Azkals have a long road ahead

MANILA, Philippines - As evident during Saturday’s 1-3 loss to Spanish Tercera Division club CF Internacional de Madrid, the Phl Azkals will have their work cut out insofar as gaining top conditioning and cohesion are concerned, as they gear up for the next major tourney – the AFC Challenge Cup in Nepal in March.

“It (CFIM game) was a good gauge for us, we saw how far we have to go for the Challenge Cup. Basic problem for us is fitness and we need more training,” Azkals team manager Dan Palami said after the “Dili Kamo Nag-iisa” match, a fund-raiser for victims of typhoon “Sendong.”

Coming off the holiday break, it was understandable that the national booters and their UFL teammates comprising the Azkals Alyansa side were far from their best shape yet against CFIM. The team also managed only two days of practice prior to the charity match.

But Palami expects things to get a lot better when the Azkals take on third-tier Korean club Icheon Citizen FC, the division champions in Korea’s league system, on Jan. 21. This is another match for the benefit of  “Sendong” victims with the Korean community in Phl being eyed to participate, according to promoter Charlie Williams of Dragon Promotions.

“We expect a better performance, certainly. I think two weeks will give us more fitness and better cohesion,” said Palami.

According to Williams, who promotes the Azkals-Korea game with ABS-CBN Sports VP Peter Musngi, the Icheon citizen will parade a mixture of “strong rookies and seasoned pro players” and should provide “a very challenging game” for the Azkals.

“It will be the first time for the Azkals to face a South Korean team and it just gives them more international experience to make them stronger. The more opportunities the Azkals get against tough opponents, the better they will be able to rise among their current rivals,” Williams said.

The charity matches will help the Azkals warm up as they go full-blast in preparing for the AFC Challenge Cup final stage set March 8-19 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

“We intend to do six sessions a week training in the next months,” said Palami, baring plans to hold training camp in Dubai from Feb. 6-17 and possible tuneups with Australian, Arabian and other Gulf clubs, followed by a FiFA friendly with ASEAN powerhouse Malaysia on Feb. 29 at Rizal Memorial football stadium.

“It is this kind of games that we need to have for the next months or so in order to prepare for future tournaments. I’m sure we’ll learn from them and be able to follow the examples they’ve set,” said Palami, expressing confidence the training “will give us enough match fitness and enough time to gain cohesion for the Challenge Cup.” 

The Azkals are also hoping Europe-based pros like Stephan Schrock, Paul Muders, Jerry Lucena and Dennis Cagara will be allowed by their respective clubs to join the Azkals for portions of the Nepal joust.