Meet Thomas Dooley, the new Azkals coach

On Friday at the PFF office the Philippine Football media were formally introduced to Thomas Dooley, the new coach of the Philippine Men's National Football team. Here is what you need to know about the German-born American coach.

The CV

Dooley, 52, was born in Germany to a German mother and an American serviceman. He played for Kaiserslautern, winning a Bundesliga league and cup title for them before transferring to Schalke 04. In 1992 Dooley was called up to the United States MNT and played 81 times for the Stars and Stripes, scoring seven goals (not bad for a central defender).

Dooley played in the Americans' successful 1994 World Cup campaign, where they crashed the second round party on home soil, losing to eventual champs Brazil. In 1998, at the age of 37, Dooley started again when the Mundial came to France. The team finished dead last that year with no points and only one goal.

Dooley wound up his pro career in Major League Soccer for the Columbus Crew and New York/New Jersey Metrostars.

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The defender had one forgettable stint as head coach of Saarbrucken, which languished in the bottom of the second tier of German Football. According to Dooley he had little support from management, and didn't even have an assistant coach.

Dooley has since started his own coaching academy, Dooley Soccer University, and has also been an assistant with Jurgen Klinsmann with the US MNT and with Tab Ramos with the USA U-20 side. Dooley says he has an UEFA Pro license, which is even higher than the “A” license needed to coach a national team.

I can think of two other Americans who have coached other National teams: Steve Sampson, Dooley's coach with the USA who helmed Costa Rica in 2002 and 2004, and Bob Bradley, the USA coach in the 2010 World Cup who was in charge of Egypt for two years until 2013.

The Philosophy.

The coach says he will employ a very typically German 4-2-3-1 formation, meaning four defenders, two holding (defensive) midfielders, a winger on either side, one attacking midfielder, and a target forward. This formation can be very defensive but it can also lend itself to attacking Football, since the wingbacks are often called to bomb downfield on overlaps.

“I want to play the ball out of the back and win the ball back four or five seconds after we lose it” says the new coach, who is committed to offensive and attacking Football.

Dooley says he would love the Azkals to emulate top clubs like Barcelona and Arsenal. “I like the way they play because they play simply” he intones. “Too many players make the game difficult for themselves.” Dooley also says that these clubs “are perfect in all the basics of the game” and that their technical prowess helps them play simple Football.

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He'd love to see the Azkals play a selfless, quick-passing game. Hopefully this will mean an end to the much-reviled long balls out of the back that often characterized the Michael Weiss era.

“Football is a team game. If someone wants to play for himself, he should play Tennis” he said to guffaws from the room.

The American influence.

When Dooley first played for the USA it was reported that he hardly spoke any English. Years of playing for and living in the states has certainly fixed that. His English is good and his accent a curious mix of German with a hint of that SoCal drawl.

Dooley showed up at the press conference to introduce him wearing a plain black round neck shirt, hardly what one would expect of a national team coach. But I guess that's how they roll in Cali.

I asked Dooley if he would bring in newfangled American ideas and tools on nutrition, fitness and conditioning, just as Klinsmann did when he led Germany to third-place in the 2006 World Cup. He answered that he would need sponsorships for that since these technologies are quite pricey.

The coach repeatedly used the term “Soccer” during the press conference, the more commonly used name for the game in the United States. I reminded him that he can now go back to using “Football” and he replied “Good. I don't like using 'Soccer.'”

Dooley says there are similarities with the situation here and how it was in the USA when he started playing. Major League Soccer, the North American top tier, didn't start play until 1996, two years after his first World Cup appearance.

The plan for the Challenge Cup.

Dooley says he will get in touch with the players either in person and through Skype with the ones based in Europe. There is a dinner scheduled with the new coach and UFL team owners for Friday night, presumably to help iron out the practice sched for Maldives. Dooley says he wants the players together once or twice a week to build cohesion.

The Azkals next play Malaysia on March 1, then tackle Azerbaijan four days later. Dan Palami says a friendly with a Qatari club has also been confirmed, but he didn't mention a date.

There are plans for a camp in May just before the Challenge Cup Elite Eight kicks off on May 19. Dooley will stick with the current Filipino staff of assistant coaches, presumably Diding Cabalida, Brax Bracamonte, and Roroy Piñero.

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Dooley has seen film of the Azkals in their friendlies against Hong Kong and Cambodia. He was impressed with the quality of the players but says “tactically we have some work to do.”

“Whatever's necessary to win the Challenge Cup, we will do it” he stated.

His opinion of artificial grass.

“I like it” said Dooley. “For learning the skills, like passing, it is the best, in my opinion. In fact the newest artificial turfs are just like grass.”

PFF Sec-Gen Ed Gastanes bared that Rizal Memorial's FIFA 2-Star surface will be in place by mid-April. A 2-star certification means it is acceptable for the final rounds of FIFA senior competitions.

The other coach.

There was another new coach for the Philippines in the PFF office that day. Australian Jim Fraser is the new U20/U21 national team coach who will lead the side in the Bolkiah Trophy in August, which will be held in Brunei.

Follow Bob on Twitter @PassionateFanPH.