AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers: In and around the Philippines' second most lopsided victory ever

Defeating Cambodia 8-0 on Sunday was no mean feat, as it registered as the Philippines' second-highest margin of victory in the country's football history, behind only their 1917 15-2 win over Japan, back in Paulino Alcantara's era. This time around, Phil Younghusband grabbed half of his side's goals in a win which just edged Turkmenistan's score of 7-0 a few days prior. [Related: Azkals ring up 8-0 win over Cambodia] On the pitch, the team played exceptionally and deserve all the accolades. Off the pitch however, were the serious problems of floodlight failure, “an embarrassment” of a pitch, torrential rains, a national coach blasting the media, and a stadium not even half-full. Here we dissect what it all means. ‘Play like Europeans’ After the game Cambodian Coach Prak Sovannara told the media that the Philippines “play like European[s]. They are tall, strong... and I hope the Philippines can go for the Final in this tournament.” Considering how the Azkals' full starting 11 last night grew up in Europe, and went through the ranks of European teams, that’s probably not surprising. In their roster, only Chieffy Caligdong and Ed Sacapano are homegrown players, and of the starting eleven, only Phil Younghusband and Carli De Murga play their football in the Philippines. And while there will always be some who will demand more homegrown players, there's no arguing that this group of Fil-fors did a sterling job representing the country, racking up eight goals while conceding none to their opponent. Neat passing and movement, a mixture of high crosses into big players and low passes for poacher types, and a desire to attack and be on the offensive, gave a balanced and confident look to the Philippines’ play. Not settling for just a win, they wanted to top Turkmenistan’s 7-0 victory, always running for the ball after a goal to restart the game quickly and score more. In doing so, the Philippines not only impressively kept their sixth clean sheet in eight games, but they also finally scored in the first half, after nine games of failing to do so in the opening 45 minutes. And though the Azkals were playing against a young and weakened Cambodian side preparing for the SEA games, a side looking to not lose by too many rather than win the competition, that takes nothing away from the extent of this victory. The Azkals knew what had to be done, and they went out there and did it emphatically. The rest of the Challenge Cup competitors are now forced to see the Philippines as contenders, and if this team is together for the final group stage in the Maldives, they may be the favorites. That kind of progress over the time manager Dan Palami and coach Michael Weiss have handled the team is nothing short of remarkable. Only in the Philippines? After over an hour of delay from rain, and floodlights conking out at the end of the first half, nothing is more apparent from the game than the fact that the Philippines needs a new stadium and pitch. After the game, Weiss said that he was “embarrassed to play in these conditions”, especially after having players from the German, English, and Dutch top flights league make the trip for these qualifiers. To have two reasons for the temporary suspension of a game, the floodlight failure and the torrential rains, is possibly unheard of in international football. Given that the Rizal Memorial Stadium was renovated after the former PFF administration gave up their home leg in the 2010 Suzuki Cup semifinals, there has been improvement for sure, but more needs to be done if the Philippines wants to match Thailand and Singapore in South East Asia, never mind the rest of the world. Officials and volunteers at the side of the pitch did a great job in clearing it of most of the water, and they deserve praise for their efforts as it looked certain the match would be unable to continue. However this isn’t even the rainy season yet, and those further up the hierarchy have to plan more effectively to create a better playing environment. Stadium half-full or half-empty? That playing environment includes the crowd. Bleacher tickets during the Peace Cup were P50, and the most expensive ticket was P500. For these Challenge Cup Qualifiers, the price of the tickets has clearly been hiked up, with white bleacher tickets ten times more expensive than during the Peace Cup, and the grandstand tickets three times more expensive. With huge pockets of empty stands, the official attendance was around 6,500, about half of the stadium’s capacity. Even the official booster squad of the team, the Kaholeros, had to move to the blue bleachers. As a result, the white bleachers, normally the noisiest and fullest section of the stadium, were half full. The Kaholeros cheered on the team and every goal as best they could, but ticket prices are exorbitant compared to the rest of South East Asia. For example, in the Final of the Suzuki Cup, both legs in Singapore and Thailand were priced at a maximum of S$22 (P722) for the best seats in the house. By contrast, the most expensive tickets on sale for these Qualifiers are P2,500 for center lower grandstand, with other grandstand seats selling for P1,000. That makes these Challenge Cup Qualifiers far more expensive than even the Suzuki Cup Final.   If the Philippines are serious about reaching the top of the region and challenging in Asia, they will need a similar-sized ground. And much cheaper tickets. Security even frisked children too, and on one occasion a male security guard not only frisked a 12-year-old girl, but didn’t even apologize for the incident. For all the effort put in by Palami and Weiss to create a team capable of winning the Suzuki Cup and Challenge Cup, there is still a whole lot of work to do to create an environment the Philippines can sustainably succeed in. On to Turkmenistan On the pitch, when they could play though, the Philippines were exceptional. And looking ahead to Tuesday’s game against Turkmenistan, Weiss said the team would be more conservative to ensure their qualification, “I will probably go a bit more on the safety... we are in the driving seat and so a 0-0 or 1-1 will push us through”. In order to get that draw, which would see the Philippines top the group, it also looks like Weiss will choose the same starting eleven, should they be fit for tomorrow’s game. As no substitutions were made during this 8-0 victory, there may be some tired legs though. However, if all the players are fit, the only certainty is that Paul Mulders will not be playing after he saw red for intentionally kicking the ball at Cambodian Khim Borey. Roland Muller is therefore set to keep his place ahead of Neil Etheridge, while Jason De Jong or Chris Greatwich could replace Paul Mulders in the middle, or Stephan Schrock could even move in from the left wing leaving Angel Guirado on one wing and either James Younghusband, Chieffy Caligdong, Patrick Reichelt, or Jeffrey Christiaens as the replacement on the other. Weiss blasts the media After the 8-0 win, Weiss began the press conference blasting the media and sarcastically apologizing for not winning 9-0 or reaching the double figures ‘the football experts in the room’ were apparently demanding. However, given that the best two runners-up of the other four groups are Bangladesh and India, both on six points and with goal differences of five and four respectively, the Philippines’ six points and goal difference of eleven means only a loss by eight or more goals would knock them out. So it was a moment of irony when Weiss blasted the ‘expert’ knowledge of the room, but didn’t seem to realize that the Philippines had basically qualified already. More importantly, however, this is a fixture that is a potential Final for the Challenge Cup next year, and could be a valuable learning experience in how to beat the Turkmen. The Philippines will take on Turkmenistan tomorrow, Tuesday, March 26, in the final game of Group E. - AMD, GMA News