Azkals coach Dooley happy for Germany, excited for the Philippines
Azkals coach Thomas Dooley was a very happy man as the 2014 FIFA World Cup closed. Although he was the captain of the United States squad that competed in the same event in 1998, he’s part German which made one of the many who celebrated Mario Goetze’s goal in the extra period.
Dooley watched with Azkals Nate Burkey and Marwin Angeles at the Serendipity Lounge at Discovery Suites.
Because it’s his first time to watch the World Cup in the Philippines, Dooley was pleasantly surprised with what he encountered.
“It’s like everywhere you go. In all places you’ll find people who love football and they’re excited about the games but then you’ll also find people who are not football fans and they don’t care,” the coach said. “Even in Germany, there are also people who like it and don’t like it but the number of people following football there is much higher.”
The interest of Filipinos, at least in the critical mass level, spikes up in only two occasions: when the Philippine Azkals are in important competitions and during the FIFA World Cup. Very few Filipinos watch club football. The qualifiers and friendlies between countries en route to the World cup also do not get a lot of attention here.
Dooley however like the passion of the fans here. “The Filipinos who are interested in football are as excited as anybody else in the world,” he said.
The relatively new Azkals coach also shared that he’s positive about the future of football in the country. He added that the sport could be as big here as anywhere in the world.
“I think we’ll reach that point but it takes time to build with the Azkals. We have to build a base of fans and football players in the country so they’ll actually want to have football 24/7,” Dooley shared. “If you’re infected of this virus, you’ll want to go out and play, you’ll want to watch the games, you’ll want to do all those things that are related to the sport and that’s what will make it e football country.”
“It comes with the success. The more success the Azkals have, the more people will be playing football. Hopefully we get in the same situation as the other countries.”
Dooley was also asked a hypothetical question before the match started.
If he had only one wish, would he with for the U.S. to win the World Cup in 2022 or for the Azkals to qualify for the same event. It didn’t take the coach five seconds to answer.
“I want the Azkals to be in the World Cup. I’m 50% German, I’m 50% U.S., and I’m 100% Philippines because that’s what I’m doing right now,” Dooley said.
“I work here, I love it here, and I don’t want to move. I enjoy everything because the more I know the Filipinos, the more excited I am in working for them.”
