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Philippine Football

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Azkals ready to go to next level

1/01/2011 | Football | 0 comments » .fullpost { display: inline; }
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source: Abac Cordero | philstar.com

Don’t expect the Azkals to lose their bite just because there’s trouble within the Philippine Football Federation.

Team manager Dan Palami, who has bankrolled the Azkals’ incredible surge, made the assurance yesterday, saying the players, both local and with foreign blood, are up to the task.

“As far as the team is concerned, we have always insulated ourselves from the politics of the NSA (national sports association). We have always concentrated on just playing,” he said.

There’s trouble within the PFF because Jose Mari Martinez is contesting his removal as president, and has filed a temporary restraining order (TRO) to prevent his successor, Mariano “Nonong” Araneta, from performing his duties.

Martinez’ lawyer, Ciriaco Calalang, filed the TRO three days ago before the Pasig Regional Trial Court.

“But the court has not acted upon it yet. It was supposed to be raffled off last Thursday but it did not happen. Maybe it will happen in the coming new year,” said Palami.

Martinez faced allegations of mishandling the PFF funds, leading to his ouster last Nov. 27 when 26 of 30 local football associations installed Araneta as the new PFF president.

The world governing body in the sport, FIFA, has already recognized Araneta as the rightful PFF head, as well as the Philippine Olympic Committee through the efforts of its chairman, Monico Puentevella.

If the leadership worsens, as it seems to be, having reached the courts, the PFF faces suspension from FIFA.

“I’m just worried if FIFA suspends the PFF because if that happens, we will not be able to play in international tournaments,” said Palami over the phone yesterday.

The FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation said it will look deep into the PFF mess.

The football-loving businessman assured everyone that his support will continue, but expressed concern that the politics within the PFF may turn off potential sponsors or others who are willing to help the team.

“I have always taken care of the players but instead of getting additional help, the potential sponsors might be discouraged by the row,” he said.

Palami added that a couple of big-name sponsors are knocking on the doors of the Azkals, who recently made waves by reaching the semis of the AFF Suzuki Cup, even landing on the pages of the prestigious Sports Illustrated magazine.

One of the potential sponsors was a backer of the recent World Cup and the Euro Cup, but Palami opted not to name it first until the letter of intent is sealed, signed and delivered.

Again, he assured the Filipino football fans that the Azkals won’t be affected by the PFF row, in the way they were not intimidated by 88,000 Indonesian fans in their gallant stand in the Suzuki Cup.

“As for the players, it hasn’t affected them at all. Instead, they’re worried that it might affect me. But it won’t,” said Palami.
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Source: http://teampilipinas.info/2011/01/azkals-ready-to-go-to-next-level.html

Looks like a big one... possibly Nike or Coca-Cola or McDonalds... simply because they're already established in the Philippines...
 
Cutillas says, 'Let's get real'

By Joaquin Henson (The Philippine Star) Updated January 02, 2011

MANILA, Philippines – Former national football coach
Juan Cutillas said yesterday qualifying for the next World Cup is an impossible dream but if the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) lays down the groundwork for a development program with massive support, he estimated it will take 40 to 50 years before making it.

“I don’t want to sound un-nationalistic,” said Cutillas, who has served three terms as national coach in a span of close to 20 years. “But let’s forget about trying to qualify for the World Cup at the moment. It’s totally absurd to even think we have a chance right now. Malaysia and Indonesia can’t even get past the first round of qualifying in Asia. Malaysia is in a bracket with Qatar, Korea and Iran. If we play Korea or Japan, we’ll probably lose by four to seven goals. We don’t even have a facility that meets the standards of the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) and AFF (Asean Football Federation).”

But while Cutillas expressed pessimism, he said the PFF should take it as a challenge to start moving forward now, riding the momentum of the Azkals’ semifinal success in the recent AFF Suzuki Cup.

“Honestly, I don’t think we can win the Suzuki Cup in eight to 12 years,” said Cutillas. “Football is a religion in countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Malaysia can bring in about 100,000 fans in the Commonwealth Stadium. Indonesia’s stadium has a capacity of close to 90,000. The support for football in those countries is almost unlimited. They have a strong local league and don’t rely on overseas players who just come and go.”

Cutillas, 70, said without widespread backing, football won’t progress in the country.

“There must be massive support from government and the private sector,” he said. “Building a competitive national team takes a long time. It requires constant international exposure. It requires a strong local league. When I coached our national team in the Suzuki Cup qualifiers in 2008, our team played only four Fil-foreigners, namely, Neil Etheridge, Jason de Jong, Chris Greatwich and Chad Gould. We beat host Cambodia, 3-2, in front of over 15,000 fans but didn’t advance because of a tiebreak rule. We were tied with Cambodia in total points and goal difference but they scored nine goals compared to our five.”

Even as Cutillas recognized the importance of reinforcing the national squad with Fil-foreigners, he said the priority is to form a pool of local players ready to be called for duty at any time.

