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| Next game Friday! |
There were lots of talk on twitterverse and in soccerforums excusing ourselves the draw because of bad pitch conditions and the "end-of-days-like" downpour. I say bullshit, stop the excuses, stop the madness! Remember, the RMS game on Feb 29th 2012 against Malaysia? I've saved that game and watched it countless times, enjoying the draw from the heretofore unbeatable Harimau Muda. But did anyone remember how bad that pitch looked? We Filipino fans even complained about it saying what an embarrassment it was for us. But we struck first and it took the Malaysian side up until the 90th minute to score a draw. We were disappointed but happy the opponent could not punk us as they used too.
In the interview, the Malaysian coach complained loudly about the pitch, but lo and behold none of us fussed over it after. We battled the favorite to a draw, period.
Remember the WCQ at RMS against Sri Lanka? Remember the rain? Didn't we cheer when the rain came in torrents?
Now we've got people making excuses about the pitch, the rain, the mud?
Good teams find a way to win, PERIOD.
Ok now I've got that off my chest, here my thoughts on some of the players and the game overall:
Phil is Phil, he'll get back on track or else we aren't as good as we think we are.
James is James, where every time he launches a cross pass makes you expect another assist to his brothers goal. Steady almost all the time.
Paul Mulders, I think he remains the best passer among any current Azkal. Sublime really. Why we keep forcing him as a "striker" is beyond me. He is a passer first and foremost, don't force him to be what he's not, plus he isn't going to change he's not 22 yo anymore. Use him wisely, no more withdrawn striker crap. Center-Attacking-Midfielder, he's already said this is his preferred position and this is where he can use his superior football IQ & skill to be most effective. The next time you watch an Azkal game with him in it. Notice his moves and passes then compare to some of his team mates(it's really a class above).
Chieffy, he's back! Lets be honest, the first half of the year he was injured or recovering from it and really wasn't effective on the pitch. In this game he showed extended flashes of his old pace, work rate and effectiveness when he's on the ball. This bodes well for future Azkals game.
Jerry Lucena, steady if unspectacular. Better passer from deep than our younger guys. He can play RB, DM, CM or CB. Getting on in years but he plays in Denmarks top league and is a consistent starter, if you don't play him you better have someone from the EPL, or 1.Bundesliga to replace him. It's a no brainer.
Marwin Angeles, is clearly a favorite of Coach Weiss and is given a lot of pitch time and he doesn't disappoint. He is a very good passer and seems to be comfortable in big games. He reminds me of a Paul Mulders but just a little less polished. Still getting better.
Misagh Bahadoran once again teased us with flashes of his brilliance. It helped that most of the frontliners are his team mates in the UFL. He better gain some consistency on the pitch because there are too many "new-kids-on-the-block" waiting to take his roster spot namely OJ Porteria, Reichelt, Christiaens & the Angeles twins.
Speaking of Patrick Reichelt, did this guy play brilliantly against the Khmer boys or what? Sure he gave up that one golden chance the first time and was a finger tip away from a goal in the dying seconds but besides that he has the knack of getting open ala Phil during the Challenge Cup. After his performance against the Inferno and the Khmer's I am convinced that this kid is about ready to break out, he's already done it in Germany, in the Nagold Cup and in the UFL!
Someone tweeted me shortly after the game saying they should try a PYh and Reichelt tandem at forward/striker instead of Mulders(who's really out of his element here) or Denis Wolf. If you really think about this, both PYh & PR are goal scorers with the "touch" why wouldn't it work?
Denis Wolf clearly works hard has good pace but besides his single goal in his first senior cap, has been a mild disappointment and knowing he's nearing the big 3-0 he isn't going to get better. BUT, now that he's locally based should still bode well for the Azkals, he'll get his goals eventually and should be a lock at #2 striker.
Rob Gier is exposed badly when it becomes a one-on-one foot race, luckily he's got his veteran savvy to lean on and one can't discount his leadership of the back line. He cannot stray too far away from the box.
Jason Sabio is solid and makes mistakes but few of them, deserving of his starting spot.
Jason de Jong certainly can be considered a veteran Azkal and has the temperament to be a good defender, I just cannot see him as a center back. It didn't work in the SEAG against U23ers, what makes Weiss think it's going to work against senior NT's? He was burnt in a one-on-one sequence and was saved by a weak shot by the opponent. Sorry but I think he's a better center field enforcer and with a mean streak to boot.
Jeff Christiaens played well, seems comfortable and has speed enough to compensate against any mistakes he makes in this new left back position. It just seems like such a waste of a very good offensive player. Sorry but I think David Basa could've done equally well in his stead.
Carli is such a dynamic, full throttle, 90 minute player, it's hard to picture any other current Azkal taking his spot at right back!
Coach Weiss has shown us that he has learnt his lessons well, that it's not a sin to substitute a player. He's taken us to a 3rd place finish in the Challenge Cup the highest Philippine football achievement in it's history. A second place finish in the 2011 Long Teng Cup which is one place better than in 2010 and best FIFA ranking to boot. Having said that, he's also lost or drew some games that we clearly should have won, not to mention the SEAG debacle and his much debated none use of his substitutes. Doesn't it seem like he used our national team to learn his craft as a coach! It still makes me wonder what we could have achieved if we had a "proper" senior national team level coach from the get go. I'll take the "new" Coach Weiss though, thank you very much.
As for the Singapore game? I'm going to say we draw them.
horse shit!! yes it's nice if we could stop all of the excuses but sometimes things are what they are and you can't hide it! in this case the pitch looked like they were playing at umak! that's how bad it was! although i'll say that it's not the only factor for not scoring or getting the win, but it was a big factor and you can't hide that!
ReplyDeleteyou talk about the malaysia friendly. ya the pitch was embarrassing, but it was still slick and perhaps flat enough to play some proper football. it's why there was a good pace and flow in that game and you could tell there were gonna be goals. malaysia not playing for a draw made the game more open and again we were able to play some decent football despite the pitch. against cambodia there was no pace or flow the entire game. one of the culprits, the pitch and then cambodia's defensive tactics!
you also talk about the sri lanka game at rms. sure it was pouring but that pitch was brand new!! it was newly laid turf ahead of not just a world cup qualifier, but ahead of an international match since 1997! even during the downpour there no puddles or anything like that. that's how nice the pitch was!
HAHAHA! Laughing my ass out on Lucena and Weiss parts! Mean you mean! Loved it. Nice piece man!
ReplyDeleteComparing the RMS and Cambodia pitch..nonono..All i can say.Those pitch is way worse than UMak..
ReplyDeleteThais and Viets can defeat Cambodia on the same pitch why Philippines can't? It's because you're not as strong as Thais and Viets. End of story. And stop complaning about the pitch. It's not like Philippines played on the bad pitch and Khmers played on the good pitch. Both teams played on the same pitch. Both teams experienced the same crab. If Philippines are better than Khmers then Philippines would've found a way to defeat Khmers like Thais and Viets. So just admit that you Philippines are not good enough to win Khmers. By the way, two of the three Khmers great strikers got injured so they have to rest for six months. So Khmer team only have one good striker. If the three strikers were together, then the scores wouldn't be 0-0.
ReplyDeleteAnd here's a history lesson for idiots Philippines. From 1972 to 2012, Cambodia and Philippine had played 9 matches. Cambodia won over Philippine 3 times, lost to Philippine 2 times, and 4 draws. So Cambodia topped over Philippine by 1 victory. That's the fact. Don't be too proud of yourself. Idiots!