Football in the Philippines, as I can remember, is not that popular 2 or 3 years ago.
It was just late last year in 2010 that the sports Football in the Philippines took off in Vietnam as the Philippine National Football team, also known as the Azkals, participated in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup.
Against the defending champion Vietnam, Chris Greatwich scored a header in the 39th minute and Phil Younghusband added in the 79th minute to put the match beyond reach. The first goal had silenced the capacity crowd at My Dinh. The second sent the crowds towards the exit.
The Azkals was managed by Team Manager Dan Palami upto now and Simon McMenemy was the head coach then as his contract was not renewed after the 2010 AFF Suzuki tournament. German Coach Hans Michael Weiss selected to head the coaching job for the Azkals after that.
All of a sudden everyone is taking the Philippine National Football team seriously.
Just recently, the Philippine Azkals was participating in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers where in Round 1 against Sri Lanka, we won via 5-1 in aggregate score. In round 2, the Azkals bowed to the Kuwaiti Al-Azraq team with 5-1 aggregate score. Kuwait advances to 3rd round while the Philippines ends it campaign for the World Cup 2014 in Brazil.
The Philippine Azkals may have fallen short this time but I know this is only the beginning of our National Team. They made us proud with the fight that made the Filipino nation take notice. Kuwait acknowledged that they didn’t expect the matches to be that hard.
Football in the Philippines is here to stay and I am now a fan of Philippine Football and the Azkals. I am proud of you guys.
Be The First To Comment
Please Leave Your Comments Below