Meet the Azkals U23 team’s Secret Weapon
They work with some of the finest coaches and teams in the world. And they will be on our side for our SEA Games campaign.
Leigh Manson and Jorge Kuriyama will be serving as an Ace up the U23 team's sleeve with their vast Footballing knowledge.
They come from Nike Total Football, a Football program based in Japan, and will be training with the squad every day for two weeks.
“We're going to pass on the knowledge of how we train players in Europe” says Manson, who is the president of the company.
The Scot has been involved in professional Football for over twenty years, as a player with Queen of the South and Gretna in Scotland and with the Richmond Kickers in the United States. He has a UEFA B license and has written a book entitled “The World Class Training Bible.”
ALSO READ: Mike Miller loses shoe, makes big 3 anyway. (VIDEO)
Kuriyama is a Mexican goalkeeper coach with a Japanese stepfather (hence the name) who has lived in Japan for over fourteen years. He tended the nets professionally in Japan for ten years, with his longest stint being with fabled club Cruz Azul.
“Some of the boys have good technique, but they take too many touches” says Manson. “When that happens the defense and goalkeeper can prepare. We want to encourage a higher tempo style of Football that's 4-3-3 in attack and 4-5-1 on defense.”
Manson claims he can even teach this in a small-sided 5v5 game.
It's the fifth time for Manson and Kuriyama to visit the Philippines. They have previously done work with Global and Laos of the UFL, the Leyte Football Association team, and the U22 team that went to the AFC U22 qualifiers in Myanmar last year.
Manson says Leyte came into a competition ranked 17th and finished fifth.
“Dan (Palami) seems to be happy with us” he adds. The Azkals manager is the one responsible for roping in Total Football through coach Diego Sandoval.
“The players here have the potential but the infrastructure needs to be developed to support the players and give them the knowledge and understanding they need.”
Total Football handles over 20,000 players aged eighteen and below in Japan, plus 5,000 female players. Manson also has connections with teams in the J-League, Japan's top tier, and he says it's possible that some Filipino players could go to Japan to train with these clubs.
ALSO READ: Preview: Heat, Spurs prepare for ultimate test.
They also work with top clubs under the Nike umbrella, like Arsenal, Barcelona, Celtic, and Manchester United.
When I meet Manson I'm wearing an Arsenal shirt and Manson remarks that I've brought the right kit for the occasion.
According to PFF marketing head Ebong Joson, Nike Total Football has even introduced a simple and inexpensive software that helps track the training sessions of a team, technology that many top clubs already employ.
Total Football is working with a U23 squad fresh from a battling display in their recent friendly away against Singapore's U23 team.
Without Jeffrey Christiaens, Jason De Jong, and OJ Porteria, the team held Singapore to a 1-0 win in front of a significant home crowd, according to team manager Rhayan Cruz.
Green Archers' Patrick Deyto was in goal, and in front of him was a fully homegrown back four representing Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
ALSO READ: Serena apologizes for rape case comments.
At left back was Ronnie Aguisanda from Tuguegarao, Cagayan. The centerbacks were Amani Aguinaldo from Davao, Boiboi Fernandez from Victorias, Negros Occidental, and the right back was Nathan Octavio from Quezon City.
When asked about how the game went via Twitter all Deyto would say was “Ronnie was in beast mode.”
The Philippines can exact revenge when they play host to the Singapore SEA Games side on July 20. The game will either be in Cebu or Bacolod.
A training camp has been slated for Parma, in Italy, probably in August or later. Meanhile some UFL clubs are already asking about scheduling friendly matches with the U23s, and their participation in the upcoming UFL Cup is supposedly being considered, although scheduling issues remain.
Manson and Kuriyama definitely like some of the players they see.
“Mark has really stood out” gushes Manson. He also has praise for Christiaens.
“The players have a lot of potential, but they need both psychological and technical help” adds Kuriyama.
But I must say, the gap in the quality, both technically and physically, from the U22 team we coached last year, is huge” says the Mexican.
“What we need to work on is tactics. How to keep position. Set plays. Did you know that 75% of the goals in Football come from set plays? (corner kicks and free kicks). It's not just about sitting there and waiting for a miracle. There are signals and other things that help. It's a lot of work.”
Kuriyama, who has taken goalkeeping courses in the USA, also feels that the goalie can be an offensive weapon.
“When the goalkeeper gets the ball, I want him to have the idea that he is the number one striker.”
Only Deyto and Marco Poli are at training that day, the other keeper, Nick O'Donnell, is presumably at school.
Kuriyama says that Poli, a Filipino-Italian with Loyola's youth squad, needs to sand off some rough edges in the technical aspect of the game.
“He needs to improve his reaction to the second ball (off a rebound).” Says Kuriyama. He also notes that the youngster from Undine needs to improve his landing technique. But he does give him props in one aspect.
“He have (sic) a lot of cojones. He really goes for those 50/50 balls.”
Deyto, who is the early favorite to start in Myanmar, is, according to Kuriyama, quicker than Poli, he just needs to work on keeping his focus during the game better.
The team will be training almost daily, mostly at night, since a lot of the players are still in school. No doubt they'll be soaking in as much knowledge as possible while Manson and Kuriyama are here.
Follow Bob on Twitter @bhobg333. TPF thanks Kat Liscano and Rhayan Cruz for their help.
