Azkals 4, Indonesia 0: Thoughts on a scintillating night in Hanoi

The ghosts of 2002 and 2010 have been exorcised. In the 2002 AFF championship, known then as the Tiger Cup, the Philippines were mowed down 13-1 by Indonesia. For many of you that is just a footnote on a wikipedia site. But not for me. I had to endure it on live TV on either ESPN or Star Sports.

I remember the long-maned Mark Villon on defense, helpless as waves of of Indonesian attacks pierced the goal frame of keeper Alvin Montañez, deployed in place of Tats Mercado for the day. I remember our coach, Sugao Kambe, stoic on the sidelines as his side were manhandled. I recall our consolation goal, a brilliant long-range effort from Ali Go.

That was the nadir of Philippine football in recent times. But for me, any lingering anguish from that awful day in Gelora Bung Karno has been washed down the drain by this epic victory. Ditto for the 2-0 aggregate loss in the semis in 2010.

This game had the feel of Holland's stunning thrashing of Spain in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The established order humbled in shocking fashion by an upstart on the rise.

The Philippines are winning by playing attractive football. The boys shared the ball, played patient, passed back if an opening wasn't available, and moved well away from the ball. They have done this now in two straight games. It's a delight to see, and full credit must go to Thomas Dooley for installing this system.

Manny Ott was brilliant, and not just for his highlight-reel goal. He, Jerry Lucena, Martin Steuble, and Misagh Bahadoran allowed the Philippines to boss the midfield.

In contrast, Indonesia looked like a side that practiced together last week for the first time. Their midfield was absent, they tried far too many long hoofs, and they showed a startling lack of cohesion.

We also out-hustled our opponents I think. Our conditioning program is obviously working.

Were we really that good or were Indonesia poor? I think it's a little bit of both. Which leads me to my next point...

Indonesia are a cautionary tale. With a massive population of almost a quarter of a billion people, a popular league system, a passion for the game and no shortage of private and public sector support, Indonesia should be a power in Asian football. And yet even in ASEAN, they stumble. They have lost three AFF finals and have yet to win a title.

I'm no expert in the situation in Indonesia. But I do know that Indonesian football has been wracked with politicking in the recent past. In fact, FIFA almost suspended them. I can also see that their team this year is vastly different from the one that played in the 2012 Suzuki, and in fact, even seems to be very different from last year's squad. There's not much continuity.

Indonesia also seem to be stymied by a mental block, an almost inevitable sense of impending failure.

Success in football needs more than just raw materials. You need administrators with vision, the right facilities, good coaching, and big-picture thinking. You also need to balance club and country interests for the good of all.

Maybe Indonesia just lacks some of these ingredients, and perhaps politics has interfered.

The road to footballing glory is often hard and circuitous, fraught with moments of despair. A quarter of a billion people have just been reminded of that reality.

The paradox that is Misagh Bahadoran. The Global player worked his tail off in this game. He caused the penalty with his work rate and assisted on Manny Ott's super strike. For that, we give him plenty of acclaim.

But for the second straight game he has the ball on the flank near the goal on an acute angle and instead of dishing to team mates in the center of the box, either dribbles to oblivion or takes a mega-low percentage shot that misses. (Against Laos it was the latter, on Tuesday, the former.)

Bahadoran's reputation as a non-passer is a bit unfair. He does pass the ball, but there are moments when he doesn't when he should. Had he centered against Indonesia and we had converted, it would have been 2-0 at the half and we would be in a much more comfortable spot.

But Misagh's splendid work rate and terrific fitness means he makes us miss Chieffy on the left a little less than we would. And that's a good thing.

A bit about Martin Steuble's goal. I have been getting inquiries about the unusual score, so I will explain it in full here.

In football, it is illegal for a field player to pass the ball back using his feet to his keeper and for the keeper to handle it. Only headed (and I think chested passes), may be held by the goalie. If an outfield player passes the ball back with his feet, the keeper can only control the ball with his feet as well.

The punishment for a handled back pass via the feet is an indirect free kick at the point where the goalie touches the ball. I guess FIFA believes that the sin is relatively minor and thus not worthy of a penalty kick.

The illegal backpass must be obviously deliberate to the keeper, and not a touch from the defender that happens to go to the keeper. The keeper can pick those up.

The Indonesian defender had the ball suspended between his legs, then dropped it. Kurnia Megia Hermansyah, the Indonesian goalie, then picked it up, thinking it was not a deliberate pass to him. The referee thought otherwise, and gave the indirect.

Here is where the genius and experience of Phil Younghusband and Martin Steuble comes in. Free kicks are often taken quickly, without the referee needing to blow his whistle. Phil and Martin knew this, and while the Indonesians protested the call, Phil sets the ball down and taps it to Martin, who blasts it in. The ref signaled for a goal.

In last year's UFL league Diego Barrera, then with Socceroo, did something very similar to Patrick Deyto, who was still with Green Archers at that time, only it was a direct free kick and not an indirect one.

“Protect yourself at all times,” is a phrase boxing refs tell fighters before a bout. It's the same in football.

We have a nice problem on Friday. So we make the semis with a game to spare. Thankfully we are only playing for seedings on Friday against Vietnam.

Vietnam, on the other hand, is at four points, two adrift of us. A draw suits them okay, they finish second. A win gives them the top seed and the right to face the Group B runner-up.

Both teams will have an eye on Group B. On Wednesday Thailand plays Malaysia. Should they defeat the Harimau Malaya they go to six points and you can almost hand them the top seed. Their final group game is against Myanmar.

If Thailand is likely top seed, then the Philippines will surely want to finish top of the group and avoid them in the crossover semis. That means we go guns blazing on Friday. But if Malaysia takes a piece of the War Elephants and the Group B picture is muddled, then is fighting for the top seed all that important? What is the plan then? Play defensive? Remove Phil from the starting eleven so he can rest his body and be sharp for the semis?

I presume that Thomas Dooley will play for the win no matter what. But these are definitely things to think about. The team has played great from the front to the back of the formation, but Phil is our MVP without a doubt, and ideally we shouldn't risk getting him hurt.

Incredible fact of the day: We have played five matches in Hanoi since the 2010 Suzuki Cup and have not lost any of them. That's three wins and two draws. Four of them were in My Dinh, another, a 0-0 draw against Myanmar in 2010, was in another venue. We should play in the northern Vietnamese city more often. Heck, maybe we should play home games there.

We should resist the temptation to hold the semis home game in Philippine Sports Stadium. Yes, the INC-funded venue in Bulacan is lovely. But I answered Dan Palami's informal social media poll by saying I prefer Rizal Memorial.

We haven't been able to fill up RMS lately, and that's centrally located in the middle of town near an LRT station. What more if the match were in far-flung Bocaue, Bulacan?

I say the best way to get a difficult atmosphere for a visiting team is to play the match in Rizal, with reasonably priced tickets, to ensure a sellout.

Another reason: we are more familiar with the artificial turf than a visiting team might be. That's yet another advantage.

We need to savor this moment. Enjoy this, Azkals Nation. The Philippines has ended eight decades, eight decades, of futility in spectacular fashion. Everything is clicking. The entire squad is playing well, Dooley is making the right adjustments. We are having fun. We are making waves. We have the full points and an insane GD of +7.

Don't take it for granted. It won't always be this good. Potholes are inevitable. Football is always a roller-coaster. Relish this awesome victorious feeling now, while we can. And be ready to spur the team on to victory on Friday, where we just might accomplish another milestone: first place in a Suzuki Cup group.

Follow Bob on Twitter @PassionateFanPH.