Determined to field the best possible squad for the Asian Cup Qualifiers, the Philippines is eyeing two foreign-based players to beef up the Azkals in their campaign to reach the prestigious continental tournament in 2019.
Azkals manager Dan Palami on Tuesday confirmed he had gotten in touch with Fil-German midfielder Raphael Obermair and Fil-Swedish defender Jesper Nyholm for a possible stint with the national side that is bracing for a tough grind in Group F of Asian Cup Qualifying.
Palami said both Obermair and Nyholm had started processing their application for a Philippine passport, which would make them eligible to represent the country.
Obermair, 20, is with German giants Bayern Munich. He’s assigned to the second team, Bayern Munich II, that plays in the fourth-tier of German football.
Read more: http://sports.inquirer.net/240397/azkals-want-foreign-born-pinoy-booters#ixzz4agPfwzWT
If you want to sign more fil foregners then sign the best who plays in in every top leagues and not just some second to fourth tier clubs even if it is from Bayern. Otherwise pick the one who's left here and nurture them. The masses will not love these players only the fans who always post in Pinoyfootball likes them and they are 'the Few' as compared to the clamoring people who wants a home grown mix with the foreign born pinoys.
ReplyDeleteBut you don't understand. They are the best. Raphael plays for Bayern Munich II is the reserve team of 'The Bayern Munich' while Jesper plays for the top flight of Sweden, the Allsvenskan, the same league that brought us Zlatan, Freddie Ljungberg, and now Victor Lindelof. The PFF existed since 1907 and was affiliated with FIFA since 1930, how long do we have to wait to see the Philippine team rise in ranking when basketball is always more popular and naturally, the best local athletes always go for that sport. But if the MNT keep on winning like they are doing right now (well relatively). The fan base will go bigger because everybody loves a winner and more and more children will play football substantially increasing the talent pool. You might call it reverse engineering football in our country. The clamoring people do not understand football because the real fans can appreciate the beautiful game in its purest form which is possession based football which the MNT are now capable. PS. Maybe they have to bring back the Coke Go for Goal program, because that was one program that really worked for us then.
ReplyDeleteThose guys are not at level with David Alaba whom we want to be in the first place for PMNT. If Jesper have what it takes to become like what Ibra had achieve then he will be offered by Sweden first but if he's just another mediocre player then its a surplus for Sweden. I think we need to sign a player from brazil or argentina who is exceptional in talent and a class below Messi and Neymar then naturalized him. Its better this way than keep signing up lowly players from Europe , Australia or the US who cant influence every game for the Azkals. Palami should think hard on it..
ReplyDeleteIs your comment a joke? What a thinking you got there sir.
DeleteRaphael Obermair have been invited thrice already by Carlo Ancelotti to trained with the "Bayern Munich" 1st was last year then followed by their early training camp last Jan, then just last month he was the only player from Bayern Munich II to get an invite. Jesper Nyholm was considered the best CB last season playing Superettan by coaches, he was recruited by 3 teams in Allsvenskan before deciding to suit up with AIK. still young at 23.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you were the same person that posted above about having a mix home grown players and foreign-based one, but now you wanted to have a Naturalized player from Brazil or Argentina which contradict your 1st post. I don't see our National team going that route as it takes time,effort and money on the the side of PFF and Management of the azkals.
But at 20 and 23, they are both young football wise and are still on the way up. If they do sign up, I think this would be the first time the PMNT will be able to secure top tier players below 25 years of age. When the Filipino diaspora so much talent to offer to football, why naturalize? A class below Messi or Neymar would be a Dmitri Payet or a Ngolo Kante or maybe even a Michy Batshuayi or a Divick Origi so you must be dreaming.
ReplyDeleteMy reply at 07:31 addressed to Anonymous 06:40.
ReplyDeleteIt's also not realistic for us at that time to sign a player in David Alaba's caliber, he was already capped by Austria when he was just 17yrs old.I don't know why would you even label Jesper as a mediocre player when his playing in Allsvenskan.
