Azkals off to Nepal for Challenge Cup
With the last of their tune-up matches behind them, the Philippine Azkals fly to Kathmandu, Nepal today for the AFC Challenge Cup where they will face a tough bracket without striker Denis Wolf and possibly main keeper Neil Etheridge.
Wolf, who scored the Philippines' lone goal in the 1-1 draw with Malaysia last Wednesday, is having some passport issues while Etheridge, whose fine goalkeeping prevented Malaysia from scoring at least three times in the second half, still needs to get clearance from his English Premier League Team Fulham.
Losing Wolf and possibly Etheridge are serious blows to the Azkals' campaign, which already faces an uphill climb after the country found itself bracketed with the last three champions of the Challenge Cup: North Korea (FIFA rank of 106), India (154) and Tajikistan (140). The Philippines is currently ranked 156th.
Etheridge is hoping the manager of Fulham will allow him to join the team.
"I'm not sure," he said when asked shortly after the Malaysia match. "I'm gonna make a phone call in a couple of minutes. I know Coach here wants me involved, and I'm sure the rest of the players want to, and more importantly, I want to. I think it's gonna come down to whether the coach (of Fulham) will let me."
The talented keeper said it will most likely be an all-or-nothing proposition, meaning either he will be there for all three group matches (and whatever comes after that should the Philippines advance from Group B), or he won't be there at all. He is hoping, though, that a compromise can be reached and he gets to play for at least two games.
"Yes, I do want to be there. But at the moment I'm unsure. I think it will be a yes or no answer from my manager back in England. I would like to be involved in all three games in what I think will be another step forward for Philippine football. Two years ago people doubted us in the Suzuki Cup, and I guarantee you in the Challenge Cup there will be another surprise.
"Our best-case scenario is I'll play all three games. Worst-case is I'm not there. A happy medium is I'll play two games, maybe the (India) and the (Tajikistan) games."
The good news is that left winger Chieffy Caligdong will rejoin the team after being out of commission for the past few weeks with a knee injury. Also, the team will be entering the tournament in good spirits after nearly beating the reigning Suzuki Cup champions.
Malaysian coach Datuk K. Rajagopal, whose side lost two matches to India last year, said the Philippines has a "fair chance" against their three opponents.
"Your players are physically strong," Rajagopal said. "I think all your players are motivated to give that extra mile, or to give that extra energy. I hope that they can keep that consistently. I think you have a fair chance. I know people will say North Korea is the strongest there. And I've seen India play. They're also a strong team."
Rajagopal also downplayed Malaysia's two losses to India last year. "I took an entirely different team. I tried a lot of plays, new plays. I think India is there. Taking this as an added motivation, I think the Philippines can have a go in the Challenge Cup."
"National team coach Hans Michael Weiss is also upbeat about his side's chances.
The chemistry on the team is very, very good. Before, it was here and there. But now all the players are going in one direction. I'm very, very positive for the Challenge Cup. With two or three important (additions), Neil included, hopefully we go there full of confidence. I'm very, very much looking forward to next week's matches."
Weiss said he was hoping the team can duplicate their performance against Nepal last year, where they won 4-nil in what was perhaps their best match of 2011. Nepal is in the other Challenge Cup group along with Palestine, Turkmenistan and Maldives.
"I think now this is the group that I want to work with," Weiss said. "Not for my own sake, but for the sake of the country and of the team. A couple of changes had to be made. Some characters didn't fit in the group too well so we had to make a change. And now the chemistry is very good."
Weiss also asked for more patience with the team, and pointed to Malaysia as a prime example of what long-term planning can do.
"Malaysia took 10 years to get to where they are now. If you want to be stable at this level, you have to be patient for another five years."
The Philippines opens its campaign on March 9 against North Korea, then battles India on March 11 and Tajikistan on March 13. The top two teams advance to the semifinals. A berth in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, where the big boys like Japan, South Korea, Australia and Iran will be playing, is at stake in the Challenge Cup, which is a competition among the lower-ranked Asian nations whose football programs are classified as "developing" and "emerging".
The Philippines' journey to the Challenge Cup group stage, which will feature the top eight countries from the developing and emerging category, began in February last year in Panaad with a 2-0 win over Mongolia. The Azkals advanced to the qualifying stage with a 3-2 aggregate win over Mongolia, and clinched a spot in the main draw by finishing second in their group with a win over Bangladesh and draws with Palestine and Myanmar. This marks the first time the country will be playing in the Challenge Cup group stage.
E-mail: sid_ventura@yahoo.com. Twitter: @Sid_Ventura.
