Nepal invited to test Azkals in an exhibition match on Oct. 9 f

Source: Philippine Star

Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president Mariano Araneta Jr. said yesterday Nepal, ranked No. 136 by FIFA, has been invited to play the Azkals in an exhibition match here on Oct. 9 and it will be an early preview of what to expect in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup finals in March.

Nepal is hosting the Challenge Cup finals where seven other countries are playing after a series of qualifiers. The eight teams in the finals are the Philippines, India, Maldives, North Korea, Palestine, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Nepal.


Araneta said a plan for Manila to host a four-team invitational tournament has been scrapped because of conflicts with FIFA schedules. The Philippines, ranked No. 162 by FIFA, is booked to play in the Challenge Cup and the Suzuki Cup next year. The national under-23 squad, coached by Michael Weiss, will compete in the coming Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia. The PFF’s contract with Weiss expires in 2013.

Araneta confirmed that the Azkals will participate in the Long Teng Cup in Kaohsiung on Sept. 28-Oct. 6. The tournament is traditionally among host Chinese-Taipei, Macau, Hong Kong and the Philippines. But organizers are planning to expand the cast to six with invitations sent out to Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia. Last year, the Philippines posted a 1-1-1 record in the competition, crushing Macau, 5-0, losing to Hong Kong, 4-2, and tying with Chinese-Taipei, 1-1.

Araneta said he expects Fulham goalkeeper Neil Etheridge to fly in for the Kaohsiung tournament. The Azkals will not undergo special training for the Long Teng Cup. However, the under-23 team will set up boot camp in Kuwait or Bahrain or Japan before the SEA Games in Indonesia on Nov. 11-22.

Regarding a training program for the Azkals in Europe, Araneta said he spoke with Sen. Edgardo Angara on the phone three weeks ago about the possibility of arranging a tie-up with a Spanish club. Last year, three officials from Real Madrid were in Manila to explore a working relationship with the PFF through Sen. Angara. It was then agreed that the PFF, still under former president Mari Martinez, would get the ball rolling by formally requesting training assistance from Real Madrid. An eyewitness said the Real Madrid and PFF officials shook hands to indicate a meeting of the minds. The formal letter, however, was never sent. The protocol in such an arrangement involves a triggering letter of request from a national federation and a city-to-city agreement to cement the relationship. Martinez was eventually replaced by Araneta who said he knows nothing about the Real Madrid meeting.

Araneta said he was informed that the Barcelona Football Club is interested to look into the early history of Filipino football star Paulino Alcantara who was born in Iloilo in 1896. Alcantara was the first Filipino ever to play in Europe and made his Barcelona debut at the age of 17. He finished his football career as Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer with 357 goals in 357 matches, a record that remains unmatched and unsurpassed. Alcantara later served as Barcelona club director and Spanish national coach. He died in 1964.

“We were advised that the Spanish consul would like to visit Iloilo sometime next month and find out more about Mr. Alcantara’s beginnings, how he is revered in Iloilo,” said Araneta. “Perhaps, this could be the start of a relationship between Iloilo and Barcelona and between the Azkals and the Barcelona Football Club.”

Sen. Angara recently announced in his twitter account that the Congreso de los Diputados in Spain, headed by Jose Bono Martinez, has issued an institutional declaration affirming close ties between the Philippines and Spain. The Philippines was cited by the Spanish Congress for “unparalleled magnanimity” towards Spanish soldiers during the Siege of Baler in 1898-99. The bond linking both countries is celebrated on Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day every June 30 as decreed by the Philippine government.

As for the Azkals incentives, Araneta revealed that each player received $1,000 after the recent Sri Lanka home-and-away series. Before the home game against Kuwait, the PFF gave the Azkals $500 with the promise of a $1,000 bonus for a win and a $4,000 reward for making it into the third round of the World Cup Asia qualifiers.

Cortal, a major Azkals sponsor, also offered incentives for the home match against Kuwait – P1 Million for every goal in a win and P500,000 for every goal in a loss. As it turned out, the Philippines lost a 2-1 heartbreaker. Because of the Azkals’ lone goal in the defeat, Cortal is committed to pay out P500,000. It’s not certain if the players will get a share of the incentive. Araneta said he is not involved in the commercial aspects of marketing the Azkals and wouldn’t know if the players will receive a share or if Cortal has even paid the bonus. He said team manager Dan Palami, who has registered the Azkals trademark, is in charge of the marketing affairs. As of yesterday, a high-profile Azkals player said he had not received a share of the Cortal incentive and didn’t know if the players would be given by Palami.

