Source: Daily Inquirer
MANILA—The Philippine football team leaves for Japan today for the most important stretch of its preparation for Mongolia in the second leg of the AFC Challenge Cup qualifying duel in Ulan Bator.
The Azkals, who earlier went through a high-altitude camp in Baguio City, are set to train in a facility of the Japan Football Association just outside Tokyo in their bid to acclimatize with the wintry conditions in Ulan Bator.
Barely two weeks before the match, Azkals team manager Dan Palami said the team is 80 percent ready for the showdown with the Mongolians, whom the Azkals blanked, 2-0, in the first leg in Bacolod last Feb. 9.
“I think we are 80 percent ready, the 20 percent of course will be the weather factor,” said Palami, who was honored on Saturday as Executive of the Year by the Philippine Sportswriters Association for his remarkable work with the Azkals.
Palami said that under normal conditions, the Azkals can easily beat Mongolia. He stressed that the training in Japan will be important in assessing the team’s chances of progressing to the group qualifying in Myanmar starting March 21.
“We want to check the reaction time and the decision-making of the players and how far the weather will affect the team,” Palami said.
“After we train in Japan, it would be safe to think about Myanmar. It will be difficult to make predictions because I don’t know how the team will react in sub-zero conditions.”
But Palami said the Azkals showed sharp form last week in training at the artificial pitch at the International School Manila
“When we were practicing at the ISM, our shooting and passing rate was as high as 85 percent,” he said.
The team will miss Rob Gier and Chris Greatwich as well as goalkeeper Neil Etheridge for the Mongolia duel.
Despite their absence, skipper Aly Borromeo believes the team has what it takes to beat Mongolia.
“The weather factor will be more important than their absence,” said Borromeo. “There’s no reason we can’t win except for the weather factor.”
Meanwhile, Filipino-German rightback Stephan Schrock arrived in the country Saturday to process his passport. The 24-year-old Schrock is still sidelined by a knee injury that will keep him out for the next five weeks.
The Azkals, who earlier went through a high-altitude camp in Baguio City, are set to train in a facility of the Japan Football Association just outside Tokyo in their bid to acclimatize with the wintry conditions in Ulan Bator.
Barely two weeks before the match, Azkals team manager Dan Palami said the team is 80 percent ready for the showdown with the Mongolians, whom the Azkals blanked, 2-0, in the first leg in Bacolod last Feb. 9.
“I think we are 80 percent ready, the 20 percent of course will be the weather factor,” said Palami, who was honored on Saturday as Executive of the Year by the Philippine Sportswriters Association for his remarkable work with the Azkals.
Palami said that under normal conditions, the Azkals can easily beat Mongolia. He stressed that the training in Japan will be important in assessing the team’s chances of progressing to the group qualifying in Myanmar starting March 21.
“We want to check the reaction time and the decision-making of the players and how far the weather will affect the team,” Palami said.
“After we train in Japan, it would be safe to think about Myanmar. It will be difficult to make predictions because I don’t know how the team will react in sub-zero conditions.”
But Palami said the Azkals showed sharp form last week in training at the artificial pitch at the International School Manila
“When we were practicing at the ISM, our shooting and passing rate was as high as 85 percent,” he said.
The team will miss Rob Gier and Chris Greatwich as well as goalkeeper Neil Etheridge for the Mongolia duel.
Despite their absence, skipper Aly Borromeo believes the team has what it takes to beat Mongolia.
“The weather factor will be more important than their absence,” said Borromeo. “There’s no reason we can’t win except for the weather factor.”
Meanwhile, Filipino-German rightback Stephan Schrock arrived in the country Saturday to process his passport. The 24-year-old Schrock is still sidelined by a knee injury that will keep him out for the next five weeks.
An askal is a Filipino term for any dog with no pedigree, no breed, no class. The askal is usually astray, unsupported and survives by feeding on whatever provision it can find. The Filipino national football team can relate to this mongrel, they have almost no support from a government thats suppose to support them, they are underdogs not just only to the world but even in their own region, South East Asia.
Name: Angel Guirado Aldeguer
Stephan Schröck - nicknamed "Schröcky", is a German–Filipino professional footballer who plays as a right back for 2nd Bundesliga club SpVgg Greuther Fürth.
