From mb.com.ph
From mb.com.ph
Phil Younghusband overwhelmed by popularity of football in the Philippines
By ALEX VALENTIN BROSAS
March 24, 2011, 4:00am
MANILA, Philippines – Football player Phil Younghusband is overwhelmed by the instant popularity of sport in the country. “It happened so fast,” he said about its newfound fame among Filipinos.
“It’s only been three of four months and the popularity of football has grown. Now it’s being recognized in the streets, in the malls, during anything. And the players, we don’t want it to end. We want football to progress. We want football to develop in the Philippines,” he said in “Confessions” segment of “Showbiz News Ngayon,” March 23.
The star player is on a rest period after he suffered a harmstring injury during the Azkals game in Mongolia.
“Malungkot ako kasi hindi puwedeng maglaro sa Myanmar,” he said, adding his injured right leg was “masakit pa rin pero gumagaling na. Hindi pwede tumakbo, hindi pwede open or stretch. Tatlong lingo pa [bago] puwedeng maglaro. ‘Yung next game natin is June so there’s a lot of time."
Considering himself Pinoy “a hundred percent kasi I live here now,” Phil explained he’s grown to love the country.
“My family is in the Philippines. I’m very family-oriented, very close to my family. I’m very passionate about the Philippines. Although my accent is different... I believe I’m very Pinoy.”
Phil admits that their family is very close-knit, something that has been brought about by the fact that “my dad, patay na. My brother and I are the men of the house. We are the breadwinners. We are very close. We do everything together. If you meet my mom and my sister, it’s easy to love them.”
When asked if there’s sibling rivalry between him and his brother James, Phil admitted “meron,” but asserted it was “healthy competition.”
He shared that they are disparate in that “I’m very impatient" and “James is more patient.” What they have in common, though, is that “we like Filipinas.”
When asked by Bianca Gonzalez who’s more handsome, Phil instantly replied, “Siyempre mas guwapo ako. Charot!”
When pressed to reveal who taught him gay lingo, he quipped, “I”m not gonna say it.”
Asked who’s more of a chickboy between him and James, he said, “Siya? Joke!”
Stating that he “started kicking a ball when I was three,” Phil said both his dad and his brother James were his inspirations. “They really wanted me to be a football guy. Last year, Phil formed a football group called The Younghusband Football Academy."
Started in January 2010, Phil noted that its goal was "to create opportunity for the young kids to promote, develop football in the Philippines. We have training camps. We have tournaments. We have guys from public schools. We train them.”
Phil also explained that after the controversy Angelica Panganiban unwittingly created after she posted messages pertaining to him being possibly sidetracked by showbiz on her Twitter account, he had not really spoken to the actress or her boyfriend Derek Ramsay. But he did admit that he follows her on Twitter.
“I just want to let her know about my feelings,” he said.
Given a chance, he would tell Angelica that “I just want to concentrate on the Mongolia game and the movie wasn’t about entering showbiz. I think she just misunderstood the situation."
The indie film he’s referring to is “Happy Land,” directed by Jim Libiran, in which he had a cameo.
“I was [there] as myself... just playing football, show some skills, train the kids. Hardly a bit of acting. Nothing serious,” he said.
I wonder if you'd be saying the same thing if Simon didn't give the results you wanted.
