Azkals shut door on Dizon

A few weeks ago, UK-born Filipino Curt Dizon was featured in this column as an aspiring football player with dreams of someday making it to the English Premier League and suiting up for the Azkals.

Dizon, 18, is taking a year off from school to concentrate on pursuing a professional football career after nearly being named one of three finalists in the Nike Chance camp in Manchester that drew over 5,000 entries from all over England. He polished his skills with the Brunswick under-14 team based in Fulham under coach Scott Berry and the Crystal Palace under-16 squad then moved to Queens Sports Academy as a football scholar under coach David Reddington.

When word got around that Dizon was interested in trying out for the Azkals, Pinoyfootball.com publisher David Pallasigue contacted his father Cris asking for his resume. Pallasigue, who is based in Crystal Lake, Illinois, said he would forward the bio to the Azkal coaches who were then in Chicago for a training camp. Eventually, Dizon was informed by Pallasique that the Azkals weren’t interested.

Dizon’s father was disappointed with the rejection, probably more disappointed than his son who’s set to join the Peterborough FC training camp. Peterborough competes in the English second-level Championship, a step down from the Premier League. 

“Mr. Pallasigue got back to me and relayed the Azkal response which was ‘we are looking for defenders at the moment,’” said Dizon’s father. “I just wonder if this is true. If so, it’s okay. I just find it strange and negative. Surely, if our game in the Philippines is to progress and get stronger, shouldn’t they be looking or giving players with good ability and hungry to represent our country, the chance to show what they’ve got before turning them down point blank without even seeing them play?”

  Dizon’s father added, “I strongly believe that no matter how many or how good the players you’ve got already and whatever position in the field, the door should always be open for players with ability and talent as this could only be good for the team and for sure, it will give healthy competition for spots and push others to give their best at all times.”

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But he said it wouldn’t be fair to second-guess the Azkals’ motives. “Maybe, my son is not good enough and his credentials are not for them,” he said. “I do hope I’m wrong, though, and wish the Azkals all the best and as you know, they will always have our support. It’s obviously only my opinion. I’m just happy that Mr. Pallasigue took time out to contact us and submit Curt’s resume to the Azkal coaches.” 

Despite the rejection, Dizon’s father said his son isn’t giving up hope. “It’s early doors yet for Curt and his time will come,” he continued. “In case there’s other interest, we’ll be visiting the Philippines late March next year so hopefully, there will be a lot of positives to come before then.”

Dizon, the only boy of four, will test the waters at Peterborough before entertaining an invitation to play in Spain where he was invited by his South Conference Division I league coach Steve Benitez of the Chesham Reserves. He was also invited to join the Watford training camp in the Championship League.

Dizon said he’s tracking the Younghusbands’ journey to success, hoping to follow in their footsteps. He trained with the Crystal Palace youth team like the Younghusbands did with Chelsea then advanced to play in the sixth and seventh tier semi-pro leagues. What convinced Dizon to commit to football this year was his performance at the Nike Chance camp. 

The Nike Chance camp assembled over 5,000 top football players in the 16-18 age group in England. Dizon survived the first cut to 50 and the second to 28 before winding up fourth in the selection of the top three finalists to play in the Nike Chance global camp in Barcelona. A 30-minute film of the Nike Chance camp in Manchester is accessible on YouTube and Dizon, wearing No. 75, is shown booting in a left-footed shot over the keeper’s arms into the upper left corner of the net. 

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Smart Gilas national basketball team coach Chot Reyes, now in Tokyo for the FIBA Asia Cup, said he’s not missing the PBA … at the moment. “Right now, we’re busy with Gilas and the PBA isn’t playing games yet,” he said. “Honestly, there were times over the last two years when I thought of retiring from the PBA. It was just too exhausting and time-consuming. But no regrets in my 20 years with the PBA. I think I’ve left behind a solid foundation for Talk ‘N’ Text to build on as I carry out my new mission with the national team. No, I’m no longer involved at all with Talk ‘N’ Text.”

Asked if falling short of a Grand Slam by a conference was a cause of frustration, Reyes said he can’t complain about the way his career went in the PBA. “I’m not a dramatic person,” he said. “It would’ve been nice to go out with a championship but in my mind, one championship doesn’t a career make. When we lost Game 7 in overtime in the second conference finals, I decided to give the guys a break. They were tired and needed the rest but it was a recipe for disaster because the third conference was coming up and had a short format. Still, we battled. We wanted to make one more push but I couldn’t do it at the risk of the careers of our players. We gave it our best shot but it wasn’t meant to be.”

Aside from his chores with Gilas, Reyes will be busy as executive director of the MVP Sports Foundation. “We’re setting our sights on the 2016 Olympics in Rio,” he said. “We think boxing and taekwondo are the sports where we have the best chances to medal. We’ll do what it takes to get our boxers and jins ready for the Olympics. This is our Olympic dream, to get that first gold medal. We’ll focus our resources on this goal.”