The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Azkals' historic 4-nil win over Indonesia

A confident display of attacking football from the Azkals has given the Philippines their first victory over Indonesia. The Philippines had beaten the Dutch East Indies 3-2 back in 1934, but lost 19 out of the 21 games since, drawing the other two. 

 

It only took until the 16th minute for Misagh Bahadoran to be brought down in the area and Phil Younghusband to convert the resulting penalty. Indonesia resisted the Azkals’ onslaught for the rest of the half but a stunning strike from Manny Ott in the 52nd minute doubled the lead. It was 3-0 in the 68th minute when Indonesia obstructed play in the box and Phil Younghusband cheekily took the indirect free-kick quickly allowing Martin Steuble a tap in with the Indonesia defense still not set. And the rout was completed in the 79th minute as Rob Gier’s header came back off the post and he prodded the rebound in while still kneeling for his second goal of the year.

 

With the victory the Azkals become the first team to qualify for the Semi Finals ahead of their final group game against Vietnam on November 28. So here we take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of this historic match.

 

Good: With eight goals in two games, the Azkals are through to the semis

 

One of the biggest questions for the Philippines leading into the Suzuki Cup was where are the goals coming from? Lackluster performances in preparation, and matches against far weaker teams, had raised more questions than they’d answered but the Azkals have begun providing answers in emphatic fashion. 

 

The opening game against Laos saw Simone Rota head in his 3rd goal for the Azkals while Phil Younghusband showed he’s back in form as he grabbed a goal and two very good assists for Patrick Reichelt. Phil grabbed another goal against Indonesia while Rob Gier, Martin Steuble, and Manny Ott grabbed a goal apiece. So all in all that makes six different scorers so far. With goals from corners, free-kicks, penalties, and open play, the Philippines are looking dangerous all over the field.

 

Bad: Indonesia were poor... very poor

 

Little should take the shine off the Azkals’ complete revenge over Indonesia, the team who knocked them out of the Suzuki Cup in 2010 in controversial fashion, but we must note that Indonesia were poor. This is an aged team with very little international experience together and this squad, and the performances they’ve given, are obviously very far from the best that Indonesia can offer.

 

None of that will bother the Azkals too much as they’ll gratefully take the three points and in doing so have forced Indonesia to beat Laos and hope the Azkals beat Vietnam before goal difference decides who qualifies (assuming Vietnam beat Laos). The Philippines more than deserved the win, but we can’t get ahead of ourselves and think we’re now better than Indonesia for the foreseeable future as the quality of Indonesia’s domestic league and infrastructure means they can quickly bounce back and become a force to be reckoned with in Southeast Asia again. 

 

Ugly: Indonesia’s politics have ruined their Suzuki Cup

 

What will determine whether Indonesia do bounce back from almost certain elimination here is whether they can find a solution to all their political infighting. Indonesia may become a cautionary tale of what can happen as the split between the Indonesian Super League and the Premier League almost got them banned by FIFA much and has seen them miss out on many of their national team stars. This is more an Indonesia C team, let alone a B team. 

 

Merah Puti are practically out of the competition now barring a series of fortunate, and unlikely, events. With Vietnam and the Philippines likely advancing to the Semi Finals, Vietnam’s resurgence under new Japanese Head Coach Toshiya Miura has been impressive. The Philippines and Vietnam have both jumped ahead of Indonesia in the regional power rankings of late and the politics will be something the Philippines will need to be wary of too, with a national league looming.

 

Good: Azkals playing much better football

 

During 2014 the Azkals’ playing style had come into question a bit as the Azkals relied on ineffective long ball football too often. Against Laos and Indonesia, however, the Philippines has played to their strengths, physically over-powering the Laotians and showing a good ground game against Indonesia to pass through them sometimes at will. The rest of the countries in the Suzuki Cup will certainly be taking another look at the Philippines after these performances. 

 

Misagh Bahadoran is starting to mature in his role on the left wing, too, as he’s beginning to be more effective in his final delivery while Phil Younghusband is finding the right blend of providing and finishing to create chances as well as score them. The midfield is starting to gel together and Coach Thomas Dooley must take credit for bringing the team together at the right time as the Azkals now seem to be hitting their stride after more than one hiccup in preparation. 

 

Bad: Philippines still needs to improve

 

It’s not the worst news in the world and the Azkals have the right time and confidence to achieve it, but the Philippines will still need to improve to challenge further in this competition. Vietnam looked incredibly impressive against Indonesia and dominated them more than the Azkals did, even if the scorelines don’t reflect that. 

 

The Suzuki Cup schedule has been very kind to the Azkals with Laos up first and Indonesia proving to be a far cry from their former selves. Avoiding Thailand, Singapore, and Myanmar in the other group was also a stroke of luck too – especially for a team who are usually in the Group of Death instead. 

 

Ugly: Football is old in Indonesia

 

The average age of the Indonesian squad is almost 30 years old. The average for the Philippines and Vietnam, by comparison, is a much healthier 25. The final game of the group will be a good position to see where the Azkals stand against the best teams in Southeast Asia and what improvements have been made since the 3-0 humbling by Thailand.

 

But beyond their matured squad, Indonesia is also a matured football nation. They have good grassroots in place and a decent infrastructure which means with the right management they can bounce back in 2015 without too much effort. The Philippines can contend with this Indonesia team, but we are nowhere close to the grassroots, infrastructure, or history that Indonesia has. 

 

To avoid football fading out after this generation we will need to take a longer-term view for the future. Kids are already inspired to play and the Azkals, boosted by the UFL, has done a great job of raising the interest. The problem is that there’s typically nowhere for the kids to play. To take advantage of three straight Suzuki Cup Semi Finals this means building facilities for the kids who want to play but just can’t find the space right now because basketball dominate the local court or they can’t afford the expensive rental fees of the only fields nearby. 

 

Bonus Good: The Philippines are in the semis already

 

Really this can’t be overstated. Leading into the tournament I said that a Semis showing would be positive and that we needed to manage expectations. While the Azkals will be up against tougher opposition from here on out, whatever happens there’s at least three more games for the Philippines, including a home match in the Philippines, and all with the chance of winning the Suzuki Cup. 

 

No matter what happens from now on, the Azkals have done well in the Suzuki Cup. — JST, GMA News