Philippine Daily Inquirer
CHICAGO—The decision of several national
team players based in Europe and the United States to sign up for United
Football League clubs in Manila will augur well for the Azkals’ bid in future
tournaments.
Azkals coach Michael Weiss, who is
supervising the national side’s two-week camp here, welcomed the move of Denis
Wolf, Jeff Christiaens, Jason de Jong and OJ Porteria to play in the coming UFL
season as it will allow them to train regularly with the national team.
Wolf, a former German Bundesliga player
who spent time in the fourth division in Germany last season, and former Belgian
second division standout Christiaens have agreed to play for reigning champion
Global FC, while Porteria, an Under-23 standout, has been acquired by Kaya.
De Jong, who has experience playing in the
Netherlands and Belgium and Indonesia, has signed with Penson Stallion Giligans
for the coming season.
Fil-British midfielder Chris Greatwich has
also been linked with a move to Kaya, while new national team recruits Demetrius
Omphroy and Matthew Uy have both expressed interest to join a UFL club for the
coming season.
Last year, Azkals standouts Angel Guirado
and Carli De Murga were lured into leaving Spain in favor of the UFL, a move
that proved crucial in the team’s preparations and eventual third place finish
in the AFC Challenge Cup.
“The moves indicate that the players want
to be part of the team,” said Weiss. “It’s not like before, where we just take
players who can walk straight. We are now really getting quality that we are
looking for.”
Weiss said the influx of Filipino players
born and bred abroad will make the league stronger and increase the level of
competitiveness.
“To attract players to leave everything
behind and see football as a career in the Philippines speaks a lot of the
development,” said the German coach.
The Azkals stayed unrelenting in training
in Oak Brook, a suburb west of Chicago – even after its international friendly
match against US Virgin Islands scheduled Friday in Indianapolis was
cancelled.
The USVI has reportedly blamed the
Chicago-based promoter for its failure to fix the tickets of the players and the
staff in and out of Chicago.
Playing a “selection team” fielded by
semi-pro side Chicago Inferno, the Azkals lost 1-3 in the first match of the
camp.
Weiss said scrimmages have been lined up
for the Azkals before their departure from the Windy City on Aug. 19.
“We don’t have to peak right now. We must
peak when we reach the tournament,” said Weiss.
great! excitibg pero wag sana lahat global na lng puunta. wala ng balance ang team competition
ReplyDeleteWhat balance? Gusto mo maging PBA ito? Tingnan mo EPL may balance ba doon? Sa Spain nga dalawang team lang malakas. Hindot ito. Balansihin mo yang titi mo gago.
ReplyDeletemaganda nga naman kung balance. pero tulad nga ng sabi ng isa, walang magagawa. nasa offer ng club yan, shempre mukang maganda offer ng global sa mga players kaya madami gusto maglaro sa kanila
ReplyDelete