ReplyDeleteNice picks, second best is always better than none. They may not be David Alaba, Alphonse Areola or Jonathan De Guzman level, but their age and training backgrounds will certainly help.
ReplyDeleteOh really ? Are they that very good that Germany and Sweden are not asking for their services? Or are you just over reacting because they get an invite suddenly by Anceloti and Bayern?
ReplyDeleteI don't get your line of thinking. If Sweden and Germany got these guys then we would be talking about them as the ones that got away like an Alaba or a de Guzman. The ultimate football glory is still winning a world cup so it is very understandable if a talent chose to play for France, Italy, or even Sweden to get to that world cup or Euro stage. This is why Areola who has pure Pinoy blood on both sides is still waiting for his Les Bleus call-up for a major tournament and will not be committing to us any time soon. He is not yet cap tied to France although he has been named to the team three times, he never got to play.
DeleteIto pala sina Jesper at Raphael ay hindi pa nakaranas maglaro ng National Team sa Sweden at Germany kaya posibleng dito na sila maglaro sa atin. Si jesper ay isang central back defender na talagang kailangan natin as partner ni Amani sa gitna pero si Obermair na isang right wing ay medyo surplus sa kanyang position dahil marami ang pwede dyan na naglaro na nandito sa PFL natin. Duda ako dito kay Palami baka sa Global din ang bagsak ng mga ito pag expire ng contract sa kanilang mga clubs. Market value ni Obermair ay 50k Euros at 200k Euros naman itong si Nyholm.
ReplyDeleteLet's face it, Palami and Dooley will import players because their immediate job is to win and qualify for the Asian Cup. The quicker the fix the better. They are NOT looking ahead 5 to 10 yrs. and probably do not care much for the future of Filipino football. Dooley may be OUT if the Azkals do not qualify, same for Palami.
ReplyDeleteAre you saying this as a criticsm? It sounds like it. I think fatlami is full of himself and Dooley needs replacing, but at the end of the day, it's really not their job to be looking 5-10 years ahead. This is the senior NT!! Whoever is in charge is suppose to be win now or at least try to.
DeleteYou want a longer term vision? Look towards the youth teams both club and country not the senior team!
Also, how can the senior team look that far ahead when everything below it isn't producing anything worthwhile!
Dooley does NOT care 5-10 yrs ahead. But Palami should be looking ahead. He started 2009 as manager, that's almost 8 years ago. He should have developed a pipeline of homegrown talents by that time.
DeletePalami is not developing talents from our younger generations. He just keep poaching U15's , U17's and U19's from different clubs and schools then offer them a national team slot if they will play for Global youth teams. Remember the Pilipinas Dragons who played abroad and had a descent performance there? He all absorbed it in his Global U17 last year. If he see's many talents in that team Palami will automatically fund a youth team but if he sees none in that category no team will be formed. GOM of Darren Hartman recruits players from the Philippine Team born 2001 and merge it with Palami's Global. Now you know how Dan nurtured his youth right?
DeleteI am assuming that what you are telling me is true. Palami got a racket going, it's all for Global FC, his baby.
DeleteWe already have grassroots
DeleteIt takes time to develop young players
Hate it when thais call azkals "noodles"
Synonymous to "instant"
the last time i checked, it takes years for a child to grow into a full adult..
DeleteThe Philippine team is really young now and could play together for 5 or more years down the road. Obermair and Nyholm would be good additions to this already young nucleus as they have shown alreday quality even at their age. Football is still a team sports and 2 players could hardly make a difference but they are good to have. This is not a quick fix, considering the PFF has been in existence since 1907 and FIFA affiliated since 1930. Dooley is expendable but Palami has been a major benefactor of Philippine football so he is there to stay until he gets tired of spending his own money or another patron comes along.
ReplyDeleteI think PMNT TM Palami is pragmatist na typical approach ng mga businessmen..ROI first yun ang top priority to recoup his investment mag recruit ng talent from abroad to play PMNT & siyempre Cebu Global FC. Kung baga hitting 2 birds in 1 stone lagare talaga.
ReplyDelete