Azkals eye AFC semis, abandon title bid

MANILA, Philippines - Admitting their “crammed” gear-up for the tourney, the Philippine Azkals are hoping for the best but are carrying tempered expectations as they vie in next month’s AFC Challenge Cup in Nepal.

“Our target is to reach the semifinals of the Challenge Cup. Our dream is to become champions. But realistically, with the preparations that we have, we don’t think we’re in a position to dream too much,” team manager Dan Palami said Thursday night when the Azkals graced the launch of Turf BGC at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

“(But) we’ll do what we can especially on our (training) camp in Dubai. Hopefully, the cramming will give us good results,” he added.

With barely a month before plunging into action in the Mar. 8-19 meet, the Azkals are having difficulty assembling even the locally-based players who are tied up with their respective United Football League clubs. 

The 30-man pool is set to fly to Dubai and Qatar next week to hold camp and play the Olympic teams of Uzbekistan (Feb. 11) and Australia (Feb. 16) and Qatar’s Al Ahli Sports Club, a first division side bannered by national mainstays (Feb. 13).

“We try (to prepare) the best way we can locally and we’re looking forward to the trip in Dubai, so we can concentrate fully, solely on the preparations for the Challenge Cup,” said Palami.

The Azkals played against reigning UFL League leaders Stallion Gilligan’s and won their abbreviated exhibition match, 2-1, at the newly opened Turf BGC, which will serve as one of their training hubs in Manila. Injured co-skipper Chieffy Caligdong, currently under rehab for knee injury, watched from the sidelines as did newly arrived Fil-Spanish defender Luis Guirado.

Turf BGC, according to BGC’s head of commercial operations Manny Blas II, is the country’s first publicly accessible football field, boasting of the Max-S artificial turf using ternate yarn, considered the “Rolls Royce” of artificial turf. Produced by Limonta Italy, a Fifa Preferred Producer, the Turf carries a Fifa standard 305 x 164 ft dimension. 

“I have not seen players or fans who are more passionate about their sports than those of football. We want to give them a world-class venue that will fuel this passion even more here in BGC, the home of passionate minds,” said Blas.

Formally unveiling Turf BGC with a ceremonial kick were Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president Nonong Araneta, Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. (FBDC) president Antonino Aquino, BCDA president and FBDC director Arnel Casanova, BCDA chairman and FBDC vice-chair Felicito Payumo, Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano, FBDC chairman Jose Campos, FBDC director Edgardo Cruz, and international consultant Jan Van Paradon of Limonta Italy.

Azkals coach Michael Weiss gave the venue his thumb of approval.

“It’s better than the other fields we’re training in, which cause injuries to players. We need pitches like this.”