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

Big Problem for the Azkals

  The Philippines still longs for the day when it will have all the best available talent in the team for a major tournament.

It didn’t happen here at the AFC Challenge Cup in this laidback city in the Himalayas. And team manager Dan Palami fears it may not happen soon.

The Azkals were scheduled to play against a tough India side last night at the Dashrath Stadium, hoping to keep their semifinal hopes alive after dropping their first assignment against North Korea, 0-2.

Stephan Shrock

“Up to now, that has always been the biggest challenge,” said Palami of getting the likes of standouts Stephan Schrock, Jerry Lucena and Dennis Cagara released from their respective foreign clubs to don the country’s colors.

“The players are actually willing to play, but the clubs will not let them,” said Palami, who remains hopeful that the Europe-based standouts will suit up for the next major tournament, the Suzuki Cup, late this year.

Schrock, who scored a memorable goal in the 1-3 home loss against Kuwait in the World Cup Qualifier, is one of the stars of Greuther Furth in the German second division.

The team is in a good position to vie for promotion to the prestigious Bundesliga and also made the semifinals of the German Cup.

Lucena is attached with Danish club Aarhus, which told the Philippine Football Federation in early February that they will not release the midfielder for the Challenge Cup.

Cagara recently signed with FSV Frankfurt, making his debut for the German second division club last Saturday.

Striker Denis Wolf plays in the fourth division in Germany and, although he could have been available for this tournament, he wasn’t able to participate because he didn’t get his Philippine passport before the deadline.

Clubs are only inclined to release players for Fifa international dates, and the Challenge Cup does not fall in the calendar.

Neil Etheridge of Fulham and Paul Mulders of ADO Den Haag in the Dutch first division were released for the tournament, boosting the Azkals’ artillery.

Jerry Lucena

“The significance (of our tournaments) is sometimes lost in the clubs,” said Palami. “But we are taking steps so that they will be able to join tournaments that are actually in the Fifa calendar.
“We just have to resort to getting on the good side of the clubs to release players.”

Because of this problem, Palami said it is important to form a strong local-based core.

“We always have to work on the assumption that they are not coming (for major tournaments),” he said.

Another option is to convince Filipino players based abroad to play in the United Football League.
Palami signed up Rob Gier and the Spanish trio of Juan Luis Guirado, Angel Guirado and Carli de Murga to his UFL club, Global FC, so it can spend more time training with the national team.

“It’s difficult to absorb the costs,” Palami said. “I talked to (UFL chair) Santi (Araneta) about distributing the (European-based) players to different clubs so it would be easier for us to gather the core together.”

Courtesy of: inquirer.net