Azkals step up in Suzuki Cup

Where were you when the Azkals played Vietnam last Tuesday? And when the Azkals played Myanmar Friday night? I wouldn’t be surprised if you watched both games which the Azkals won, 1-0 over Vietnam, and 2-0 over Myanmar. We should also add here the 1-2 loss to Thailand at the start of the AFF Suzuki Cup, Southeast Asia’s most prestigious tournament.  If you include “Face Off in Cebu City” (Azkals vs. Singapore) to your list of latest Azkals’ games watched, then welcome to the world of Azkals football.

Let’s face it. It’s both a welcome addition to the world of sports and entertainment, and a big boost to the over-all development of sports in the country. While basketball will get its billing as the country’s top sport, football is now up there to challenge the likes of boxing and billiards in terms of sports following and popularity. And it didn’t take a Manny Pacquiao to do it. The irony is that it took a street dog or Azkal to do the job. Well, ok, they don’t look like Azkals; in fact they’re so much better looking; but they’ve done a great job of lifting Philippine football to its highest levels ever. This was realized when the Azkals created a string of upsets to barge into the semifinals of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010. After tying Singapore and beating Vietnam in 2010, the Azkals made it to the semifinals where it bowed to Indonesia. All this was considered a major upset of sorts considering that we’ve always been known to be the doormat of the region. In fact, the team had to go through a qualifier stage for lower ranked teams to make it to the regular group stage of the Suzuki Cup 2010 edition. But that was then and so much has taken place. When you win despite being underdogs, you’ll catch the attention of many and will also gain new fans and mass-based interest to your side. More importantly you’ll also develop the sport over-all.

When the Azkals struck in 2010, Neil Etheridge, Phil and James Younghusband, Aly Borromeo and Anton del Rosario were the household names and glamour boys of the Azkals. Borromeo and del Rosario are no longer part of the roster as more Fil-foreigners have come on board and made the team even stronger. Today, you’ll hear more about guys like Patrick Reichelt whose mother hails from Argao. Playing key roles in the Suzuki Cup include Jerry Lucena, Rob Gier, Juani Guirado, Angel Guirado, Dennis Cagara, Ray Jonsson (whose mother is from Lilo-an), Carlos de Murga, Jason de Jong, Dennis Wolf, Paul Mulders and more. Local boys Chieffy Caligdong, Ed Sacapaño and Ian Araneta are very much still present as the younger generation of football Azkals are stepping up. It’s a deep bench that has made the Azkals a feared team in the Suzuki Cup. They are no longer taken lightly, and are considered as a darkhorse to the likes of Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Never before has Philippine football reached this far and it sure doesn’t look like it’s going slow down.

For this year’s Suzuki Cup, it’s “mission accomplished” as far as the group stage is concerned. The immediate goal was to reach the semifinals by winning all games in the group play. Thailand deserved the 2-1 win over the Azkals and it was crucial for the Azkals to score two wins in its last two games. The bad news was that the Azkals didn’t look pretty in the Thailand game. Although the score was close, it didn’t reflect how poorly we played and how better Thailand was. This was the sentiment going into the Vietnam game, knowing that they’re also a strong team. True enough, the game wasn’t decided until late in the game when Chieffy scored a nifty goal in the 86th minute. This goal suddenly brightened up the Azkals’ chances and confidence levels. Vietnam seemed to have a slight edge in terms of ball possession while stopping the Azkals’s counter-attacking ways.  A tie was in sight until Chieffy woke everyone up, doing a great job to perk up the team. The gallant thing about Chieffy is that he has accepted his role as a substitute off the bench. He was once the go to guy as a scorer but has now switched to a new role which has in turn made him a more respected person, all for the good of the team. The Myanmar game was all about Phil Younghusband stepping up at the right place at the time. After bombing the goalkeeper with two booming attempts in the first half, Phil finally netted his first and only goal of group play, thanks to a perfect pass from de Jong. Phil made his move on the defender, switched directions from right to left, then sent a left-footed grounder to the lower left corner for the goal minutes after the second half started. Like Chieffy’s goal, this picked up the spirits of all and raised the confidence level of all. Much was said about Phil not playing up to par up against the deck high expectations from the Azkals’ most popular player. The goal hushed it all up. Guirado’s goal in injury time was the icing on the cake that would help in terms of building momentum going into the semifinals against the top team of the other group.

But the tournament has only begun. The next goal is to make it to the finals. We’ve beaten Singapore in a couple of friendly games and have tied Malaysia recently. If it’s Indonesia, then call it the rematch of 2010. Either way, the Azkals are going for it. They’re stepping up.

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Time-out: Happy birthday to Samsam Gullas. >>> You can reach me at [email protected].