Pinoy fans magiging ‘12th man’ ng Azkals laban sa War Elephants

MANILA, Philippines - Nanawagan ng suporta si Philippine Azkals team manager Dan Palami para maging ‘12th man’ sa pag­sagupa ng mga Pinoy booters sa Thailand sa first leg ng AFF Suzuki Cup 2014 semifinals sa Sa­bado sa Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Tatayong underdog ang Azkals sa nasabing two-leg, home-and-away se­mis sa pagsagupa sa War Elephants.

Sinabi ni Palami na ga­gamitin nila ang lahat ng makukuha nilang ben­tahe para talunin ang Thailand.

“The smallest of factors that could affect the game, we’ll have to take advantage of. And one of the not-so-small factors, it’s actually a big one, will be crowd support,” sabi ni Palami.

“We would like all Fi­lipinos, fan or not, to support our national team. If you’re a Filipino, be there at Rizal, wear white and let’s show them that Filipino fans can also be a factor when it comes to the games,” dagdag pa nito.

Naniniwala naman si Azkals winger Misagh Ba­hadoran na magkakaro­on sila ng lakas ng loob ka­pag maraming Filipino supporters ang manonood sa kanilang laro.

“We always play at 100 percent but If we see and hear them chee­ring for us, we play at 110 percent or higher,” sabi ng Fil-Iranian.

Mas pinili ng Philippine Foot­ball Federation ang Rizal Memorial Stadium bilang venue para sa Manila leg kesa sa 25,000-seater Philippine Sta­dium sa Bocaue, Bula­can.

May nakikitang bentahe si Palami sa pagtatakda ng laro sa artificial turf ng RMSC.

“The thing is, Thailand isn’t really keen on pla­ying on artificial pitch so maybe that’s a good thing for us. Most of the player we have on the team play on that turf for most time of the year so maybe, the littlest of advantage we can get, then okay, let’s go for it,” ani Palami.

Matapos kunin ang 4-1 at 4-0 panalo laban sa Laos at Indonesia sa group play at natalo naman ang Azkals sa Vietnam, 1-3.

“That was a wakeup call - that we shouldn’t be complacent, rest on the win that we had against Indonesia. It simply showed that we still have a long way to go. Wishing for the championship is different from really working hard for it so we really have to strive harder, make sure we reach our goals,” wika ni Palami.