Sidelight: Booters tale makes FIFA website

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – The Azkals went into the Panaad pitch against Mongolia armed with much more pride as no less than the International Football Federation (FIFA) has recognized their saga of bringing glory back to Phl football with a prominent feature on its website.

FIFA, the world governing body for the game, highlighted the Azkals’ tale on its official website (www.fifa.com) last Tuesday, posting photos of their triumph over heavily favored Vietnam in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup and with an accompanying article entitled : “Philippines aims to build on its recent success.”

“Front page of FIFA.COM!!!!... UNREAL!!” exclaimed skipper Aly Borromeo on his Twitter account.

The Azkals’ piece was posted on the eve of their AFC Challenge Cup enjoying equal space on the main page of the site with stories from football powerhouses Italy, Germany, France and England.

The article discussed how the Azkals, under new German coach Hans Michael Weiss, aimed to use their fairy tale campaign in the Suzuki Cup as springboard to moving forward to the qualifying stage of the AFC Challenge Cup.

The Azkals earlier earned recognition from prestigious Sports Illustrated magazine, which cited their upset over Vietnam as one of the Top 10 football stories in the world in 2010.