Young defenders earn Dooley’s nod

MANILA, Philippines - MALE’- A pair of 19-year-old defenders – Amani Aguinaldo and Daisuke Sato – have been earning their stripes with the Philippine Azkals.

Aguinaldo has been tapped to fill in for injured Juani Guirado at central defense while Sato has assumed starter’s position at left back, earning the vote of confidence from coach Thomas Dooley.

They played the entirety of the Azkals’ crucial group match against Turkmenistan, which the Filipinos eventually won, 2-0, to secure a spot in the AFC Challenge Cup semifinals.

“Amani is maybe the best centerback we have playing one against one. And it’s important for us to have somebody who can be kind of a killer person at the back and he’s also fast,” Dooley said of Aguinaldo.

The Azkals mentor is also all praises for Fil-japanese Sato.

“He’s an incredible player. For his age, he plays like an older, experienced player. You can see when he played in the first minute he set the tone with his long ball, he chested it back to Rob (Gier), which shows how much knowledge he has about the game. Instead of kicking the ball away, he kept the ball,” said Dooley.

Seeing the duo in training, Dooley said he really expected the young turks to deliver.

“It wasn’t a surprise for me...these young guys have played because they are good,” he said.