Azkals on Japan

Azkals on a high below zero
By Abac Cordero, The Philippine Star
Posted at 03/09/2011 7:37 AM | Updated as of 03/09/2011 11:34 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The Azkals felt good training under zero degree weather yesterday in Gotemba, Japan.

“It’s cold but amazing. Cozy place, great soccer complex and great food,” said defender Anton del Rosario on his Twitter account.

“But no wifi,” added the 28-year-old from California.

Team captain Aly Borromeo also talked about the absence of wifi in their training quarters located near the foot of Mt. Fuji.

“We are in the boondocks four hours away from Tokyo. No wifi around here and you would’ve thought a country like this would have wifi everywhere,” he said on Twitter.

But seriously, Borromeo said everything went well on their first day of training in Gotemba as they geared up for their March 15 match in Mongolia.

“Zero degree at practice earlier. All the boys didn’t seem to mind the cold too much,” added Borromeo.

The Azkals arrived in Narita the other night and took a 174 km ride to Gotemba where they will stay and train until they depart for Mongolia on March 13.

Team manager Dan Palami posted a team picture taken upon their arrival in Gotemba, with the Azkals all bundled up in their winter clothing.

For most of them, it’s their first time to experience weather this cold. And it only gets tougher in Mongolia, in Ulan Batur, where the weather was minus-11 yesterday.

But to them, it doesn’t really matter anymore.

The match with the Mongolians will be played at 1 p.m., and it won’t make a difference because even at that time the weather will be near freezing point.

It’s the main reason why the Azkals took the trip to Gotemba more than a week before the match in Mongolia.

The Azkals beat the Mongolians at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod last Feb. 9, 2-0, under weather as high as 25 degrees.

To turn things around, the Mongolians must win by a margin of three goals at least. Otherwise, the Azkals advance to the AFC Challenge Cup group stage against Bangladesh, Nepal and Palestine later this month.

Chieffy Caligdong, who scored the opening goal against the Mongolians at Panaad, said the thermal wear provided for the team by their official outfitter Mizuno does help.

“We’re using it. The team is okay but we’re adjusting to the cold, with some coughing on my part. It’s just too cold out here. New climate,” he said.

Caligdong is also on Twitter.

2 - 0 win over Mongolia Blue Wolves by the Azkals Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) - The Philippine Azkals carved out a hard-earned 2-0 victory over the Mongolia Blue Wolves in the first leg of their Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup qualifying tie at the jampacked Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City on Wednesday night.

Emilio "Chieffy" Caligdong tricked a defender near the Mongolian goal and nutmegged the Blue Wolves' goalie to hit the back of the net.

The second goal was scored by Phil Younghusband in the 92nd minute, deep into injury time.

Following a sneaky pass from Jason Sabio, the Filipino-British midfielder muffed his attempt against a Mongolian defender.

Following a sneaky pass from Jason Sabio, the Filipino-British midfielder muffed his attempt against a Mongolian defender.

Younghusband, however, followed this up with a curling shot that sent the Filipino spectators to jubilation.

He acknowledged the cheers coming from the crowd, even doing a cartwheel to celebrate their second goal.

The Azkals, not known for their offense, put up a solid attacking game against the Blue Wolves.

In the first half alone, the Filipinos had 7 goalscoring attempts against the Mongolians' 2 attempts.

Ecstatic
Caligdong was so ecstatic with the victory.

“Sobrang saya ko,” said the Ilongo booter. “Kung anong ibinigay na instructions ni Coach [Hans Michael Weiss], ginawa ko lang.”
Younghusband, for his part, said he was relieved to score the second goal.

He said that it has given them a good lead going into their next game with the Blue Wolves.

“One-nil is always a difficult score line when going to an away ground. It was just more of a relief to score the second goal and give us a bigger cushion and more comfortable scoreline," said Younghusband.

Weiss said the win has effectively sent a message to other competitors in the Asian level.

“The Philippines is now in the competition,” said the German coach, who was tapped by the Azkals’ management after the team’s success in the 2010 Suzuki Cup.

Hometown advantage
The Azkals received a major morale boost from more than 18,000 Filipino fans who trooped to Panaad Stadium.

Weiss said the home crowd has certainly perked the Azkals’s confidence.

“They are wonderful,” the German said of the Filipino fans. “Fantastic, I can’t find the words.”

Younghusband said the support they get from their fans is astounding.

