Azkals new dogs of war

MANILA, Philippines - The Phl men’s football team shed off its “whipping boy” tag and assumed a “not-to-be-messed-around-with” status when the Azkals’ eked out a monumental 2-0 shocker over powerhouse Vietnam in the AFF Suzuki Cup group stages last year.

“That was the crossroads for us. Finally, the Azkals were recognized as a contender when we beat Vietnam. More so, it was (acknowledged as) one of the Top 10 (football) stories of 2010 by Sports Illustrated,” Palami said.

That Vietnam won the title the previous year and was cheered on by 40,000 fans at the My Dinh National Stadium added flavor to the Azkals’ already sweet triumph.

“We were upbeat going against the defending champion and host team. We thought we had nothing to lose and we just had to play the game that we wanted and do our best against one of the strongest teams in Southeast Asia. That was our mindset going into the game – no pressure – and that helped,” recalled Palami.

“We’re very ecstatic after that win. We could actually go into the semis and break all expectations. Having gone through qualifying (stage) and making it to the group stages for the first time, we’re the ones least likely to proceed to the semis. But we’ve proved ourselves and that was the turning point.”

The Azkals later held Myanmar to a scoreless draw to finish second in Group B (1-2-0, five points), just a point behind Vietnam (2-0-1, six points) and grabbed that breakthrough semis slot. The Azkals eventually lost to Indonesia, 0-2, on aggregate in the semis.

After the Suzuki Cup, the Azkals beat Mongolia in the AFC Challenge Cup qualifying playoff round, 3-2, on aggregate, then logged 1-2-0 (w-d-l) and five points in the Group Stage to finish second in Group A and make the 2012 tournament proper.

The Azkals have their sights on the 2014 Fifa World Cup. They faced Sri Lanka in the first round of the Asian qualifiers on June 29 in Colombo and July 3 in Manila.

“If we get past Sri Lanka, it’s another milestone in the history of Philippine football. It would be the first time we get past the first round,” Palami said.

And post a new record they actually did, doing it right before some 13,000 spectators who braved the rains one Sunday afternoon at the revitalized Rizal Memorial Stadium.