Araneta said the PFF grossed over P20 Million in ticket sales for the Sri Lanka and Kuwait matches at the Rizal Memorial. “We were told La Salle spends about P900,000 a year to maintain the pitch and we’re grateful to La Salle for transforming it into a world-class field,” he said. “We’re offering to pay half the maintenance costs as we know La Salle spent over P8 Million to rehabilitate the pitch and we’ll be making extensive use of it. We still have a lot to do in sprucing up Rizal, like cleaning up the restrooms in the gallery section. The unmoving clock on the giant scoreboard is an eyesore and we’ve had to rent two electronic scoreboards for the recent matches. We hope the Philippine Sports Commission will consider replacing the giant clock scoreboard with a digital system.”

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Azkals get boost from Germany

MANILA—Two new Filipino-German players to strengthen the Azkals, a German technical director to assess the country’s football program and an experienced assistant coach for the Philippine football team bound to see action in the Southeast Asian Games.

Azkals coach Hans Michael Weiss, who arrived two days ago from Germany, announced these developments Wednesday night even as he expressed hope of a strengthened football program for the country in cooperation with the German Football Association (DFB).

Weiss was at the Manila Polo Club Wednesday night along with several players to attend a press conference of Azkals sponsor Cortal SQR, which gave the team P500,000 for its campaign in the Long Teng Cup in Taiwan next month as well as the SEA Games in December.

Cortal also gave the Philippine Homeless World Cup team to Paris financial aid of P200,000.

Weiss said that Fil-German player Ronald Mueller, the second choice goalkeeper of German second division side Duisberg, has already agreed to join the Azkals, while another player, a striker in Kevin Ingreso, will beef up the squad next year after getting clearance from his club, Hamburg.

Weiss also revealed that the DFB is sending a technical adviser in Krautzen Ekhardt in October to make an assessment on the current state of the sport in the country, especially at the youth level.

He added that compatriot, Michael Kruger, who was part of the backroom staff of the Tunisia team that reached the World Cup in 2006, will be arriving this month to join the coaching staff for the Azkals Under-23 squad for the SEA Games.

Inquirer.net

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The Final Score: Azkals' apologies unacceptable

Source: GMANEWS

By MICO HALILI

Tuesday morning, I was asked during an interview on GMA NEWS TV's "News To Go" if, as a basketball commentator, I felt jealous over football's emergence.

My reply, "Not at all."

I'm happy that even on a bad day, football owns the spotlight. Happy that by advancing later in the afternoon, they can continue to spread the gospel of goals. Happy that they all made it to Mongolia in one piece. Happy that they soldiered on, or Azkaled on, by riding a roller-coaster from Manila to Ulan Bator. Truthfully, I'm happy because they showed up and clearly tried.

I believe in contexts; to juxtapose performance with circumstance. Some call it rationalization. I call it factoring in the human element. This is what one learns when you grow up cheering for, devote time and energy to teams which don't win all the time.

How many obstacles can a man take? How much cold can the lungs bear? How much of a phenomenon is one team supposed to sustain? How much perfection can men straddling through a gauntlet achieve? Even as Coach, how much latitude was Michael Weiss supposed to give?

Since I have too much respect for coaches, I try not to second-guess them. In any sport. I'm not about to start now. Since I have too much respect for circumstance, I won't judge the quality of the Azkals' hard work by the levity of their tweets.

Sometimes, great effort must coincide with a great performance. Other times, effort, no matter how great, can't manufacture the performance it deserves. The Azkals looked sluggish in Ulan Bator. They seemed out of it. Not where they were supposed to be on the turf. Not as sharp as many expected them to be. They often shifted from out-hustled to out-of-breath.

The Azkals appeared frozen, over 4,000 feet above sea level, stifled by the tundra of mixed experiences, long nights, misplaced luggage and the strange pressure caused by being a favored team. I'm not jingoistic.

I don't defend them just because they have Philippine colors emblazoned on their chests. But how can one overlook challenges piled on top of other challenges. Should they apologize for not dominating Mongolia?

Some of them did.

I won't apologize for commenting on the Azkals even if I don't have a PhD in corner kicks and perfect headers. If the Azkals don't have PhD's in earthquake management, airport hopping and sub-zero-temperature efficiency, neither should they.

