MANILA, Philippines - Azkals coach Michael Weiss took a dig at the poor conditions of the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium, saying the decades-old venue that’s vulnerable to flooding can turn off the Europe-based mainstays from coming over to play in the Philippines.
The Azkals demolished Cambodia, 8-0, Sunday night in AFC Challenge Cup Qualifier in a Group E match marred by power outage and more than an hour of delay due to heavy rains and flooding.
Rainwater inundated the grass field and rendered it unplayable, forcing Sri Lankan referee Robesh Gamini to call for not one but two 30-minute rain breaks. Rizal employees made extra efforts to rid the pitch of pool water, including using sponge.
“The Philippines has to think this deeply. You have players who come in 24 hours flying over continent and then see this? It’s an absolute embarrassment to play in these conditions...Eventually these players will lose interest,†Weiss lamented.
The German mentor said the slippery pitch, especially in the second half, forced the team to make adjustments.
“Basically we wanted to play more passing, possession style, which they did very, very well in the first half. But under these conditions, after the break, they had to play on the ground. We took Jerry Lucena a little back and Juani Guirado up front and went big to get the two goals,†said Weiss.
Rizal Stadium last underwent major rehab in 2009 under an agreement by the complex’s administrator Philippine Sports Commission and De La Salle U. Since the resurgence of the Azkals, the Philippine Football Federation has been helping maintain the field and prepare it for international competitions.
The PSC is set to convert the field into an all-weather turf within the year and, following Sunday’s floods, P5 million will be earmarked for a better water absorption system.
“The football field needs work and we already acknowledge the fact that we can’t have an all- weather natural grass field considering the amount of use the field had,†PSC commissioner Jolly Gomez said.
Work is expected to commence after Rizal’s hosting of the Asian 5-Nation Rugby Tournament in May.
“What will make the field different compared to the other artificial field we have is we are spending an extra P5 million for a water absorption system that will be under the artificial turf. That system is really meant for drainage to get water when it rains so that field doesn’t become very slippery. Even when it rains like yesterday (Sunday) it will not happen with this new field,†Gomez said.
“We’ve taken pictures of the track and noted some parts of the track gets flooded and usually it’s the inside lane ‘coz that the one most runners used. That will also be renovated to level off the drainage of the field,†he added.