Will Schrock return to Azkals? Coach Dooley says selection will be what's best for team

The Philippines will face Tajikistan on March 27 in the last match of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers, in what arguably will be one of the most important matches in Philippine football history.

At stake is a slot in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, where the Philippines could meet the heavyweights of Asian football: Japan, Australia, and South Korea among others. With the rise of Philippine football in recent times, one cannot deny the fact that the Azkals should be playing in the tournament and competing against the very best in the region.

Azkals’ coach Thomas Dooley has his work cut out for him, and it is imperative that he select his best possible squad from among the available and in-form players.

And when you talk about in-form players, one name immediately comes to mind.

Ceres Negros’ midfielder Stephan Schrock has been in fine form for his club, inspiring the Bacolod-based club to wins in the AFC Champions League preliminary rounds and certainly making a case for his selection to the national team after a period of absence.

Thomas Dooley has remained firm in his stance of not selecting the former 2.Bundesliga star.

The two Germans have had an on-again, off-again love-hate relationship to say the least. There have been numerous highs and very notable lows. In August 2014, Schrock memorably declared “It’s not true that I don’t wanna play for the Philippines anymore... (but) as long as Coach Dooley will lead the team I won’t wear the jersey of Azkals again.”

The two mended fences on June 2015 which paved the way for Schrocky’s return to the team.

But things seemed to have taken a turn for the worse after a disastrous 2016 Suzuki Cup, with Schrock once again on the outside looking in.

Against Tajikistan, a motivated and inspired Schrock may just be what the Azkals need, but Dooley has seemingly made up his mind, despite loud clamors from fans and pundits.

“Is Stephan a good player? Yes, he is, everybody knows that.  But I am deciding not about the fame, the age, the color, the size or with political reasons. It is always and will always be what is best for the TEAM. To build a good strong and function TEAM”, Dooley tells GMA News Online.

Dooley continually espouses his concept of prioritizing an excellent team and team spirit, rather than carry on with a collection of great players.

“I played 20 years and be involved more than 28 years in the highest level of football worldwide. I had a lot of success and also some failure. You don’t need the best players to win big games — you need to have the best team to be successful,” Dooley says.

“Every time we won a Championship or a Cup, we always had a great team. Where everybody has respect, works with each other, for each other and being there for each other,”  he adds.

“The failure we had was, when we had players who are selfish, not following the rules and are not willing to do what is necessary and had no respect.”

The Philippines will face a motivated Tajikistan team that will qualify at the expense of the Azkals with a victory themselves.

The Azkals only need a draw or better to qualify, although Dooley is quick to sound the alarm.

“Mindset will be like always. We want to win the game. You can’t play for a tie. It is too risky and often doesn’t work out”, stresses Dooley.

He also emphasizes the need for an upbeat vibe around training camp in the days before the crucial match.

“Everything will be positive. Creating a positive environment with positive conversations, positive comments, positive training, positive analytics.

“Every player wants to win the game and want to achieve the biggest victory in the history of Philippine Football. We will recognize and respect that Tajikistan is a strong team and cannot be taken easy

“We need to be 100% focused otherwise we will be in trouble.”

The Azkals will host Tajikistan on March 27 at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Manila. —JST, GMA News