“It's amazing to see all the support around us, the people here are amazing. They are so passionate, I'm very privileged to wear the jersey,” said the Filipino-British.

Big blow
The Mongolians said during the post game that the Filipino booters drew them into a tough battle.

One of their players received a red card in the first half after being slapped with 2 yellow cards, one for a foul and another for handball.

This, they said, was a big blow to them as this reduced their line up to just 10 players.

The Blue Wolves will seek their revenge on March 15 when the home-and-away cup tie resumes in Ulan Bator, the capital and largest city of Mongolia.

The Azkals, on the other hand, plan to spend 6 days of training and acclimatization in Baguio City to prepare themselves for Mongolia’s cold climate.

Younghusband said that the Mongolian climate won’t be an issue for the Azkals especially for Filipino-British people like him.

“We have a lot of plays in Europe, in the cold. It's actually a lot easier playing in the cold. In the heat you sweat a lot… I'd rather play in the cold,” he said.

P3-M fund from PNoy
Meanwhile, Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president Mariano Araneta Jr. disclosed that President Benigno Aquino III released P3 million from his Social Fund for the organizational needs of the Azkals-Blue Wolves match.
"Although President Aquino earlier sent his regrets that he would be unable to grace the occasion, he, however, released P3 million to help us fund this big international football event," Araneta said.

"We are grateful for his support of the Azkals and Philippine football, which should inspire our boys to play their best in front of our countrymen," Araneta said of the event backed by the POC, PSC, Smart and Mizuno.

Araneta added that the Azkals’s emphatic victory served as a belated present for the President who celebrated his 51st birthday last Tuesday.

Among those who witnessed the match were Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Peping Cojuangco and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Richie Garcia, whose sports agency helped install the additional light at Panaad so that the match could be televised.

Also present were ABS-CBN Chief Executive Officer Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III, ABS-CBN Vice-President for Sports Peter Musngi, Batangas Vice-Governor Mark Leviste, former Commission on Elections (COMELEC) commissioner Gregorio “Goyo” Larrazabal and Negros Occidental Congressman Carlos “Charlie” Cojuangco. – With reports from Ira Pedrasa, abs-cbnNews.com and TJ Manotoc, ABS-CBN News

Studio 23 will replay the ABS-CBN Sports’ overage of the AFC CHALLENGE CUP: PHILIPPINES VS MONGOLIA on February 12, Saturday, from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Studio 23 will replay the ABS-CBN Sports’ overage of the AFC CHALLENGE CUP: PHILIPPINES VS MONGOLIA on February 12, Saturday, from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
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The AZKALS

The Philippine national football team is the national football team of the Philippines and represents the country in international football. The team is controlled by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF), the governing body of football in the Philippines.

Despite being the oldest national team in Asia, the Philippines has never had any significant success on the international stage and has never qualified for the AFC Asian Cup or the FIFA World Cup. However, they enjoyed some success in its early years between 1913 and 1934 in the Far Eastern Championship Games.

In September 2006 the country fell to 195th on the FIFA World Rankings, its lowest ever.[1] By the end of the year, the Philippines moved back up to 171st overall, after a good run in the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship qualification.[2] They were able to win three games in a row which was a first for the Philippines and thus qualifying for the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship.[3] Coach at that time Aris Caslib, aimed to reach the semi-finals with two wins at the group stage.[4] The decision came despite Philippine Football Federation president Juan Miguel Romualdez stating that they would still be underdogs in the tournament and that they mustn't raise their expectations too high,[2] as the Philippines have only won their first ever win of the tournament during the 2004 edition.[5] The Philippines eventually failed to reach their target, only getting a draw in three matches. Their poor performances led to Caslib's resignation,[6] as well as the refusal of the PFF to register and enter the qualification stages for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[7] They would be one of four nations, all from Southeast Asia not to enter after a record number of entries.[8] However it was revealed that the decision not to enter the 2010 as well as the 2006 World Cup qualification was made during the PFF presidency of Rene Adad, whose term ended in 2003.[7] Instead, the PFF wanted to focus on domestic and regional competitions.[9] Since 2007, the Philippines have failed to qualify for a major competition. They came close in 2008 after missing out on the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup only on goal difference,[10] and the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup with an inferior goals scored record.[11] In 2010, they qualified for the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup, and went on to beat defending champions Vietnam during the group stage, becoming one of the biggest upsets in the history of the tournament.[12] The team reached the knockout stage for the first time, eventaully losing to Indonesia 2–0 on aggregate.

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