My practical degree in athletes' behavior, however, earned from 20 years of watching, working with and covering competitors from various disciplines up-close, tells me this: they feel pain when they're hurt, they get anxious under stress, their teeth chatter when it snows, they gasp for air when pushed to the limit.

Just like most of us.

Thus, in the context of convoluted travel plans, frayed nerves and a most cumbersome way to play one match, sorry Azkals, I can't accept your apologies. But please, accept my thanks. -- GMA News

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Soccer star helps protect environment

Source: Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Azkals mainstay Anton del Rosario, a noted environmentalist, is encouraging people to help protect the environment through Alter Space, a Facebook game developed by Cleanergy from AboitizPower.

“Our environment is not in a good state right now, especially with all the pollution around us. We can all feel its effect in our lives. People need to learn how to save energy, how to recycle, and to cut down on the things that aren’t unnecessary,” said Del Rosario.

Alter Space is the first Filipino-made Facebook game with an environmental advocacy.

According to AboitizPower, the country’s major producer of Cleanergy, its brand for cleaner and renewable energy, it aims to reach out and educate people on how they can lower their carbon footprint and help preserve the earth’s resources.

In Alter Space, players are tasked to take care of their own planet. Players progress by adding points to their Happiness, Current-cy, and Experience levels while keeping their carbon footprint level in check, otherwise their planet and their avatar will perish.

“I feel that people will like this game because it’s like building your own world, and people get attached to these kinds of games. In this game, you’re nurturing not just the person, but also their environment,” he said.

In the few years that he’s been home in the country, Del Rosario sees how things can be improved with the way we handle our resources.

“I think we are not aware of the resources that we waste. For example, we have your air-conditioning and electric fans running almost ‘round the clock. I can’t say the electric bills are low, but I think that’s because we just aren’t aware of the adjustments we need to make with our daily habits. Then there’s the use of plastics that just becomes litter in the streets and even bodies of water,” he says.

Del Rosario admits that there’s much to be done.

“If we could move towards a greener attitude by making people more aware, then that would have a significant impact on our planet. This game can help make people--not just Filipinos but the rest of the online community as well--live in a way that lessens our negative impact on the environment,” he concludes.

It may be an uphill battle, but as Del Rosario and the Azkals have shown, nothing is impossible if we would make a conscious effort to overcome the odds.

To know more about Alter Space, check out www.facebook.com/alterspacegame.

AboitizPower is the holding company for the Aboitiz Group’s investments in power generation, distribution, retail and power services. It is a major producer of renewable energy in the country with several hydroelectric and geothermal assets in its generation portfolio. The non-renewable portfolio consists of plants throughout the country. The distribution utilities it owns and operates are located in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. (www.aboitizpower.com and www.cleanergy.com.ph).

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Dreams that fuel the beautiful game

Source: Manila Bulletin

MANILA, Philippines - An article I wrote about promoting soccer as a national sport in the Philippines elicited a most insightful response from a person living in the U.S. who knows all about marketing this number one sport in the world. Joshua Thomson, who spent his childhood in the Philippines and brother of national swimming champion Akiko Thomson, was for six years the International Business Development Director of arguably the best football club in the world today – the FC Barcelona, the team that produced some of today’s best football players, e.g. Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez. I am quoting entirely from Mr. Thomson’s essay entitled “Dreams that fuel the beautiful game.”

It was on Colegio San Agustin’s sprawling fields in Makati where I first started playing the beautiful game of football. I vividly recall the faces of my teammates from Korea, India, Australia, China, Brazil, and of course the Philippines (oh those talented mestizos), all charging around trying to score the glorious goal. As much as I had wanted to join Makati Football School, my father had other plans for my sisters and me including swimming, piano lessons, and yes, some homework. More competitive football followed during my high school years at Brent School. Nothing was more invigorating than playing competitive matches against cross-city schools and a few outside Manila. Stringing together passes with teammates, moving the ball up-field, often more like pinball than anything actually orchestrated, yet somehow culminating our offensive with a goal was so exhilarating that, some of those memories still form part of a highlight reel that I play in my head twenty years later.

Over those twenty years, my life as a student, professional, and football aficionado brought me to other parts of the world, which helped me see Philippine football in a new light. I would like to share a few insights which I gained over six seasons as International Business Development Director at FCBarcelona (FCB), the famed Catalan football club which is arguably playing the best football ever seen – a lofty but not inaccurate claim.

