Birth turf of Azkals-mania revisited

HANOI – Setting foot again on the grass field of 40,000-seater My Dinh National Stadium is giving the Philippine Azkals, especially the holdovers from the 2010 squad an immense feeling of nostalgia.

And why not? The stadium was the very site of the rise of the Azkals, who four years ago bucked the odds and gatecrashed into the semifinal of the Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup.

However nostalgic and magical it was to be back, the Azkals are doing their best to avoid being overly sentimental and stay focused on the job.

They opened the Suzuki Cup 2014 Group A hostilities at My Dinh with a 4-1 win over Laos and were targeting a semis berth against Indonesia last night.

“The first night we’re here and we trained, it was a strange feeling. Things seemed a little bit different from what I remembered but it’s a strange and good feeling and to get that first win gives us more confidence and knowing we’re playing our next two games there gives us even more confidence,” said Phil Younghusband.

My Dinh was the site where Chris Greatwich scored a late, late goal to salvage a 1-1 draw with regional power Singapore. It hosted a stunned partisan crowd when Greatwich and Younghusband propelled the Azkals to a monumental 2-0 upset of then defending titlist Vietnam. It witnessed a goalless draw with Myanmar that sent Phl to the semis for the very first time. That so-called “Miracle of Hanoi” gave birth to Azkals-mania.

“I’ll be lying if I say it doesn’t hold a special place in my heart. Basically, all of this is here because of that one run, that tournament back in 2010. So for us to go back is gonna be a nice moment,” said Rob Gier.

“But you gotta put sentimentality to one side and focus on the job at hand,” added the veteran defender, who sat out the Laos match.

Younghusband said the sentimental feeling is actually washed away by the thrill at game time.