Part 2 EuroTrip
by rick olivares
During the press conference for the second match between Indonesia and the Philippines, the Merah Putih’s assistant head coach Wolfgang Pikal made mention that they were up against a European side hence their inability to play their usual game.
I thought that Pikal since the start of the tournament has been gracious and gentlemanly. A sportsman of the highest order. Yet I found his statement both humorous and clever.
Pikal wasn’t the first to raise the “European” comment. Singapore’s Radojko Avramovic and Vietnam’s Henrique Calisto both bandied the accusation with varying severity.
Avramovic was equally puzzling since his side had four naturalized players in Bosnian Aleksandar Duric, Serbian Mustafic Fahrrudin, Englishman Daniel Bennett, and Chinese Shi Jiayi. Indonesia had one naturalized player in Uruguayan Cristian Gonzales, Indonesian-Dutch midfielder Irfan Bachdim, and one other. Even Jakarta Post columnist Mikael Dian Teguh waded in and accused the Philippines of fielding “nine naturalized players.”
To quote Chris Carter’s late great The X-Files, “the truth is out there.” It is if you can find it. The blindness men wish for is an excuse. Only they look silly when the truth comes out.
The first time this reared its ugly head was after the Singapore match and while in conversation with Philippines head coach Simon McMenemy we agreed that it was a defense mechanism for the other teams. It was a convenient excuse for them to trump up for their shortcomings.
The accusation, of course, is ridiculous since the Philippines have used Fil-foreigners since 2004. They had Chad Gould, Chris Greatwich, and the American-born Aly Borromeo and Anton del Rosario back then so why is it only now that they have raised the issue? Is it because the Philippines has taken points from them? Memories are short indeed. Right, Mr. Calisto?
In the previous year, your Vietnam side beat Singapore by parking the bus in the final minutes of the match. When the Azkals inflicted upon the host country the biggest upset in tournament history, you brushed McMenemy aside and lamented the sorry state of football in the region because of the way the Philippines played. What goes around comes around, coach.
Unfortunately for you, Mr. Calisto, the Vietnamese media do not believe your verbal jousts.
If we reverse the argument and say that Indonesia plays like a European team given that 2/3 of their coaching staff are European, would that sit well with the Merah Putih? The only other style that I can remember was the Johan Cruyff-inspired total football of the Clockwork Oranje that defined Barcelona's and ultimately Spain's play. Oh, yeah, there’s the defensive football of the Italians where they prefer to score goals off their counterattacks.
The objective of the game has not changed since its inception. It is to move that damn ball forward, score a goal or two or in bunches, and/or to win. The Greeks won by an average score of 1-nil in Euro 2004 as they played football’s version of the ugly game by playing defensive football.
The Philippine team, with its unusual structure, only practiced as a whole, on the two days prior to the first match versus Singapore. That’s because the Fil-foreigners are scattered all over Europe and the Armed Forces players are not just released any other time. So for those looking for some seamless passing and a coherent build up to the attack, it wasn’t simply possible although I thought that we should have made adjustments in the semis.
Teams all over the world wrestle with immigration and the changing of their cultures let alone their national team. Some French quarters prior to the 2006 World Cup in Germany said that their team looks too black. They are French, aren’t they? So why do people have to look at the color of their skin?
Interestingly, the day after the Philippines beat Vietnam, there was a curious item in the newspapers right underneath the story about the upset. It read: "VN plan for extra height, fitness.” The proposed project by the Vietnam Sport Science Institute called for a program to enhance the strength and height of more than 33,000 students from 132 schools around the country. And if followed religiously, the country will see the benefits come 2030.
Do you doubt the Vietnamese pulling off this 20-year plan? I don’t. After all, they endured three continuous decades of warfare unlike anything we’ve seen and look where they are at now? They’ve overtaken us. Two decades is like a moment to these people. Patience, padawan. Patience.
I will, however, not deny that the inclusion of the Fil-foreigners in the team has significantly raised the talent level if not created a different dynamic within the team. I can only imagine what kind of footballers we could be producing had we better facilities and training.
And having covered pro and amateur basketball for sometime in the Philippines, the teams have a hip-hop feel to them with the influx of the Fil-Ams. The football team on the other hand, has a more pop aura to them. There’s a better chance of you hearing Brit Rock or Guns ‘n Roses with this bunch than the oft-repetitive hip hop and rap beats.
I also thought that the English charm worked quite well in our favor.
After we lost the first match against Indonesia, I made my way down from the press box to the press conference room where it was jammed with reporters.
One Indonesian writer asked McMenemy what the Philippines thought of the jam-packed Bung Karno Stadium and the rowdiness of the fans. This is where it is very easy to get into trouble. In a home stadium with 80,000 fans you’re not going to get calls. Because when something happens, you have 80,000 people going, ‘Hey’ When it happens to us, you have one person – me – going ‘Hey’ All I can say is that I wish I had 80,000 passionate fans cheering for my side. I’m not going to fault the fans for being passionate.”
“It was very disappointing to not play in the Philippines. I think we deserve a game in the Philippines. Very rarely do you get the opportunity to play in front of such passionate fans. As you’ve noticed by now, I’m a fairly passionate person who tends to jump around a lot on the sidelines and scream and shout quite a bit. That’s because I love the game. And I’m hoping that translates into my team and also the Philippines in general. As for the boys being exposed to football, where better to come and play football than here? The experience they will take away from tonight is irrespective of the result is priceless. You know you just can’t get experience like this. It’s phenomenal. Absolutely incredible. Credit to the Indonesian fans.”
He left the podium to a standing ovation.
With some Indonesian media friends at the press box at the Bung Karno Stadium.
What a well written post Rick!!! Love it.
ReplyDeletethis is Mikael Dian Teguh speaking... (the one you mentioned)
ReplyDeleteI believe it is not the what so-called naturalization that should be considered as the main issue of soccer. It is more likely to be the regeneration of soccer that gets endangered by the existance of such program. Think about the progressing future. Or at least, that is my stance.
regards