‘Bawi next time!’ is no longer enough

THE Philippine Azkals lost to Vietnam in their friendly game last Wednesday night. With barely seconds left in stoppage time, Van Quyet found the back of the net with a floating strike to clinch the win for the hosts at the Hang Day Stadium in Hanoi. Whether it was a lucky goal or tsamba, a goal is still a goal, and a win is still a win.

To say it was a sorry loss for the newly rebooted Azkals under new coach Josep “Coco” Ferré will be a cliche. And to add that “bawi na lang, next time” consolation won’t probably mean much as of the moment.

The squad, composed mostly of local players coming from clubs in the Philippines Football League, held their own despite Vietnam dominating possession and controlling the pace of the game. Which is pretty much expected. The Philippines has not won a game against Vietnam, whether an exhibition or in a tournament, in its last four games against the regional giants. The Golden Star Warriors are coming off a 2-1 win against Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund in an exhibition match several weeks ago.

We probably expected so much from the Azkals against Vietnam. We also expected much from Ferré, who is coaching the team for the first time despite being in the country for less than two weeks.

Dan Palami, the Azkals’ team manager, just like most Azkals fans and supporters, was disappointed with the loss. But rather than dwelling on the what ifs and the bashing the team continues to receive from its passionate fans after the game, Palami chose to focus on what was the real purpose of the friendly against Vietnam.

“We have to look at it from what the objective of the friendly was and I think the new coach would have been given a better understanding of the opponents that we will have to face in the upcoming Mitsubishi Electric Cup,” he said.

Palami said the game was also a chance for Ferré to see what his players can do in real competition and have a gauge on where the team stands.

While most players are coming from the domestic league, Palami says they showed a lot of promise.

“Almost all of them are really young and less experienced. But I think this is very positive. This presents a positive view on how the local league has improved. The players showed they can weather the storm and with a few adjustments, the team could be stronger than what we’ve seen,” Palami said.

He said the loss against Vietnam is very frustrating, but the Azkals are not strangers to losing friendlies before. Just like what happened in 2010, when the team suffered a terrible loss against Thailand in a tuneup match prior to the then AFF Suzuki Cup. The tuneup against Vietnam allowed the team to have a real assessment of its status.

“We are not happy with the results but to be honest, a team which hasn’t played together going up against a squad who beat Borussia Dortmund two weeks ago, plus considered as a shoo-in in the finals, I think we were able to put up a good fight where we made a good account of ourselves,” Palami added.

Palami said fans should also be kind to Ferré, who just coached the team for the first time.

“He is coming in a bit blind at ‘di pa niya masyado kilala ang mga materyales at his disposal. We need to support him too,” Palami said.

Championships are not won in exhibition games. We can lose all our tuneups yet the scorecards won’t matter at the end of the day. There is an obvious reason why they are being called “friendlies.” What is important is the team learns from the experience, for the boys to feel what it is like to rise from the challenge and to play against thousands of hostile fans, for the coach to make adjustments when it truly matters and for the management to reap the lessons of them all and make the team stronger, despite all the odds, the limitations and the apathy towards the team by certain individuals and sectors.

That being said, the team now knows what needs to be done and improved on and the adjustments that have to be addressed to get good results. The game against Vietnam exposed the many things the team needs. The Azkals need a solid striker. Someone who can finish the job, if they can get the ball to the final third. Which brings us to the need of playmakers, who can create possibilities, who can push the ball, break down the defense and spark the offense.

For sure, Ferré knows what needs to be done by now. Speaking of Coach Coco, he was very positive of the team. He said that while they are young and inexperienced, the new set of Azkals has no shortage of determination and desire to get results.

“They have potential but they need a little bit of time, to progress, to be better, to get more experience since most of them barely played in international games. So it will be a chance for them to make one step forward into their careers. But what I’m happy with them is that they have shown and taken a very big commitment and good effort to be with the team. And they are absolutely open to improvement,” Ferré said.

Ferré is aware that competitions in the Mitsubishi Electric Cup will be hard with opponents continuing to improve but he vowed to give his all and make the Azkals competitive.

“Coaching a football club is really different from coaching a national team. A football club may represent a town, city or a corporation. But coaching a national side, represents the aspirations of a nation, of its people and it is quite an honor to lead the national team right now. We don’t know what will happen, but we will fight 100% to have chances to win for sure,” he explained.

Some interesting facts about the new Azkals’ coach: Ferré was in Manila in 2011, not as coach but as a tourist. He visited Intramuros then because he was very interested in the history of the place. He also made sure that he will be able to see the Rizal Memorial Stadium before returning to Hong Kong.

“You won’t probably believe this but when we got to the stadium, which was open that time, I thought at that moment that one day I will coach here. And I told that to my friends who were with me. And they said why not. Eleven years later, when I went back again to Rizal last week, that thought came back and here I am,” he said.

Ferré added he is looking forward to the team’s first home game in the Mitsubishi Cup and spending his first New Year in the country. His fiancée, Judith Peran, who played in one of the top Futsal teams in Spain, is set to arrive in the country from Catalonia on Christmas. He said Judith will be in time to watch the Azkals go against Indonesia at home on the second day of the new year.

Ferré said he is here for the long haul and if given the chance, he would like to grow older with the team.

“I really feel good here. The people are warm. Everybody is trying to make my life easier. Everyone is treating me very nice here. I’ll be more than happy to help this group of players grow and realize their potential,” he said.

Speaking of long haul, I heard that there’s an opening for a very important position in a very important government office that is primarily tasked to look into the well-being of our professional athletes.

If not asking too much, I’m appealing to all sporting gods to consider a dear and respected friend for the position of Games and Amusement Board (GAB) Chair.

Kuyang Chino Trinidad is more than qualified for the job. His vast experience as former commissioner of the Philippine Basketball League then and as a sports journalist many years later has prepared him to occupy the post. But more importantly, his care and compassion for our athletes, especially to our boxers, can’t be doubted and discounted.

I grew up in Calasiao hearing Kuyang Chino’s voice over the radio reporting updates on the annual summer bikeathon which was sponsored then by a major cigarette brand. Which I think was one of the best ways to break in new sports reporters then. But for me, one of the most memorable events he was able to cover was when a boxer met his tragic end after getting knocked out earlier in the ring. Since then, Kuyang Chino has been an advocate for the safety and well-being of our boxers and major changes in boxing as well as in other sports to make them more credible, fair and just.

There is no better man to lead GAB than Kuyang Chino!

Please don’t forget to watch and tune in this Sunday, December 18, from 2-3 p.m. for another interesting episode of 3PTS–Pambansang Tambayan ng Sports at DZME 1530 KHZ. The Designated Kit Man along with Rommel Miranda and guest co-host Joshua Lopez will be joined by several guests for another hour of timely and relevant discussions.

Stay safe. Stay happy peeps!

For comments or questions, you can reach The Designated Kit Man at erel_cabatbat@yahoo.com or follow his account at Twitter: @erelcabatbat