Thanks Coach Weiss for Everything!

Azkals team manager Dan Palami gave the team’s German coach Michael Weiss credit for helping the team reach new heights of achievement in the 12 months that Weiss had handled the national football squad.
“If we go by results then I think he has given us the results that we wanted,” said Palami. “He got us to the qualifiers and the main draw (of the AFC Challenge Cup) and we go to third.”
“It's historic already that we got into the final eight and even more historic with the third place achievement,” he said during Tuesday’s PSA Forum.
The Challenge Cup campaign is regarded as the most notable moment under Weiss.
The Azkals won 4-2 on aggregate over Mongolia, then placed second to Palestine in the qualifying round in Myanmar over a year ago to earn a spot in the main draw of the recently-concluded tournament in Kathmandu, Nepal.

From there, the Filipino booters overcame an opening day loss to eventual champion North Korea to reach the semis. They suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to Tajikistan before salvaging third with a 4-2 victory over Palestine.
Weiss also steered the Azkals to the second of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers last July. It beat Sri Lanka in the first round before bowing to Kuwait.
The most disappointing stint for Weiss was when the Philippine U-23 team won just a single game in the Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta last November. Regardless, Palami is satisfied with the overall result.

“Judging from what I've seen, I think it slowly took a while for the player and the coach to really have the cohesion that we wanted, but I see that they're slowly evolving into a very good combination,” said Palami.

Azkals: STILL IN TROUBLE

I CONGRATULATE the Azkals football team for winning the bronze in the just-ended AFC Challenge Cup in Nepal and 24-year-old Phil Younghusband for clinching the much-coveted Golden Boot Award with six goals in five matches.
Ditto for team manager Dan Palami, a past Philippine Sportswriters Association awardee as executive of the year, and German coach Michael Weiss for steering the Azkals to a historic third-place place in the event.
But the task is far from over as far as the Azkals are concerned. They not only missed capturing a berth in the AFC Asian Cup—finalists North Korea, who emerged winner, and Turkmenistan did make it—but the future of football in this country remains a big question mark.
In the words of former Rep. Imee Marcos, the Azkals have still to prove their true worth by winning a major tournament and already some of them are misbehaving.
Has overnight success gone into their heads?
There is no question that the Azkals gave Philippine football respect and recognition. But it does not give them the license to abuse the rights and hospitality of their host country.
Ms Cristy Ramos, daughter of former President Fidel V. Ramos, ex-Philippine Olympic Committee head and topnotch football player during her prime, has earlier filed sexual harassment complaint with the Asian Football Federation (AFC) against players Angel Guirado and Lexton Moy.
The feisty Ramos likewise blasted team captain James Younghusband for his failure to discipline his teammates. “He didn’t do anything to discipline his teammates. I hope he teaches his players to behave well.”
Serving as match commissioner in the recent Philippine Azkals-Malaysia friendly match which ended in a 1-all draw at the Rizal Memorial Track-Football Stadium, Ms Ramos alleged (while inside the dugout before the game) that “some players ridiculed her, with one player disrespectfully asking for the size of her brassiere, which was followed by a roar of laughter.” Another player, Cristy averred, appeared before her half naked during the postgame inspection in violation of ethical norms.
The former Philippine President said he and his wife Ming Ramos agreed with the position their daughter had taken on the issue, noting that their daughter had held various positions in sports both as a player and as a sports official.
“She sure knows what she’s talking about,” stressed Mr. Ramos.
“The players should behave,” added Ming. Nakakahiya ang (It’s a shame for a) Filipino.
Sen. Pia Cayetano, chair of the Senate Committee on Youth, Women and Family Relations, said. “Sexual harassment must not be tolerated anytime, anywhere. Such acts should not go unpunished.”
Added the lady senator from Taguig City, “I call for an immediate investigation of this incident … not only because this is a serious allegation made by match commissioner Cristy Ramos, who is a sports official, but also because the Azkals are looked up to as modern-day heroes and role models.”
Fellow columnist Recah Trinidad also said, “Manager Dan Palami had apologized, but the international football body would do well to crack the whip. A suspension would be too mild a reprimand.”

courtesy of: inquirer.net

Congratulations Stephan Shrock!!!!!

Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim have announced they have signed Azkals star Stephan Schrock from Greuther Furth on a three-year deal.
The Philippines international will move to the Rhein-Neckar-Arena on a free transfer, after his contract with the 2.Bundesliga leaders expires at the end of the current season.

Don't Mis“In signing him we have gained the necessary substance and will have more alternatives in our defensive department for the future.”

