Jr Azkals coach Weiss 'thanks' Vietnamese, Muller in loss
Michael Weiss, the German coach of the Philippines Under-23 football team in the 26th Southeast Asian Games, has goalkeeper Roland Roland Muller and the Vietnamese to thank for in their 3-1 loss to the same squad at the start of men's football action last Thursday.
To thank?
"I thank everyone, my fellow German coach Falko Gerd Gotz more so Vietnam for missing many, many opportunities to score. And I am very proud of our goalkeeper, Muller, who played a fantastic game," said Weiss, stressing that if not for Vietnam's miscues, a dozen of them just in front of Muller, the Philippines got beaten big time.
The Filipinos actually broke the ice against their favored opponents with Manuel Ott, who arrived in Indonesia less than 24 hours before the match, drilling a goal in the 37th minute.
But the Vietnamese kept their poise and leveled the count, thanks to Matt Hartman's own goal, in the 59th minute.
Mueller was all over his territory, making him an overworked goalie, but Lee Hong Thien managed another one in the 74th minute to push Vietnam ahead. And in the dying seconds of the match, Nguyen Van Quyet challenged Muller to a one-on-one and scored his side's third goal.
Weiss credited Vietnam's team chemistry but also partly blamed poor plays on his side to jet lag with some of his players flying in directly from Europe. But he isn't about to lose hope.
"We have four games to play and we will take it day by day. We will put this game behind us," he said.
Next up for the Philippines is Timor Leste on Monday.
Although Timor Leste isn't listed in the high tiers, the team could pull off some surprises after it beefed up its roster with European-based footballers, which the Philippines is already doing. Two of Timor Leste's players, in fact, were invited to a photo shoot for the cover of a local sports magazine.
Former Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Cristy Ramos, now an official of the Asian Football Confederation, confirmed that Timor Leste has Europe-based players reinforcing its team in the 26th SEA Games.
After Timor Leste, the Filipinos face Laos on November 11, Myanmar on November 13 and Brunei Darussalam on November 15.
Group A is considered the Group of Death with defending champion Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. — JVP, GMA News
To thank?
"I thank everyone, my fellow German coach Falko Gerd Gotz more so Vietnam for missing many, many opportunities to score. And I am very proud of our goalkeeper, Muller, who played a fantastic game," said Weiss, stressing that if not for Vietnam's miscues, a dozen of them just in front of Muller, the Philippines got beaten big time.
The Filipinos actually broke the ice against their favored opponents with Manuel Ott, who arrived in Indonesia less than 24 hours before the match, drilling a goal in the 37th minute.
But the Vietnamese kept their poise and leveled the count, thanks to Matt Hartman's own goal, in the 59th minute.
Mueller was all over his territory, making him an overworked goalie, but Lee Hong Thien managed another one in the 74th minute to push Vietnam ahead. And in the dying seconds of the match, Nguyen Van Quyet challenged Muller to a one-on-one and scored his side's third goal.
Weiss credited Vietnam's team chemistry but also partly blamed poor plays on his side to jet lag with some of his players flying in directly from Europe. But he isn't about to lose hope.
"We have four games to play and we will take it day by day. We will put this game behind us," he said.
Next up for the Philippines is Timor Leste on Monday.
Although Timor Leste isn't listed in the high tiers, the team could pull off some surprises after it beefed up its roster with European-based footballers, which the Philippines is already doing. Two of Timor Leste's players, in fact, were invited to a photo shoot for the cover of a local sports magazine.
Former Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Cristy Ramos, now an official of the Asian Football Confederation, confirmed that Timor Leste has Europe-based players reinforcing its team in the 26th SEA Games.
After Timor Leste, the Filipinos face Laos on November 11, Myanmar on November 13 and Brunei Darussalam on November 15.
Group A is considered the Group of Death with defending champion Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. — JVP, GMA News
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