PFF names Alen Stajcic and Nahuel Arrarte as PHI Girls’ Under-17 and PHI Women’s Under-20 head coaches

 Philippine Football Federation (PFF) general secretary Atty. Edwin Gastanes announced on Tuesday that Philippine Women’s National Team head coach Alen Stajcic and assistant coach Nahuel Arrarte were appointed as the head coaches of the Philippine Girls Under-17 National Team and Philippine Women’s Under-20 National Team respectively.

Stajcic and Arrarte’s appointment coincides with both team’s preparation for the age-group women’s competitions scheduled for the year.

“The assistant coach of the PHI WNT, Nahuel Arrarte, has been appointed as head coach and will be assisted by the local coaches for the Philippine Women’s Under-20 National Team,” said Gastanes. “For the Philippine Girls Under-17 team, the head coach will be Coach Alen Stajcic.”

Arrarte will be tasked to lead the PHI Women’s Under-20 team that will compete in the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup 2024 qualifiers scheduled for 04-12 March 2023 in Laos. Meanwhile, Stajcic will handle the PHI Girls Under-17 team that is set to participate in the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup 2024 qualifiers on 22-30 April 2023 in Guam.

Both coaches initially attended and conducted the United States tryouts held last 20-22 January 2023 at Dignity Health Sports Park in California, USA. The pair arrived in Manila earlier this week ahead of the local tryouts set for 26 January 2023 at the PFF National Training Center in Carmona, Cavite, 27 January 2023 at Tionko Football Field in Davao City, and 28 January 2023 at Dynamic HERB Sports Complex in Talisay, Cebu.

Stajcic and Arrarte will be assisted by local coaches during the preparation and competition proper.

“We expect that the local coaches who will be assisting Coach Alen and Coach Nahuel during the teams’ preparations, will gain valuable knowledge as they work with the PHI WNT coaches.”

https://pff.org.ph/2023/01/25/pff-names-alen-stajcic-and-nahuel-arrarte-as-phi-girls-under-17-and-phi-womens-under-20-head-coaches/

PFL resumes next month with United hit by player exodus

 By: Jonas Terrado

The Philippines Football League (PFL) will resume its 2022-23 season in mid-February amid a number of prominent players who left their clubs during the current break.

United City FC (UCFC) takes on Mendiola FC 1991, while Stallion-Laguna plays Maharlika-Manila on Feb. 18 before top of the table Kaya-Iloilo hosts Dynamic Herb Cebu the following day in a battle between Visayan clubs at Iloilo Sports Complex.

UCFC lost PFL top scorer Kenshiro Daniels, Mark Hartmann, Anthony Pinthus and Tajik Amirbek Juraboev, who all signed for teams in Southeast Asia or beyond during the lull.

Azkals Development Team (ADT) bid adieu to goalkeeper Julian Schwarzer, who signed for Malaysian side Kuching City, while Kaya also saw long-time players Carlyle Mitchell, Ryo Fujii and Patrick Arthur leave the club.

Kaya has 30 points through 12 matches, with United City behind by six and a game at hand, followed by Cebu (21 points), ADT (15), Stallion (15), Mendiola (6) and Maharlika (1).

The team on top of the standings by the time the season ends in June will be declared champion.

Read more: https://sports.inquirer.net/493674/pfl-resumes-next-month-with-united-hit-by-player-exodus#ixzz7r1X49Ky0

Women's Olympic Tournament

 

PFF Girls U17 and U20 - Tryouts

 

Josep Ferre says Azkals on the ‘right path’

 By NIKOLE JAVIER

Josep Ferre is looking at a longer commitment to the Azkals and claimed that the team is on the “right path” towards their goal. 

Despite not making it past the group stage, the Spanish coach believes that the Azkals’ experience in the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 has brought them a level higher. 

The Azkals finished fourth in Group A with a lone win against three losses at the hands of Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia. 

After his month-long stint with the Filipinos, Ferre wishes to extend his stay as the head coach and come out of borrowed time. 

“We will have to sit and talk. There is nothing decided yet. By now, we have to rest a little bit. Everybody needs it. And then we will see. But if there is a chance to stay here, I am very happy here in the Philippines also the players I’ve been working with players, staff, Dan Palamk who iAnd they gave me this opportunity [with] the team. So, if there is a chance to stay I would like to,” said Ferre. 

As the post-Stephan Schrock transition begin, Ferre is looking forward to bring the Filipinos further along with him.

Ferre’s appointment came 11 days before the AFF kicked off and hardly significant chemistry has been built between him and the players. 

Even then, the 39-year-old tactician is delighted with the mostly young-composed Azkals team that showed up in their recent tiff. 

“I’m very happy to be part of the development because every time that you play a game like this, it gives you a difficult situation where the pkayers need to make one step forward, to prove himself, to do something else. This is very important to have this kind of tournament or games to put them in difficult scenarios where they have to [survive]. And then from my side, I try to give tools, give them resources how to get solutions [for those] situations in the game. And what I can say is that they are very willing to listen, ready to improve. I’m happy with their attitude, their commitment, their effort to be better everyday. They are in the right path, they have to keep working hard. Because it’s not easy to reach this level, to keep [their] consistency,” he concluded. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/01/06/josep-ferre-says-azkals-on-the-right-path/

Kenshiro Daniels signs for Thai club Sukhothai

 

AFF Cup - Philippines 1-2 Indonesia

 

Official livestream :

Philippines v Indonesia | #AFFMitsubishiElectricCup2022 Group Stage - YouTube

Football: Stephan Schrock to retire from Azkals after Indonesia match

 

MANILA, Philippines -- Stephan Schrock is set to retire from international football after the Philippine Azkals' clash against Indonesia in Group A of the 2022 AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup on Monday at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

The talismanic midfielder made the announcement on New Year's Day, during the pre-match press conference of what will be the Azkals' final game of the tournament.

"As you know, in football, nothing is for sure," the Filipino-German standout said. "But 99%, this will be my last game for the national team."

Now 36 years old, Schrock made his debut for the Philippines in 2011 after having represented Germany at the youth level. 

He has been capped 56 times by the Azkals, with six goals to his name. As the captain and the senior statesman of the national team, Schrock has been the Azkals' unquestioned leader through several tournaments, including the past two Southeast Asian Games where he was tapped as an over-age player.

In the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, he scored the Philippines' lone goal of the tournament against Kyrgyzstan.

But Schrock acknowledged that he has also made plenty of sacrifices for the national team, particularly with regards to his family.

"Not many know what I had to sacrifice, how many million euro contracts I jeopardized to come out for the national team, and how many moments I missed out with my family," he said. 

"I missed all of my kids' first birthdays for the national team. I moved my wedding for the national team," said Schrock, who has three children with his wife, Pina. "I left [my] family sick and with COVID at home to come to the national team."

"I sacrificed a lot, and there comes a time where you want to have it in your own hands," he added. "Given that I was not selected for the AFC qualifiers, I think it's time to step down and to enjoy the last 90 minutes of my Azkals career."

Schrock's impending retirement from the Azkals gives the team further motivation against Indonesia on Monday, even though they are already eliminated from contention.

The Azkals have just one win in their first three games in Group A -- a 5-1 rout of Brunei last December 3. Losses to Cambodia and Thailand, combined with Thailand and Indonesia's 1-1 draw on December 29, kicked them out of the running for a spot in the semifinals of the tournament.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/01/01/23/schrock-to-retire-from-azkals-after-indonesia-match