Dr. Bernie Villegas, a Univ. of A&P Professor and personal mentor of mine, whom I met in Barcelona, shared an article about the Philippines’ very own Paulino Alcantara, an Ilonggo who, to this day, is the highest-scoring player game (357 goals in 357 games) in FCB’s rich 111-year history. Like many in the Philippines today, Paulino was a mestizo, who grew up playing in Iloilo until he was fourteen years old. He then moved to Barcelona and made his debut for FCB at age fifteen. Although Iloilo still serves as a hotbed for local talent, many of today’s national team players prove that not only is football talent in our genes, but in the right competitive environment, Filipinos can succeed in professional foreign leagues.

Furthermore, as many including Dr. Villegas have pointed out, FCB’s team is not manned by towering 6’4” giants. On the contrary, the average height of the official 20-man team is just below 5’10”. And their world-renowned attacking mid-field and forward trio average under 5’7”. Given those statistics, our better-nutritioned Filipino youth could certainly hold their own size-wise. Thus height, or lack thereof, is not against us.

Building a National Football Program

Why are countries like Japan and the United States – where other sports dominate the professional scene similar to the Philippines – starting to be mainstays amongst FIFA’s Top 20? There are a number of reasons including a professional domestic league and corporate support behind it. Most importantly, it is because more Japanese and American youth play football than any of the other more dominant professional sports in these countries. A high youth participation rate, within a program designed to promote grassroots development, is THE critical building block to an overall national football structure. This structure includes a competitive domestic league, media coverage, corporate backing, and a professionally run national team. High youth participation means that more kids dream of becoming professional footballers and play with that dream in mind, which in turn increases the talent pool for not only the nationwide program but eventually even foreign ones.

Today Japanese and American children see their countrymen playing in European big leagues. Such role models prove to them that the dream is indeed possible and inspire young athletes to follow in their footsteps. Although there is significant room for the team to improve, the Azkals prove to Filipinos that excelling in regional tournaments and in foreign leagues on an individual level are viable goals.

This is where educational and community institutions play a crucial role in the national football playbook. Providing Philippine youth with the opportunity to play football is where the very long road to a World Cup appearance starts. A decent amount of football activity already exists in Philippine schools today, but the bar should be raised for schools programs, as well as in local barangays, with the support and guidance of the local sports body.

A few corporations like Alaska Milk already invest a respectable amount into the sport. PLDT-Smart and a select group of other companies have just launched the MVP Foundation with ambitious but achievable objectives for Filipinos and sports, including the potential start of a local football league. There are high-level discussions about improving football facilities, including a new national stadium. Until the stadium and new fields are realized, basketball courts also serve as good football venues, where the tight space demands greater foot skill and quicker decision making.

As the Philippines moves with its designs for national football league, there are many examples to learn from, locally and abroad. The same corporations promoting football are also heavily involved in the PBA, from which many lessons can be applied to football. The United States’ Major League Soccer has taken a prudent, long-term approach of capping team salaries, which could serve the Philippines well. The Japanese Football Association is starting to enjoy the fruit of its carefully crafted grassroots plan initiated decades ago. Proper due diligence will be needed as the Philippines embarks on this exciting and challenging journey.

These recent developments are all positive. Yet it is a long and bumpy road to the global stage of beautiful and victorious football. With each taste of success come loftier goals and ambitions, victories and defeats. Let us all play a role where we can and stay focused on our youth, whose dreams fuel this beautiful game.

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Love for the beautiful game

Source: Manila Times

MANY Filipino football aficio-nados were delighted that the first goal in last Wednesday’s Philippines-Mongolia match was scored by Emelio “Chieffy” Caligdong. And what a fantastic goal it was.

It was in the 43rd minute when the Azkals scored their first goal after Caligdong took a long cross—from right-winger Anton del Rosario—on his chest, flicked the ball with his left foot to throw off a Mongolian defender, then completed the shot with his right foot sending the ball between the legs of the hapless goalkeeper Ganbayar Tseveensuren.

That evening the Mongolian goalie was one of the hardest working players in his team thanks to the Filipinos’ relentless offense. Although the match ended with a 2-0 score, the Azkals actually made 30 or so attempts at the goal, indicating that the Blue Wolves can put up a mean defense.

Born in Pototan, Iloilo, Caligdong developed his amazing pitch skills in Barotac Nuevo, often described as both the Mecca and the last refuge of football in the Philippines. In fact, the entire Western Visayas region is regarded as football country, which became apparent from the overcapacity crowd that packed the hastily refurbished Pana-ad Stadium.