The 25-year-old, who made his debut with the Philippines last June in a World Cup qualification match against Sri Lanka, has declared himself delighted to join the Sinsheim-based side, saying that this gives him the opportunity of taking a step to the next level.
  “I'm very much looking forward to the challenge at Hoffenheim, who have made a name for themselves on their way to becoming an established side in the Bundesliga,” he was quoted as saying by bundesliga.de. 
  “I can take the next step in my career here.”
  Schrock's signing also was praised by Hoffenheim boss Markus Babbel, who said that the Filipino right-back was a major target for his club.  “Stephan Schrock was a prime transfer target for mine. He has all the qualities that a modern day defender needs to have,” he said.


courtesy of: goal.com

Spanish Players stay for Azkals in Suzuki Cup

Fil-Spanish players Angel and Juani Guirado and Carli de Murga said yesterday they will suit up with the Azkals if called to action by coach Michael Weiss in the Suzuki Cup, also known as the Asean Football Championships, on Nov. 24-Dec. 22 in Malaysia and Thailand.

The Philippines has qualified for the eight-team Suzuki Cup finals with Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. If FIFA suspends Indonesia on a charge of government interference in sporting affairs, three teams from the October qualifiers in Myanmar will advance to the tournament proper to join the five seeds.
The Guirado brothers are set to wed their Spanish fiancées this year while De Murga has no immediate plan of settling down although his Spanish girlfriend Maria Flores, a journalist, arrives today to spend a month here. Juani, 32, marries his girlfriend Andrea Marijuan in Burgos on June 16. Angel, 27, ties the knot with Rocio Carvajal, who recently visited him in Manila for two weeks, in Malaga in July.
The Fil-Spanish booters, who call themselves The Three Musketeers, are also teammates on the Global squad in the UFL. They battle Kaya F. C. on Saturday in Juani’s farewell match. The older Guirado returns to Spain on Monday.
 “I’ve been away for about two months now and I must go back to my job doing quality control as inspector of materials with Pepsi Cola in Spain,” said Juani who scored the marginal goal in the Azkals’ 4-3 win over Palestine to bag the bronze at the recent AFC Challenge Cup in Nepal. “I will never forget playing for the Philippines and I want to come back. I’ve won medals and trophies in the Spanish league but the bronze with the Azkals is special and historic for the country. I am proud to play for the Philippine national team and one day, when I have children, I will tell them how lucky I was to play for the Philippines. It is a big honor for me. Playing national teams from Palestine, India, North Korea, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan is a new experience and I’m grateful for the opportunity.”
When Juani returns to Spain, he will reenlist with his Division III club and resume his work at Pepsi Cola. “Jobs are difficult to find in Europe,” he said. “Life is hard. Andrea and I plan to come to the Philippines in October and we’d like to just take a vacation for two weeks. I haven’t seen how beautiful the country is and I couldn’t even go to visit my grandfather in Isabela. I will stay on until the end of the Suzuki Cup. Will I consider living in the Philippines? You can never tell. It will depend on opportunities. I have cousins, uncles and aunts in the Philippines but my parents are in Malaga.”
Angel said he is excited to continue playing with the Azkals. “We’ve improved so much since I first joined,” he said. “That’s because we’ve become more familiar with each other, gaining more experience as a team. We face a very complicated situation because so many players come from different countries and we get together only for a few practices before playing a tournament. But little by little, we’re improving. Coach Michael has done a very good job of getting us to play as a team.”
De Murga, 23, said his older brother Antonio, 25, is recovering from two knee football-related injuries and plans to try out with the Azkals. “Playing for the Philippine team is an honor because it is my mother’s country,” he said.

“I really miss Spain. That’s why I spend all my money eating in a Spanish restaurant (Barcinos). When the UFL ends, I’ll go back to Cadiz. I hope to return to play with the Azkals in October or maybe come earlier.”
De Murga’s mother Jacqueline Olaivar is from Quezon City. She migrated to Spain nearly 30 years ago and met her husband Antonio while they both worked in a supermarket. “Although I miss Spain, I love the Philippines,” said De Murga. “I found out about the Azkals through Angel’s Spanish league teammate who is my friend.  I contacted Angel in the internet and came over for a tryout. I enjoy playing football and I think the UFL is very competitive with a lot of good players like my Azkal teammates James and Phil (Younghusband) and the others. I’m glad I’m playing with Angel and Juani at Global because I think in Spanish and sometimes, when I need to express myself, what comes out of my mouth is Spanish. In international football, the play is physical and even if I prefer the passing game, I know to survive you also have to play physical.”

courtesy of: philstar.com