Azkals to take on Myanmar in opening match of the year

By ROY MOORE

Published February 3, 2013 8:48pm

The Philippine National Football team will fly to face regional rivals Myanmar for their first match of the year on Wednesday, February 6. The Azkals will be looking to record their first ever victory against their opponents on Myanmar soil, hoping to start the New Year right and prepare well for the Challenge Cup Qualifiers in March.

The game will kick off at 5pm in Yangon, the capital of Myanmar, which means it will be played at 6:30pm Philippine time, given the time difference.

Head-to-head

Fresh from their Suzuki Cup semifinal appearance, the Azkals had notched their first-ever win over their South East Asian rivals at the thirteenth time of asking, in a 2-0 win in the last group game. That confirmed the team’s entry to the semifinals of the competition where they lost 1-0 on aggregate to Singapore. [Related: Azkals move on to Suzuki Cup semifinals after beating Myanmar]

The Philippines are currently ranked 147 in the world, an end-of-year high for the team which reached their highest-ever position of 143 in preparation for the Suzuki Cup. Third in the region, they have opened a gap on Myanmar, who were close on the heels of the Azkals following their undefeated qualification run. However, a poor performance in the Suzuki Cup has seen Myanmar drop to 162, behind regional rivals Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia into seventh place in Southeast Asia.

International during friendly dates

After crashing out bottom of their group, Myanmar is looking to bounce back in 2013. Inviting the Philippines to a friendly match during the FIFA recognized international dates, Myanmar could be looking to score a win over the Philippines and re-assert their historical dominance over the Azkals, or it could well be in order to learn how the Philippines has become the most improved nation in the world in back-to-back years. [Related: Azkals finish 2012 at 147th in FIFA rankings]

Indeed, Myanmar’s last victory in a friendly match was back in 2008 against Indonesia, and so it could be some time before the White Angels can build a squad capable of reaching the country’s peak, which was fifty years ago. Part of the problem for the Burmese has been their frequent changes at the head coach position. Since that friendly victory over Indonesia, they’ve had six more coaches, often firing their coach after less than one year in charge.

Current head coach South Korean Park Sung-Hwa successfully navigated his team undefeated through the Suzuki Cup qualifiers, but came up short during the group stage. Effectively looking at the results, it means that Myanmar are the best of the Southeast Asian minnows right now - a title that the Philippines once held but graduated from under Coach Weiss. For Myanmar, stability is the essential factor in a football-crazy country, where often the ruling military junta look for short-term success, not tolerating short-term failings.

Weiss out of contract?

The Philippines’ own situation with Coach Weiss hopefully doesn’t become a problem for the Azkals too. Coach Weiss’ contract expired in January, and with no reports of a temporary contract while negotiations continue, Weiss may well be on a rolling month-to-month deal until an agreement is reached. The negotiations continue since the PFF only offered the German a six-month deal, a somewhat unprecedented move in football where the norm would be to extend a National team coach’s contract for several years in order to boost grassroots development.

National team coaches particularly get a longer deal due to the long-term goals of grassroots development. But of course, as always, with the political scene involved, there is much more to this than meets the eye. Hopefully for the Azkals, this uncertainty off the pitch will not affect performances on the pitch.

Philippine squad

The Philippines will be somewhat undermanned with only Neil Etheridge, Rob Gier, and twenty year old Manny Ott, making his first appearance for the National Team since the SEA Games, flying in from Europe to make the game. A 19-man team sees three goalkeepers but only two defenders and two forwards in the lineup, with Ian Araneta recalled to the National team and likely to link up with Phil Younghusband in attack.

Defense is once again the problematic area for Weiss, with Rob Gier likely to partner with holding midfielder Jason De Jong in the center, while Roel Gener will compete with Jeffrey Christiaens for left back. Who plays at right back is anyone’s guess at this point though, with no recognized right back in the team. It could see only one natural defender in the back four, though Rob Gier’s experience and calming influence on the team has long been noted and he will likely captain the side in Yangon. - RAF/AMD, GMA News

The 19 man lineup as released by the Azkals’ official website:

Goalkeepers

Neil Etheridge, Fulham
Ed Sacapano, Army
Ref Cuaresma, Loyola

Defenders

Rob Gier, Ascot United
Roel Gener, Army

Midfielders

Marvin Angeles, Global
Marwin Angeles, Global
Chieffy Caligdong, Green Archers
Jeffrey Christiaens, Global
Jason De Jong, Stallion
Chris Greatwich, Kaya
Boogie Margarse, Army
Manny Ott, FC Ingolstadt II
OJ Porteria, Kaya
Patrick Reichelt, Global
Matthew Uy, Global
James Younghusband, Loyola

Forwards

Ian Araneta, Air Force
Phil Younghusband, Loyola

Tags: philippinenationalteamazkals, football, myanmar