The 28-year-old Air Force serviceman, who has been a member of the national team for the past seven years, made his debut in the 2004 Tiger Cup, playing all four matches and scoring three goals. Two of those goals came in the 89th and 92nd minute in the 2–1 win over Timor-Leste, making it the first-ever victory of the Philippines in the Asean Football Championship.

In last year’s Suzuki Cup matches Caligdong sustained an injury as the Filipinos fought for qualification, and the former Azkals team captain was seen struggling with his game. Despite the Philippine team’s outstanding performance, including a 2-1 upset of defending champion Vietnam, Caligdong was reportedly thinking of hanging up his boots and instead focus on coaching.

Those plans may have to wait, however, as the growing legions of football fans—many of them recent converts—now expect more from Chieffy on the pitch,
whether in Ulanbator, Chittagong or Bacolod.

The Azkals have been fortified by the enthusiastic participation of Europeans and Americans of Filipino descent who, thanks to media attention, have approached rock-star status—complete with screaming teenage fans.

The “foot-tisoys” from England, The Netherlands, Iceland and America have undoubtedly raised the level of play; they have also aroused interest among many Filipinos who previously thought that basketball was the only team sport worth playing.

Phil Younghusband—who made the second score last Wednesday despite tight guarding by a Genghis Khan descendant—and his brother James, Neil Etheridge, Jason de Jong, Robert Gier and the other “imports” have indisputable Filipino blood. It warms our collective heart that these players take every opportunity to show the world that they are proud of their heritage.

The Azkals, however, are also made up of eight native-born players—like Caligdong—who have kept faith in football despite the decades-long lack of popular interest and official support. What a splendid validation was Chieffy’s 43rd minute goal that native talent and mestizo reinforcement are able to come together on the pitch and give the country a good chance at football glory.

It would, however, be hard to imagine the national football team rising out of the quagmire of public indifference and government neglect without the remarkable managerial talents of the 40 year-old Dan Stephen Palami.

A certified public accountant who graduated from the University of the Philippines, Palami grew up in Tacloban City. He is also president of the Leyte Football Association.

In an article posted in the website of Sun-Star Cagayan de Oro last November, sportswriter Jack Bantian noted that Palami is the chief executive officer of APT Global, a railway engineering company involved in the construction, operations and maintenance of railway systems, including the LRT 1 and 2 in Manila.

In December 2009 the then-controversial leadership of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) appointed Palami as Azkals manager. According to Bantian, it was “probably the only positive credit that the [former] PFF regime has ever made.”

According to Bantian, the PFF let Palami manage the Azkals in the same way that he manages his company. “He is a hands-on boss and he is always around when there are matches and when they need financial and material support.”

Palami became involved in the recruitment of the players and, as Bantian put it, “the first thing he did when he was appointed was to get local players and hire a foreign coach to infuse system that could work for the Azkals on a short-term basis.“

Soon afterward Palami began recruiting European and American players of Filipino ancestry to play for the national team, which then adopted the Tagalog slang for stray dog, asong kalye or askal, to describe their hard-scrabble existence and tough disposition.

In an interview last year, Palami told Bantian that he “wanted to develop a team that everybody wants to support. At the start of this endeavor, he knew that it is very difficult to get a private sector support for a team that has no winning attitude. But now that they have started winning and qualified for the Suzuki Cup, the Azkals have shown to everyone that they are a good team.”

When Bantian wrote his article in 2010, Palami was still looking for partners willing to help the Azkals “because, as of the moment, he only gets support from Mizuno for the kits while all the rest is from his own pocket.”

More recent reports indicate that support has begun to come in, including a multimillion-peso partnership with a telecommunications company and a 5-hectare lot in Parañaque where the team could build its home pitch.

Moreover, the decision of ABS-CBN to cover the Azkal matches has caused the popularity of football to rise to heights unprecedented in this country.

Indeed, things are looking up for football in this country, thanks to the efforts of a few men who love the beautiful game.

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Fans mob Azkals in mall appearance

Source: ABS CBN NEWS

MANILA, Philippines -- For the first time since their successful win against Mongolia in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup qualifying match in Bacolod, the Philippine Azkals made a public appearance to meet their Metro Manila based fans.

