Remembering the Philippine Azkals' stunning victory vs Vietnam in 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup

In early December 2010, I was a young father looking for Christmas gifts for my young children.

Having followed football for the most part of the last twelve years, I was naturally looking for something football-related, maybe a soccer shirt or a size 2 ball to kick around the house.

It was in this frame of mind that I chanced upon the front page of the leading daily one fine December morning. In the upper right portion of the page was a photo indicating that the Philippines had won 2-0 against Vietnam in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup.

Now, while I had been following my favorite European teams religiously, even to the extent of traveling great distances to see them play live, I am not proud to admit that I had neglected our very own national team.

The one time I tuned in to catch the Philippines play a few years before was when Star Sports showed a match featuring our team play, only for the TV commentators to describe the Philippines disapprovingly as ‘a team whose only good players are the Younghusbands and Greatwiches’.

That, I’m afraid, was the extent of my ‘support’ for our national team.

Until December 2010.

When the ‘Miracle of Hanoi’ happened, I was desperate to make up for lost time, gobbling anything and everything I could to know more about our team.

The bandwagon that is the Azkals has arrived, and the bandwagon fan in me jumped in and had no intention of getting off.

When the team flew back to Manila after the group stages of the tournament, I knew I had to try and meet them personally.

The training session in UMak before they flew to Indonesia for the semi-finals was especially memorable as I got to talk personally with all of the team’s stars and personalities. Neil Etheridge, Phil and James Younghusband, Jason de Jong. Chieffy Caligdong. Aly Borromeo. Rob Gier. Simon McMenemy.

You name it, they were there, approachable and ready to answer my curious questions. I was excited as hell.

The Azkals shirt they all signed on that day remains to be one of my treasured possessions.

The subsequent semifinals loss to Indonesia stung, but only a bit. I knew right then and there; Philippine football will never be the same again.

The next few months would see an interest never before seen in Philippine football, with a full house cheering on the Azkals in the World Cup qualifiers and culminating in the LA Galaxy and David Beckham coming over for an exhibition match against the Azkals in December 2011.

Over the course of the next few years, Philippine football would go from strength to strength. The initial success of the national team meant that more players were attracted by the proposition of playing for the Philippines, while at the same time encouraging young players to aim for representing the country.

In the ten years since the result in Hanoi, Vietnam, there have been some low points, notably the inability to get past the group stages in the 2016 Suzuki Cup played at home and the bitter defeat in the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup final, which would have qualified us for the subsequent Asian Cup.

But the highs have made up for the lows.

Taking part in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and well-deserved results against higher ranked teams in the Asian Cup qualifiers like North Korea have been quite memorable to say the least.

Ten years hence, what next?

The Philippines have come a long way from the doldrums of years past, earning a degree of respectability and recognition from our peers.

But truth be told, we have a very long way to go.

In my humble opinion, one need not look far for the Philippines next target.

If we are to pinpoint the 2010 Suzuki Cup as the watershed moment for Philippine football, it then makes the most sense then that we must go on and win the competition.

Four semifinals appearances in the last five tournaments will give us a grudging respect from our Southeast Asian neighbors, but to garner true respect, the Azkals have to go on and actually win the darned tournament.

Being the first or second ranked team in the Southeast Asian region on paper is well and good, but it has to be translated into silverware. Only then will we be truly deserving of being tagged the top ranked team in the region.

But all talk of chasing silverware and success for today’s Azkals will be moot and academic without the success of the 2010 team.

If Chris Greatwich hadn’t managed to twist his head the way he did to score against Vietnam, or if Phil Younghusband hadn’t scored with his weaker left foot in the 79th minute, perhaps I wouldn’t be writing this piece, and you dear reader, would certainly not be looking at Philippine football articles.

Thus, it is with deep gratitude that we look back at that team of 2010 and celebrate their historic achievement.

Without a shadow of a doubt, their success has paved the way for a whole new generation of young Filipino footballers to play the game, subsequent gainful employment for those passionate about football and for a whole new set of Filipino fans to enjoy the beautiful game.

So, ten years since Hanoi, almost all of the players and personalities have retired and moved on to the next phases of their lives.

But their legacy will forever remain.

It is now up to the next generation of players and stakeholders to make absolutely sure that their legacy will not be taken for granted and will be well taken care of.

That is the best way we can honor them. —MGP, GMA News