BLEACHERS BREW EST. MAY 2006

Someone asked me how my blog and newspaper column came to be titled "Bleachers Brew". It's like this, it's an amalgam of sorts of two things: The bleachers area in the stadium/arena where I used to sit when I would watch baseball, football, and basketball games and Miles Davis' great jazz album Bitches Brew. That's how it got culled together. I originally planned on calling it "The View from the Big Chair" that is a nod to Tears For Fear's second album, Songs from the Big Chair. So there.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Azkals to host Mongolia in Panaad

Azkals to host Mongolia in Panaad
by rick olivares

After a highly successful 2010 Suzuki Cup stint where the Philippine National Men’s Football Team cracked the semifinals for the first time in the 14-year history of the tournament (only to be waylaid by Indonesia, the top goal-scoring team of the competition), the Azkals break for the holidays before returning to training mid-January for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup qualifiers in a home and away series with Mongolia that kicks off on February 9, 2011 in Panaad, Bacolod City.

“We have written Mongolia about the possibility of hosting the two matches in Panaad,” said Philippine Football Federation President Mariano V. Araneta. “It would be difficult to play in Mongolia at that time of the year because it’s the height of their winter season. We have sent them a letter of request and are waiting for their reply.”

The Azkals will also be competing in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers that begin by mid-next year and the year-ending Southeast Asian Games that will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia. The groupings for the World Cup qualifiers have yet to be determined by FIFA.

“We will be meeting with the national team management to discuss how we can help them and what needs to be done to bring the team to the next level,” added Araneta who was in Jakarta for the first match of the Suzuki Cup semifinals to lend some support. “Hopefully, what they achieved in Laos, Vietnam, and Indonesia which is significantly raising awareness of the sport in the Philippines will continue to rise. We have shown that this is a sport where we can truly be competitive.” 

Posted by Rick Olivares

6 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 20, 2010 at 10:34 PM

    This is amazing news rick! I really hope and pray that the support is all the way! The Azkals deserve it!

    It was great meeting you here in Jakarta! Will post our pic on my blog tomorrow. =)

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousDecember 21, 2010 at 11:50 AM

    I wonder how long it will take for Mongolia to come back with a reply. I have started to look at the flight schedules out of Sydney so that I can be there to watch the Feb 9 game. Now I will wait for the reply so that I can take in both games (hopefully) before returning to Sydney. It was such a disappointment re the home and away debacle against Indonesia. But to have a chance to watch both games against Mongolia . . don't you just love football. FIRE THE BARK UP AZKALS.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousDecember 29, 2010 at 3:04 PM

    How about Rizal stadium here in Manila? A lot of us here are dying to see the azkals play live too so please pick Manila for the home game.............

    ReplyDelete
  4. Earl Victor RoseroJanuary 12, 2011 at 9:22 AM

    i'm going to bacolod to watch the match on february 9. my guess is the second game will be held on neutral ground if it will not be in mongolia. if i were mongolia's team manager, i wouldn't want the second game to still be in the philippines. maybe macau.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Joana VanessaJanuary 27, 2011 at 5:16 PM

    where can u get a reservation!? :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousFebruary 6, 2011 at 6:59 PM

    Where can I buy the Azkals t-shirt that the azkals were wearing last night here in Bacolod? The one that says we believe at the back and the logo in front with a combination of the Philippine flag and football?

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)