UFL: Chieffy Caligdong, Ian Araneta about to transfer?

Emelio ‘Chieffy’ Caligdong—following a guest role on the Green Archers United futsal team in the Invitational Futsal Cup and acceptance of the mission as sports ambassador of Globe Telecom—has raised expectations of his imminent transfer to the Animo football club.   On their Facebook account, the Green Archers have added ‘Globe’ to their team name inasmuch as the listed telecom firm has become the club’s major sponsor.   The club is set to conduct grassroots football clinics and play friendly matches with local teams in early August.   “The Green Archers Globe FC will kick off our "Personal Development thru Sports Development" program with a Visayan tour (Iloilo, Bacolod, San Carlos) from Aug. 2-6,” the club posted on their Facebook wall.   As Globe's sports ambassador it therefore looks certain he will be remaining in the Philippines rather than heading to Texas – at least in the short-term – as was announced some time ago.   Other clubs will certainly be interested in the 5’5’’ Iloilo native, but recent announcements with the telco giant and the Green Archers suggest a deal is imminent.

With Chieffy confirmed to be leaving the Air Force, there are a host of clubs interested in the 29-year-old, but with ties between sponsor, the Green Archers and Chieffy growing stronger, the Taft-based squad appears far ahead of others in the negotiation process.   Number 13, lucky for Chieffy’s Career   Chieffy Caligdong has been with the Azkals and the Air Force since 2004.   Making his debut for the National Side in the 2004 Tiger Cup, now known as the Suzuki Cup, he played all four games in the group stage and scored both goals in the Philippines’ solitary win- a 2-1 victory over Timor Leste.    Caligdong is rated as possibly the best homegrown talent of the Philippines. And in more recent lineups for the Azkals, he’s been the only player to have grown up in the country, always sporting number 13 on his back.   Chieffy has been with the team far before football was popular in the country. In his first few years with the side, they often fell to heavy defeats.   The 2004 Tiger Cup was also when Aly Borromeo, Chris Greatwich and Anton Del Rosario joined the national side.   Two years later, the Younghusband brothers also joined.   In the ASEAN Football Championship Qualification (Suzuki Cup without a sponsor), Chieffy again scored in the 7-0 victory over Timor Leste and the 4-1 win over Brunei with the qualifiers being held in Bacolod.   The Philippines finished second behind Laos and qualified for the main stage, but the Azkals registered a 0-0 draw with Myanmar after 4-0 losses to both Malaysia and Thailand.   Since then, the Azkals have reached their highest FIFA ranking ever at 148th in the world and Chieffy is still an integral member of the squad.   Throughout 2011, Chieffy scored six goals, more than doubling his total tally for the national side, as he stands on thirteen goals for his country. These include crucial goals such as the openers against Mongolia and Sri Lanka in the 2-0 win at Bacolod and the 4-0 win at Rizal Memorial Stadium, respectively.   With the team struggling against a lowly Macau side in the Long Teng Cup, Chieffy even struggled through an injury to score both goals in the second half for a 2-0 win.   Following his brace against Hong Kong in a 3-3 thriller earlier in the competition, he also walked away with the Golden Boot for the tournament.   After Aly Borromeo tore his ACL last year, Chieffy has also assumed the captain’s role for the Azkals in his absence.   Flying High as an Airman   With his club, the Air Force, Chieffy has enjoyed a great deal of success. The holy trinity of the Air Force, in Ian Araneta, Yanti Barsales and Chieffy Caligdong, dominated the headlines for the Air Force, who have won two UFL Leagues and two UFL Cups.   The Air Force remain the most successful team in the UFL, but they have been weakening with the rise of other clubs, the ageing of their players, and their inability to sign anyone not part of the armed services.   Chieffy has since requested to be discharged, and speculation has been mounting as to his next destination with the Green Archers looking the most likely place.   The Archers may have finished only eighth in the league, just above Army and the relegated Navy, but with huge sponsorship money from their sponsor, they are signaling their intention to spend big and bring in the best players from across the country.   Chieffy Caligdong will certainly not be the last high profile signing the Green Archers make during this transfer window as the club look to challenge for honors next season.   Ian Araneta to Loyola? Another Air Force man who looks set to leave is Ian Araneta.   The Smiling Assassin’s stint with the Air Force also looks to be coming to an end as he was recently featured on the Loyola squad sheet in the Singapore Cup Quarter Final against Kanbawza FC.   While Singapore Cup rules suggest that other players aside from those eligible for them in the UFL team may join, as Matthew Hartmann was also listed in the squad previously, the inclusion of Ian Araneta who plays for Loyola’s rival is more telling.   The move would certainly boost the hitman’s chances with the national side as he would partner Phil Younghusband upfront in what used to be the regular attacking pair before the arrival of Denis Wolf and Paul Mulders, among others.   Araneta made his debut for the National Side back in 2002 in a friendly with Singapore and has scored nine goals for the National side. — RF/ELR, GMA News