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Preview: shorthanded Azkals take on Nepal

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The Azkals will miss Patrick Reichelt (second from right) against Nepal. Image copyright Bob Guerrero. Unauthorized commercial use punishable by law.

UPDATED 3:00 pm 10-30-2014

The Philippine Azkals take on Nepal for the second time this year in Doha, Qatar on October 31, this Friday at 7:40 pm Qatar time, or 12:40 am Philippine time on Saturday, November 1.

The match is part of the team’s preparation for the 2014 ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup, which starts for the Philippines on November 22 with a group game against qualifiers Laos.

Two days later the team will play Qatar club side Al-Ahli. Another international friendly is set for November 14 against Cambodia. It is not yet clear if a planned friendly with Thailand on November 10 in Nakhon Ratchasima will push through. As of moment I am hearing conflicting reports about it.

The big news in this trip is that Ceres, the UFL side where many of the national team players play, has not released their players for the trip. That means Patrick Reichelt, Jeffrey Christiaens, Manny Ott, and Juani Guirado, all selected by Azkals coach Thomas Dooley, are not in Qatar.

It has been reported that Paul Mulders, who is supposed to be with Ceres but I believe has yet to play with them, did go to Doha.

On the surface, Ceres seems to be selfish and unpatriotic in withholding their Azkals. After all, this is part of the Suzuki Cup lead-up. But if you look closer at the details and take a look at the biggest picture, one can understand why the Bacolod-based side has acted this way.

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This camp is not taking place during a FIFA international window. Clubs are not obliged to release their players for international duty at this time.

Plus, the camp is right smack dab in the middle of the business end of a major domestic club competition, the UFL FA League Cup.

The UFL quarterfinals were held last Sunday and Monday. (Ceres advanced via a 3-1 win over Stallion. Global and Loyola are playing in the semis and have a combined eight players on the team.) The Azkals flew out on Tuesday morning. The game against Nepal is on Friday, then the club friendly on Sunday. The Azkals then fly back on Monday and many will play the UFL semifinals on Tuesday, and the final on Thursday. That’s a brutal schedule indeed, and one unlikely to be replicated in any other serious footballing nation.

Had Ceres allowed their players to go to Doha, they would be preparing for a semifinal while four of their best players get zero practice time. Far from ideal.

Ceres is the one paying the salaries for these players. The Azkals probably get some allowance from the team management, but the living wage comes from the clubs. Most of the time, when Christiaens, Juani, et al are playing football, it’s for their clubs, not for the national team. So the clubs have to be respected.

The Azkals can say that we should all be focused on the Suzuki Cup by now, which begins on November 22 for the Philippines. But if that is the case, why does a major club competition only finish sixteen days before it?

One might fault Ceres for not releasing the players, but in my opinion, the UFL, PFF and Azkals management must face up to the fact that with proper scheduling, this probably never would have happened.

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In hindsight the UFL could have done without the Charity Cup that Global won this year and instead played the League Cup after the League proper. Then UFL would have been finished very early and there would have been all sorts of time to focus on the AFF championship.

Ostracizing Ceres is also not going to help. The Azkals should simply move on and everyone should learn from this and arrange fixtures properly next year (and for the next Suzuki cycle in 2016), so that it doesn’t happen again. Ceres will certainly allow their Azkals to train and play for the national team after November 6.

Yes, the Azkals are important. But to have a competitive national team we need to strengthen the foundation underneath it. And that means giving importance to leagues, clubs and club competitions. Lord knows they need a boost as well.

At any rate, Thomas Dooley should still be able to rustle up a win over Nepal. In the last two meetings between the sides, the Philippines has won comfortably, dealing the Gorkhalis a 4-0 thrashing in Rizal Memorial in 2011 and then nearly replicating that with a 3-0 victory earlier this year with goals by Martin Steuble, Curt Dizon and Balot Doctora.

There is one new face for the team: Filipino-Spanish goalie Tomas Trigo. The PAREF-Southridge schoolteacher has a Filipino grandfather and thus is eligible for a Filipino passport. Trigo plays for Team Socceroo in the UFL first division.

Jason DeJong is also stepping away from the Azkals. It’s my understanding that he is going back to Europe to try and look for a club there. De Jong has been terrific for the Philippines for the past five or six years. We will miss him, but there are plenty of quality choices at holding midfielder at the moment, so we will be fine. Ott, Steuble, and either of the Greatwich brothers can perform just fine in the center of the park for Dooley. In the pipeline is Daniel Gadia from UP.

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Nepal has one interesting player on their roster: 16-year old Bimal Magar, who plays for the youth team of storied Belgian club Anderlecht. Magar is 5’10” and already has a full international goal under his belt, against Pakistan.

Sending youngsters to train in Europe is all the rage these days in Asia. Qatar recently won the U19 Asian championship with a team that was mostly composed of talents honing their craft in European teams. The Philippines already has Sandro Reyes training in Spain with Barcelona. Perhaps more talented kids could be identified and shipped out soon to blossom under the world-class coaching and competition in Europe.

At any rate, the Philippines, even against Nepal’s teenage wunderkid, should bring home victory on Friday. This is my starting XI.

Hartmann

Bahadoran PhilYH JamesYH

Steuble CGreatwich

Sato Aguinaldo Lucena Rota

Deyto

See the initial full list of callups, including the Ceres players, here.

The match will be aired live at 12:40 am on Saturday morning on ABS-CBN Sports and Action. Perfect timing after your Halloween revelry. The late start is not great for early risers but it does allow more Filipinos in Doha to make kickoff after work.

The replay is at 4 pm Saturday afternoon.

Follow Bob on Twitter @PassionateFanPH.