Travails of Azkals long travel worry exec

Azkals team manager Dan Palami said with away matches set against opponents from Central Asia, Middle East and South Asia, it is imperative that they address concerns on travel weariness in their AFC Asian Cup qualifiers campaign.

The Azkals will face Tajikistan, Yemen and Nepal in Group F of the final round of homeandaway double- round robin qualifiers and Palami stressed the importance of keeping the Filipinos in their best possible form especially on the road.

“There’s going to be a lot of travelling again, that’s the first impression I got (after the draw),” Palami said, referring to away fixtures in the home stadium of Tajikistan on June 13, Yemen (in a neutral venue probably in Qatar) on Oct. 10 and Nepal on Nov. 14.

“It (travel) is actually an important element in preparations and in the games. We had problems in travel arrangements in the World Cup Qualifiers and in some of the games it actually spelled the difference between playing well and playing mediocre so we need to plan and we need to make sure that we’ll be ready,” he said.

“This is a big chance for us to be part of the Asian Cup so we’ll make sure we don’t waste it,” he added.

Palami said the initial plan is to hold a training camp in a nearby country and play a friendly there before flying to the venue of Tajikistan, for example.

“We’re making arrangements already so I’m quite certain we’ve learned our lessons from the World Cup Qualifiers,” he said.

As for the opposing teams themselves, the Azkals boss said they are all tough based on previous meetings.

“It’s all a matter of preparations. If we’re able to prepare well, I think we stand a chance of finally grabbing that berth to the Asian Cup,” he said.