'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Ahead of India’s international friendly against Philippines in Siliguri on Friday, Sportskeeda profiles the South-East Asian nation.
History
At 137, Philippines are currently the highest placed South East Asian nation in the FIFA Rankings. Thus they are placed 17 spots above India and also ranked 20th in Asia. Nicknamed as the Azkals (street dogs), their first-ever international match dates back to 1913 and they also boasted the first big Asian football superstar in Filipino-Spanish striker Paulino Alcantara who is Barcelona’s all-time top scorer including friendly matches with 369 goals.
But the Philippines have never been a major force even in South East Asian football with basketball being the most popular sport in their country. The Philippines have never come close to qualifying for the FIFA World Cup and in fact for several years didn’t even take part in the qualifiers. They have never even qualified for the Asian Cup with a quarter-final appearance in the 1958 Tokyo Asian Games being their best achievement in the continent. For many years Philippines were the minnows even at ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) level as they couldn’t even make it beyond the first round of the South East Asian regional competition.
But then the Philippines football federation started inviting foreign-born players of Filipino origin to play for the senior national team. This policy of having foreign-born players to play for their country of origin was becoming a growing trend in world football and with FIFA removing the age limit on players switching nations in 2009, the door opened for the Philippines to have more Filipino origin players in the senior national team.
The results started to improve as Philippines surprised everyone by reaching the semi-finals of the ASEAN Championship in 2010. The Philippines federation received further support from German Football Federation (DFB) who recommended German Hans Michael Weiss to be the new head coach of the Azkals.
Ever since the appointment of Weiss, the national team has been on the rise as they finished third in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup and reached the semis of the ASEAN Championship that year. The Azkals remain in contention for a place in the 2015 Asian Cup as they have qualified for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup. Philippines currently have an extensive scouting network to look for more Filipino origin players around the world while the state of the domestic game has also improved with the semi-professional United Football League completing its fourth season this year.
The interest in the Philippines national team back home is rising and taking the example of Afghanistan, who have also benefitted from the presence of several foreign-born players, the Azkals can only get better.
Current Team
Philippines have reached newer heights in international football under German coach Michael Weiss
While the introduction of foreign-born Filipino players has been a key factor in the improvement of Philippines at international level, the impact of their German coach Weiss cannot be underestimated. Ever since his appointment in 2011, Weiss has transformed Philippines into one of the best teams in South East Asia with a winning percentage of 47 in competitive matches.
After the high of 2012, it would have been easy for the Philippines to take things for granted as never in their football history did they enjoy such consistency in one calendar year. But Weiss kept them grounded and continued to get the best out of his players even in 2013. The Azkals started the new year in style as unlike India they successfully qualified for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup, beating higher-ranked Turkmenistan on their way to qualification.
The winners of the 2014 Challenge Cup in Maldives will get an automatic slot in the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia. So in order to get the right preparation for next year’s Challenge Cup, Philippines have remained competitive since securing qualification as they have played five international friendlies, winning two of them. As a part of the preparations, Philippines also hosted and won the Peace Cup last month and this consistency over the last 18 months saw them reach their best-ever FIFA Ranking of 137.
The appointment of Weiss has also seen more German-born Filipino players represent the Philippines like goalkeeper Roland Muller and midfielder Stephan Schrock. Besides getting results, the Philippines also play an attractive brand of football under Weiss and thus are quickly catching the attention of a growing football audience in their country.
Some of the foreign-born Filipino players are now settled in the Philippines, plying their trade in the country’s domestic league like the Younghusband brothers who play for Loyola FC and Spanish-born Angel Guirado, who had a spell at Salgaocar, but is currently at Global FC. That aspect has created a sense of belonging among these players towards the national team and helped them connect with the locals.
The Azkals will be the favourites against lower-ranked India
Philippines come into this game on the back of a 4-0 defeat away at UAE, who are placed 71st in the FIFA Rankings. The gulf in class between the sides was exposed in that game but the Azkals will still be the favourites against an inexperienced India team in Siliguri. Philippines had five foreign-based players in the squad for the UAE friendly and will be boosted by the additions of Muller and Schrock in this match.
The South-East Asian team defeated India 2-0 at the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup in Nepal and will be confident of beating Wim Koevermans’ side. Such a result will not only enhance their self-belief ahead of next year’s Challenge Cup but also give their nation something to cheer about after the recent tragedy caused by typhoon Haiyan.
Key Players
Rob Gier
Born in Ascot, England, the defender has spent most of his career in the lower divisions of English football and is currently playing for his hometown club Ascot United. Ever since his international debut in 2009, Gier has established himself into an important member of the Azkals and is expected to play in central defence against India.
Jerry Lucena
Born to a Danish mother and Spanish-Filipino father, Lucena had represented Denmark at under-21 level and is currently plying his trade in the Danish top tier with Esbjerg fB. The defensive midfielder chose to play for Philippines at international level and has been a regular member of the team ever since his debut in 2011.
Stephan Schrock
Stephan Schrock in action in the German Bundesliga
The versatile German-born midfielder is arguably the most high-profile player in the Philippines squad as he plays for German Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt. Schrock represented Germany at various age group levels but switched to Philippines at senior level and was one of their best players in the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers earlier this year.
Phil Younghusband
Phil Younghusband (in white) scored a match-winning brace against India at the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup
Born in Surrey, England, striker Phil started his career at Chelsea, getting a professional contract there just like his older brother James, who is a midfielder. 26-year-old Phil first played for the Philippines senior team in 2006 and has gone on to become a star with 33 goals in 52 appearances including a brace in the 2-0 win over India at the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup.
