Weiss out, Azkals looking for new coach

MANILA, Philippines -- Azkals team manager Dan Palami bared on Sunday that they are already shopping around for a new mentor in the event the Philippine Football Federation decides to boot out German coach Michael Weiss.

The 48-year-old Weiss is contractually bound until end of March but talks are rife that he'll be given the pink slip, creating a job opening for a replacement who will call the shots in the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup and Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup.

Palami neither confirmed nor denied the reports but maintained that the PFF is set to announce what it intends to do with Weiss by Wednesday.

"I'm not in a position to speak for or on behalf of PFF in this issue but as manager of the national team, I have to be prepared for the decision that will be forthcoming. Therefore, I've actually shortlisted six candidates already so if ever confirmation is done by the PFF in this matter, we can immediately proceed with the selection of a new coach," Palami said during the launch of the tie-up between the Philippine Azkals and SM Mall of Asia on an elite football program to be run by Total Football Japan. 

He said the prospects come from all over, with one Spanish, one based in UK, another in Hong Kong, another in US and Germany and one in Montenegro, carrying experience with  high-profile clubs Barcelona, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool.

"These are the caliber of coaches we are looking at right now and whatever the (PFF's) decision will be, I'll be ready to respond to it," said Palami.

Asked what he'd be looking for in a prospective coach, Palami said: "I want a coach that will be familiar with how the Asian setting is for football, that's No. 1. But of course, I'd need somebody who has good credentials coaching a national teams or high-level club and of course someone who's ready to adjust to the conditions in Phl, where national team players are a mix of foreign- and local-based and he has to work on ensuring that he can be ready with a first team that's local based and a first team that could be a mixed of local and foreign based players."

Weiss' looming departure comes at a time the Azkals will embark on the Asia Cup-qualifying Challenge Cup and Southeast Asia's premier competitions, Suzuki Cup. Under his watch, the Azkals reached an all-time high of 127th in the world rankings, won a bronze in the 2012 Challenge Cup and made the semis of the Suzuki Cup that same year.

"I'm happy with how he (Weiss) performed for us. The question now is that the stakes are really higher; are we ready to take on somebody who might be able to bring us higher? So it's a gamble, a chance that has to be taken," Palami said.

"For as long as the players know where we're going, they still believe in the dream, believe in the blueprint I've actually prepared for the team, then any change in coaching will enure to the benefit of the team, if we find a replacement and that's where the challenge will be," Palami said.

The Azkals and SM MOA partnered in a program for kids aged 6-12 that  aims to create world-class players through training techniques and methodology used by foreign club teams.

To be held at the SM MOA grounds during weekends, the elite football program boasts of a highly technical and progressive curriculum to be executed by the Total Football group, the Japan-based training guru led by Coach Leigh Manson.