MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Azkals will have big shoes to fill as they embark on their international sorties after prolific Fil-German midfielder Stephan Schrock resigned from the national team apparently to concentrate on his club duties with SpVgg Greuther Furth in 2 Bundesliga.
Schrock, a vital cog of the side that placed a historic second in the last Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup in Maldives, informed Azkals team manager Dan Palami and coach Thomas Dooley of his decision to quit the team yesterday.
“It is unfortunate that he has made that decision. Stephan is an important player of the team and he will be missed in the Phl Peace Cup and the (AFF) Suzuki Cup,” said Palami.
“We are still hoping he reconsiders his decision. In the meantime, we continue on the direction based on the belief that we should put emphasis on building and organizing a strong team and not just assemble a group of good players,” Palami added.
The Fil-German recently signed a four-year deal with his old club Greuther Furth. He expects to play a major role, likely as a starter this time, which will likely make him unavailable for national team duties.
“We should be very thankful to Schrock,” Philippine Football Federation president Nonong Araneta told The STAR. “He has contributed a lot to the Azkals and Philippine football as a whole.”
Known for his topnotch dribbling and footwork skills and ability to create situations for the team, Schrock had 17 caps and three goals since joining the Azkals in 2011.
He sent Rizal Memorial on fire with a long shot that gave the Azkals a 1-0 lead in an eventual 1-2 setback to mighty Kuwait in the second round of the 2014 Fifa World Cup Asian Qualifiers. He also scored in an 8-0 wipeout of Cambodia at Rizal in the 2014 Challenge Cup qualifiers and connected in a 3-1 win over Pakistan in the 2013 Phl Peace Cup at Panaad.