of 20 will see action in the SEA Games.
Among the players expected to make the cut are Fil-German goalkeeper Roland Muller, Manny Ott, Mark Drinkuth, Patrick Hinrichsen and Jeff Christiaens.
Neckson Leonora is among the local players who could make the grade, along with Lemuel Unabia, Raymark Fernandez, David Basa, Paolo Pascual and Joshua Beloya. Peter Atencio
Manila Standard Today
Philippines U23 sharply this year, so the chance to compete in their group is very large. Each team is built on quality players all over the world, with this policy, this year's U23 Filipino can achieve good results in the SEA Games, but they do not have to quit training players. So this is a great opportunity to leave the impression U23 Filipino in this tournament, I also hope that 10 years 20 years 50 years even as the Filipino self-training can be the quality players medium to be able to participate actively compete for positions in the SEA Games.
ReplyDeleteThe Philippines wished the club success.
The U23 team players in the Philippines should use a common language so that you can understand each other when communicating! You are a team that.
ReplyDeleteToo great, the Filipino poor football we are fortunate to have found this player that citizenship need not give up training for our players could not train quality players - the difficult to carry out this work, so with this way we will have good results at the regional tournament ..
ReplyDeleteBut we want to know the names of the players that they were born in the country? nationality? What language do they use? Can they communicate with each other are? they say they are rock country does not?