“We should get the best 20 to 25 young, strong local players with a good build, put them together, train as a team, provide them with allowances and accommodations and expose them to competitions abroad,” said Cutillas. “We should also build our own facility, a stadium we can be proud of. We should strengthen our local league. We should go to the Visayas where there are a lot of outstanding players and recruit the best prospects. There is so much to be done.”

Cutillas said with unrealistic dreams of qualifying for the World Cup and winning the Suzuki Cup in 2012, the expectations on the Azkals will be unreasonably high. “We can’t afford to be short-sighted,” continued Cutillas. “We need a long-term development program but we need to start now while everyone is excited about football.”

Cutillas said he agreed with PFF technical director Aris Caslib in calling on schools and clubs to release players drafted for the national team. “I think schools and clubs shouldn’t stop their players from playing for the national team,” he said. “It will stunt their growth. We should all be united for the country. Once the school players graduate, where will they go? It is vital to give them options to continue playing in a strong local league. We need to provide incentives and facilities for our players.”

Cutillas was one of four Spanish players recruited by Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation president Felipe Monserrat to upgrade the standards of local football as imports in 1963. He married a Filipina, Tessy Sanchez, a year later then returned to Spain to finish his medical studies and earn an international coaching license. In 1968, Cutillas was back in Manila to coach the national team. He migrated to Australia with his wife and two daughters in 1985 then moved back to Manila in 1996 to coach the national team for four years. Cutillas relocated back to Australia in 2000 but four years ago, came back to Manila for good to settle with his family. His last stint as national coach was in the Suzuki Cup qualifiers in 2008.
 
pachador said:
Cutillas says, 'Let's get real'

By Joaquin Henson (The Philippine Star) Updated January 02, 2011

MANILA, Philippines – Former national football coach
Juan Cutillas said yesterday qualifying for the next World Cup is an impossible dream but if the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) lays down the groundwork for a development program with massive support, he estimated it will take 40 to 50 years before making it.

“I don’t want to sound un-nationalistic,” said Cutillas, who has served three terms as national coach in a span of close to 20 years. “But let’s forget about trying to qualify for the World Cup at the moment. It’s totally absurd to even think we have a chance right now. Malaysia and Indonesia can’t even get past the first round of qualifying in Asia. Malaysia is in a bracket with Qatar, Korea and Iran. If we play Korea or Japan, we’ll probably lose by four to seven goals. We don’t even have a facility that meets the standards of the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) and AFF (Asean Football Federation).”

But while Cutillas expressed pessimism, he said the PFF should take it as a challenge to start moving forward now, riding the momentum of the Azkals’ semifinal success in the recent AFF Suzuki Cup.

“Honestly, I don’t think we can win the Suzuki Cup in eight to 12 years,” said Cutillas. “Football is a religion in countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Malaysia can bring in about 100,000 fans in the Commonwealth Stadium. Indonesia’s stadium has a capacity of close to 90,000. The support for football in those countries is almost unlimited. They have a strong local league and don’t rely on overseas players who just come and go.”

Cutillas, 70, said without widespread backing, football won’t progress in the country.

“There must be massive support from government and the private sector,” he said. “Building a competitive national team takes a long time. It requires constant international exposure. It requires a strong local league. When I coached our national team in the Suzuki Cup qualifiers in 2008, our team played only four Fil-foreigners, namely, Neil Etheridge, Jason de Jong, Chris Greatwich and Chad Gould. We beat host Cambodia, 3-2, in front of over 15,000 fans but didn’t advance because of a tiebreak rule. We were tied with Cambodia in total points and goal difference but they scored nine goals compared to our five.”

Even as Cutillas recognized the importance of reinforcing the national squad with Fil-foreigners, he said the priority is to form a pool of local players ready to be called for duty at any time.

“We should get the best 20 to 25 young, strong local players with a good build, put them together, train as a team, provide them with allowances and accommodations and expose them to competitions abroad,” said Cutillas. “We should also build our own facility, a stadium we can be proud of. We should strengthen our local league. We should go to the Visayas where there are a lot of outstanding players and recruit the best prospects. There is so much to be done.”

Cutillas said with unrealistic dreams of qualifying for the World Cup and winning the Suzuki Cup in 2012, the expectations on the Azkals will be unreasonably high. “We can’t afford to be short-sighted,” continued Cutillas. “We need a long-term development program but we need to start now while everyone is excited about football.”

Cutillas said he agreed with PFF technical director Aris Caslib in calling on schools and clubs to release players drafted for the national team. “I think schools and clubs shouldn’t stop their players from playing for the national team,” he said. “It will stunt their growth. We should all be united for the country. Once the school players graduate, where will they go? It is vital to give them options to continue playing in a strong local league. We need to provide incentives and facilities for our players.”

