Guirado off to Myanmar

Fil-Spanish recruit Angel Guirado will arrive tomorrow from Spain to join the Philippine Azkals, who will leave Saturday for Myanmar to play in the four-team group stage of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup on March 21, 23, and 25.

That’s the word from Guirado’s aunt Gloria Garcia who said the Azkals’ latest discovery will be ready to suit up if coach Michael Weiss calls his number. Guirado, 26, has a Filipina mother Angela Aldeguer and Spanish father Juan. 

A striker, Guirado is expected to fortify the Azkals’ frontline and provide more scoring sock. He has played for Cordoba and Estepona in Division II and Deportivo Ronda of Division III in the Spanish league.

Although born and raised in Spain, Guirado has a special place in his heart for the Philippines. On his first visit to Manila six years ago, he brought back a Philippine flag to Spain. And two weeks ago, Guirado was here to try out for a spot on the Azkals roster. He wears football boots with a miniature Filipino flag hand-painted on each shoe. 

“My husband who is from Malaga and I visited Spain with my sister over 30 years ago,” related Garcia whose son Caloy is an assistant coach with Rain Or Shine in the PBA. “My sister stayed behind while my husband and I went back to Manila. She later married a Spaniard, Juan Guirado, who works in the tourism industry in Malaga and they have three children, Juan Luis, Cristina and Angel.”

What apparently impressed Weiss about Guirado was his work ethic. He arrived from Spain on a morning flight and in the afternoon, showed up for tryouts. Guirado played four days straight with the Azkals, never complained and did everything that Weiss asked him to do.

“Angel is very disciplined,” said Garcia. “He doesn’t drink, he doesn’t smoke. Before he goes on a holiday, his Spanish coaches weigh him. When he comes back, they check his weight and if he has gained pounds, he pays a penalty. During the season, he doesn’t go out at night. If he does and gets caught, he pays a penalty. They’re very strict in Spain and Angel doesn’t mind. He’s careful not to gain weight especially when he visits Manila and hangs out with his cousins.”

Guirado said one of his advantages as a player is he’s quick for his height (6-2) and that’s because his weight (195 pounds) is just right.

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If the Azkals hope to advance to the eight-team Challenge Cup finals, they’ve got to play at a level higher than what they showed in the home-and-away qualifying series against Mongolia.

In the rematch in Ulan Bator last Tuesday, the Azkals groped for form without defenders Rob Gier and Jason de Jong and goalkeeper Neil Etheridge. It’s not certain if Etheridge can join the team in Myanmar although Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president Mariano Araneta earlier mentioned that he would rather the Fil-British keeper play the three matches in Myanmar than the closer in Mongolia. It’s also not certain if other recruits Jerry Lucena and Stephan Schrock will be available for Yangon.

The Azkals carved out a 2-0 win over Mongolia, concentrating more on defense than offense, in the opener in Bacolod last month but lacked cohesion in losing a 2-1 decision in the rematch last Tuesday. The absence of key players was clearly a factor. Despite the loss in the second match, the Philippines advanced due to a higher aggregate score.

Mongolia’s two goals could’ve been averted. The first came when the Azkals’ backline froze, literally and figuratively, as Doronov Lumbengarav booted in a goal in the 21st minute. Lumbengarav broke loose ahead of the defense without the ball and should’ve been called for offside. The Azkals, anticipating the call for offside, didn’t bother to stop Lumbengarav.

The second was another heartbreaker. Jason Sabio clearly pushed Garidmagnai Bayasgalan from the back inside the box and the call was obvious. Bayasgalan’s penalty kick was stopped by Eduard Sacapano but the ball bounced off the keeper’s hands, allowing the Mongolian to score unmolested. Again, the Azkals’ defenders had no reaction to the loose ball which went directly to Bayasgalan. In basketball, it was like a player getting an easy layup from an offensive rebound off a teammate’s missed free throw with nobody boxing out. Was it a case of shivers from the freezing weather? Was it the absence of Gier and De Jong? Was it a lapse created by a false sense of security after James Younghusband put the Azkals in front, 1-0, in only the fourth minute?

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The Azkals flew in last night from Mongolia and fly out for Myanmar on Saturday. It’s a gruelling grind but that’s the price to pay if the Azkals hope to make an impact in Asian football.

Four teams are bracketed in Group A of the Challenge Cup – the Philippines, Bangladesh, Palestine and host Myanmar. In March last year, the FIFA rankings of those four teams were Myanmar No. 142, Bangladesh No. 160, the Philippines No. 170 and Palestine No. 174. Today, the rankings are the Philippines No. 151, Myanmar No. 161, Bangladesh No. 174 and Palestine No 178. On paper, the Philippines is favored to sweep its group.

In last year’s Challenge Cup, Myanmar and Bangladesh broke into the eight-team finals. Myanmar finished fourth behind winner North Korea, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Others in the finals were India, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Myanmar crushed Sri Lanka, 4-0, and repulsed Bangladesh, 2-1 but bowed to Tajikistan, 3-0, North Korea, 5-0, and Tajikistan again, 1-0 (in the playoff for third) during the competitions.

The top two finishers of Group A will advance to the eight-team finals with the top two finishers of Groups B, C and D. Making up Group B are India, Pakistan, Chinese-Taipei and Turkmenistan. Group C is composed of host Maldives, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Cambodia. Defending champion North Korea, host Nepal, Sri Lanka and the winner of the Bhutan-Afghanistan qualifiers comprise Group D.

The Azkals play Myanmar on March 21, Palestine on March 23 and Bangladesh on March 25. Palestine recently played a pair of friendlies with Pakistan in Karachi, winning one, 2-1, and drawing the other, 0-0. Palestine has been in Kuwait for training since March 6 and will break camp on Saturday.