Fil-Brit keeper excited over his return to Azkals

MANILA, Philippines - Fil-British custodian Neil Etheridge excitely looks forward to hooking up with the Azkals in Kathmandu, Nepal, offering to provide leadership for a team facing a tall order in the AFC Challenge Cup this week.

The Azkals are the early birds in the Nepalese capital, planing in last Friday to acclimatize to the cold conditions of the Himalayas and train as a group away from distractions in Manila and focus on the debut match against holders North Korea on Friday. 

“Even though I’m quite a young player, I take on a responsibility, because other players look up to me, being part of an English Premier League club,” Etheridge, a reserve keeper with Fulham FC, said in London in an interview with ABS-CBN’s Europe News Bureau.

“When morale is down in the camp, I take responsibility to pick players up individually and collectively, whether they want to speak to me on a one-to-one basis or as a group,” he added.

The Azkals are in the fourth day of their camp in Nepal prior to tournament proper. Before yesterday’s training, the Pinoy booters took the time out to visit Nagarkot, a tourist spot renowned for its sunrise view of the Himalayas including Mount Everest and other snow-capped peaks.

“They’re getting used to the weather in Nepal. It’s a good thing they’re there already and by the time they play the first game, they’re already acclimatized,” said Philippine Football Federation president Nonong Araneta, monitoring the Azkals’ acclimatization training.

The Azkals are fine-tuning their tactics in Nepal amid a controversy back in Phl involving two players, Angel Guirado and Lexton Moy, whose pre-game bantering in last week’s Azkals-Malaysia friendly was viewed by match commissioner Cristy Ramos as “sexual harassment.”

Etheridge was himself dragged into a controversy before and although such thing is upsetting, he said the best way is to “try and deal with it professionally.”

And at the moment, the best thing to do is concentrate on the job at hand. The Azkals are bunched in a “Group of Death” with North Korea, also a qualifier to the World Cup finals last year; and former Challenge Cup titlists India (2008) and Tajikistan (2006).

“I’m sure they’ve already realized, but if they haven’t I’ll make sure they realize that we’ve got three big games coming up and this could be another proud moment for the Philippines,” said Etheridge, who is scheduled to arrive in Nepal today.

One more European-based player, Fil-Dutch Paul Mulders, was already on his way to Kathmandu as of presstime, giving the Azkals more bite in the midfield.

Like coach Michael Weiss, who described his side as a “fighting” underdogs, Etheridge vowed a tough stand.

“We’re not going there to lie down and let everyone walk over us,” said the Fulham keeper.

The Azkals are in the AFC Challenge Cup main tourney for the first time, eyeing to make more history with a semis stint.