Cutillas was one of four Spanish players recruited by Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation president Felipe Monserrat to upgrade the standards of local football as imports in 1963. He married a Filipina, Tessy Sanchez, a year later then returned to Spain to finish his medical studies and earn an international coaching license. In 1968, Cutillas was back in Manila to coach the national team. He migrated to Australia with his wife and two daughters in 1985 then moved back to Manila in 1996 to coach the national team for four years. Cutillas relocated back to Australia in 2000 but four years ago, came back to Manila for good to settle with his family. His last stint as national coach was in the Suzuki Cup qualifiers in 2008.
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Spoken like a real professional. I hope this opens the eyes of those crabs who keep on insisting that we abandon basketball just because our football team is winning.
 
I like Cutillas' comment regarding Azkals' bid for 2014! its not just dreams that earns you a slot in the World Cup, its also the proper preparation and hard work. Another kick ass to those who called me a Troll/Crab or whatever back in 2009 when I was disgruntled on how the RP team prepared for the Tianjin Wars!
 
TrueBluePinoy said:
Sudanese players Izo Elhabib and brother Bhadz are in the process for naturalization.
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so these guys are going to don the national colors huh.

NVM the links, I found them na.

Izo is a consistent goal scorer from Kaya FC.

This means limited minutes for Araneta/local players. I'm worried about what those purists will say. A team of fil-fors plus 2 naturalized players. Gawd, more headaches.

anyway, they are in the process of Naturalization. I wonder if it'll take that long.... Dan Palami should ask Miguel Zubiri to file a Bill or something (Douthit route, I'm sure Noynoy would sign it right away):D

how old is he btw? I wasn't able to find it. All I know that his b-day is march 14.

If he is below 23, then good for us. He can play in the SEA games next year.
The team needs strikers. You just can't pass the ball and hope P. Younghusband pierces through the defensive wall. Araneta isn't good enough of a player.
 
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Is there any news of us starting a football league? To develop players, we need our own league.
 
interxavierxxx said:
Is there any news of us starting a football league? To develop players, we need our own league.
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UFL, isn't that the strongest league here in the Philippines? Army, Air Force, Navy and Global Smartmatic all play there. Even Sunken Garden United plays there, (I used to join their practices during weekends back then).
 
based on FIFA rules there's no limit on the number of naturalized players that can play in a national team. It's a possibility that all players of a certain national team as long those players met FIFA regulations that they have resided at least 5 years in that particular country. I wouldn't be surprised in few years all of Qatar national football team players are naturalized.
 
based on FIFA rules there's no limit on the number of naturalized players that can play in a national team. It's a possibility that all players of a certain national team as long those players met FIFA regulations that they have resided at least 5 years in that particular country. I wouldn't be surprised in few years all of Qatar national football team players are naturalized.
 
FilWelsh said:
based on FIFA rules there's no limit on the number of naturalized players that can play in a national team. It's a possibility that all players of a certain national team as long those players met FIFA regulations that they have resided at least 5 years in that particular country. I wouldn't be surprised in few years all of Qatar national football team players are naturalized.
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The Qatari would be loving that.They are doing with Basketball:D
 
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Breaking news: Araneta "recognized" by AFC. Leaves for Qatar for AFC Elections.

The leadership of the Philippine Football Federation -- President Mariano V. Araneta and Secretary General Ramon Manuel -- will be flying to Qatar tonight for the meting and elections of the Asian Football Confederation. The accreditation of the two came in today and that means that AFC recognizes them already.

So that you know, before the 2010 ended, AFC President Mohammad Bin-Hammam already invited Araneta to leave earlier for Qatar so that they could talk. The way we interpret this is that the findings of the FIFA and AFC lawyers validated the results of the 7th Ordinary Congress of the PFF where the former president was removed and replaced.

That invalidates the TRO filed by the former president since AFC already recognizes Mr. Araneta.

Congratulations to all for a job well done.

-from sir rick olivares
 
got this from Johnny's blog

Simon did a great job but he will have to secure the necessary coaching licence at least an AFC "B" to be able to qualify to coach in the coming AFC tournaments. Its a process so he will not be able to coach in the coming AFC Challenge Cup. This is why the PFF and team manager Palami took the offer of the German Football Federation and negotiations will begin in a few days.

Word is while Simon may not be qualified to coach the Men's National for the Challenge Cup---they are considering him to coach the U19 national team while he works on his coaching licence too.
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From sunstar.com.ph.

From sunstar.com.ph.

Sinulog Football Cup adds 2 divisions


By Edri K. Aznar
Monday, January 3, 2011



ORGANIZERS of the Sinulog Football Festival weren’t expecting much when they decided to hold their event this weekend but got surprised after getting a lot of inquiries from interested football teams.

Organizer Francis Ramirez admitted the 1st Sinulog Football Festival is just a test event, and whether it will be held next year or not will depend on this year’s success.


“This was just a test, but a lot of teams have inquired about the event,” Ramirez said in an interview with Sun.Star Cebu.



The two divisions added are the Ladies Open and Inter BPO Men’s categories. The other divisions are the Players 8 and 10, Boys 12, 14 and 17, Girls 17, Men’s Open and 38 and above.

“A lot of teams said they want to join, especially in the Ladies Open, that’s why we added new divisions,” he said.

The Ladies Open division has six teams.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on January 04, 2011.
 
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