Hosted by a Bacolod Inasal restaurant in SM Sta. Mesa, the Manila-based Azkals were in full force on Thursday to meet their fans, some of whom even skipped class and work to see their new sports idols in the flesh.

Minus Filipino-foreigners like Neil Etheridge, Jason de Jong, Rob Gier, Ray Johnson, among others, the Azkals still drew their loyal fans.

Although Phil and James Younghusband arrived late coming from a previous commitment, the crowd patiently waited and screamed in delight when they saw the Fil-Brits come down the escalators.

Young and old, the Azkals fans lined up to get their autographs and pictures with their idols. A group of students were even shy to show their face on camera because they cut class to be there, and a grand mother even said she can die now that she had seen Phil.

The Azkals also spoke to the press about their plans to prepare for the second leg against Mongolia and how they feel their popularity is now competing with basketball.

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Bacolod takes a goal from the Azkals

Source : ABS-CBNNEWS.COM


MANILA, Philippines - During the week of the Azkals game in Bacolod, almost all hotels and popular pension houses were booked to full capacity.

Those who wanted to get a glimpse of the popular football league had to go around the city to still get a respectable room.

The smile of the Bacolodians, as they want to be called, could not be much sweeter.

In an interview, city tourism officer Imogene Kana-an said, “I tried calling all major hotels on Tuesday [a day before the game]. They were all booked.”

She said the city tourism office is still collating statistics, but initial results would show that the city did take a major goal from the Azkals.

“Most of the guests were for the Azkals. The hotels do get business tourists in the past, for seminars, exhibits, meetings and conventions,” she added.

On the date of the game itself, people streaming the streets of Bacolod were from Manila, Cebu and others smitten by the good-looking players of the national football league.

The crowd also composed of Bacolodians themselves. All wanted to see the Ilonggos from the team battle it out against the Mongolians.

Some Bacolodians could even be nonchalant about the popularity of the team, with a few opting to just watch the game live from their television sets rather than spend the whole afternoon of February 9 going through a long queue at the Panaad Stadium.

They could not be happier with the results, however, as they knew that the influx of tourists was profitable for them too.

Kana-an said the Azkals game resulted to “indirect income in terms of hotel occupancy, food and taxes for the government.”

A supervisor at a hotel said the rooms have been 70% occupied by February 7, and 100% by February 9.

A taxi driver also could not swipe his smile off his face, even with the humongous traffic caused by the event. He said he had earned twice as much compared to a regular day.

A barista at the local Kuppa Kup, on the other hand, said many more clients came in after seeing an Azkal drink his coffee there.

World-class

Kana-an said the best has yet to come in terms of tourism receipts now that the country has gained interest in football.

“They probably saw how good Panaad Stadium is. We have the venue,” she said.

The magnificent field is unmatched in the country. From atop the stadium, one could see the grandeur of the eucalyptus trees that envelope the field.

Kana-an said the stadium was even a venue for the Southeast Asian Games in 2005.

What’s in store for the so-called football capital of the country? Kana-an said the city government sees more football games.

More and more have taken interest in the game, she said. “Our young people see that the players are gwapo. They also want to be popular as the Azkals,” she added.

Bacolodians should be so proud of the team. Two of its members are Ilonggos: Emil “Chieffy Caligdong” of Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo and Roel Gener. Another player, Anton del Rosario, can also trace his roots there.

For now, football fanatics and emerging players have to make do with the Panaad Stadium and 2 more found in Recoletos Negros and St. La Salle.

She also easily shares, the president of the Philippine Football Federation in Negros is a “popular guy”-- none other than Negros Occidental Rep. Charlie Cojuangco.

'More to offer'

Kana-an said Bacolod merely served as the temporary home of the Azkals, but it has more to offer.

Bacolodians celebrate the Bacolaodiat Fookien Celebration for Chinoys every Chinese New Year as well as the famous Masskara Festival every October.

Tourists can also include in their schedules the Mambukal Mountain Resort, an hour by bus away from the city. It boasts of a hot spring and more than 7 waterfalls that would take away the stress of the tired backpacker.

Along the route on the way back to the airport, one can also make a side trip to the ancient houses in Silay and the Ruins in Talisay.

Bacolod City is definitely a breather for those who often see their politicians’ faces plastered all over barangay walls, outposts and all nooks and crannies.

There, the mayor’s picture can only be seen in the capitol.

While there, one would also not want to pass up a healthy filling of chicken inasal from the Manukan Country.

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