This appears on the Monday, December 1, 2014 edition of the Business Mirror.
Thoughts on upcoming the
Philippines-Thailand home/1st leg match
by rick olivares pic from AFF site
Did you feel any butterflies in your stomach after the Philippines
drew Thailand in the semifinals stage of the Suzuki Cup?
Sure. After their strong showing in the last staging of Southeast
Asia’s top football competition, the Thais are strong favorites to win it all
for the fourth time.
The Philippine Men’s National Team are swimming against the tide of
history and pressure.
FIFA lists the Philippines with a 15-2 record (that doesn’t include
an unsanctioned match that also resulted in a loss) against the Thais and a
egregious goal difference of 60-9!
While it behooves us to not ignore history, for all intents and
purposes, it’s 0-0, as Thailand as they have opted to parade a wholly different
squad while the Philippines has few holdovers from its previous roster in the
2012 games.
Despite the changes in rosters, the last time the two national
sides battled, Thailand took the 2012 Suzuki Cup opener, 2-1, but had to fend
off a second half surge by the Philippines. Then under former coach, Winfried
Schaefer, Thailand booked a finals seat only to lose to Singapore, 3-2, on
aggregate.
Under new coach Kiatisuk Senamuang, they have somewhat missed a
beat despite finishing atop their group stage, 3-0. They only have a plus-four
goal difference as compared to their
plus-seven goal difference in the 2012 games.
Is Thailand beatable? Yes, they are. They are far from the nearly
imperious side that romped its way for much of the 2012 tournament. Senamuang
only brought back two players from Schaefer’s team – goalkeeper Kawin
Thammasatchanan and midfielder Adul Lahso. Conspicuously missing are stars
Teerasil Dangda (who is the first player from Southeast Asia to suit up in La
Liga with Almeria) and Datsakorn Thonglao.
In their group stage matches in this 2014 tournament, the needed
some last minute magic in their first two matches to pull out a win (an 89th
minute penalty that Charyl Chappuis converted against Singapore and a 90th
minute strike by substitute Adisak Kaisorn against Malaysia). Dispatching
Myanmar was a little easier for them.
The Philippines on the other hand, finished with a 2-0-1 record and
are coming off a 3-1 loss to Vietnam. The wards of Thomas Dooley looked
flustered in the first half where Thailand did all of its damage in the first
58 minutes before the Philippines came back to put some fear into Toshiya
Miura’s side. One cannot discount the fact that the PMNT finished strong.
The Vietnamese turned the tables on the Philippines by unleashing
its brand of pressure defense. They used their superior speed to harry Dooley’s
ball carriers and moved the ball up quickly in hopes of beating the Filipino
defenders.
Vietnam was decisive in their approach. Their strikes even from
long range were packed with serious intent and sent Philippine number one
Patrick Deyto scampering in and around the box.
What must the PMNT must do?
Looking at the upcoming home match on December 6 at the Rizal
Memorial Football Stadium, the Philippines must learn from the loss by
immediately setting the tone of the match. They must go back to what got them
those first wins against Laos and Indonesia by using their speed, power and
pace.
They must redouble their efforts when harrying this dangerous Thai
team that can win it all even without Dangda and Thonglao.
I know this team is better offensively but I’d like to recommend a
more defensive approach. A defense that is not only stout but forces the
opposition to commit errors.
One of the world’s great club managers, Jose Mourinho, has all his
teams embracing his tenets:
-
The team that makes fewer
mistakes wins.
-
You have to be provocative in
your approach in your attack to force the opposition into errors.
-
When playing an away match,
instead of trying to be better than the home side, force them to commit
mistakes and pounce on them.
-
Whoever has the ball is more
likely to make a mistake.
-
Whoever renounces possession
reduces the possibility of making a mistake.
-
Whoever has the ball has fear.
-
Whoever does not have is
stronger.
The last four sound incredibly radical in its thinking but the man
has won everywhere he has managed – Portugal, England, Italy, and Spain so he
must know what he is preaching.
And I subscribe to his thinking. The old linear thinking of
possession = goals = wins = trophies isn’t as solid footing as it once was the
moment Barcelona started slipping away.
While it would seem that shots attempted is a better metric in
determining a game winner, it does to an extent. But it doesn’t guarantee a
win. The Loyola Meralco Sparks of the 2011 UFL Cup would know that all too
well. Ditto with Liverpool against Chelsea late in the last Premier League
season.
Having said all that, it’s resolute defending and quality attacks
that spell the difference. Furthermore, it is imperative to score early and to
score even more. Scoring first forces the team that is trailing to somewhat go
for Plan B.
Surely the memory of the scoreless draw against Singapore in the
semifinals of the 2012 Suzuki Cup must not be forgotten. You do not squander a
magnificent chance to win with the home field advantage.
The Thais have been lucky but in football, it isn’t sorely about
skill as there’s an element of luck involved. As young as they are they have show
great endgame resiliency when focus starts to slip.
So the Philippines will have its hands full.
What can the fans do?
RMFS must be turned into a bastion of doom. I am not sure where we
are in terms of stadium culture but not allowing drums or flags doesn’t help.
Four years after “the Miracle of Hanoi,” the chants and fight songs are not yet
anywhere. I don’t think chants of “Azkals” will put the fear of God into the
Thais or any other team for the matter.
But packing that old joint, cheering every play by the nationals
and booing the heck out of the visitors should help.
This is a must-win game for the Philippines. Does that add
pressure. The moment the 2010 Suzuki Cup ended, the onus was on the country to
show that it was no fluke. PMNT manager Dan Palami is a seer. Even in 2010, he
said his dream was to see the country make it to the 120s in FIFA’s rankings.
Check!
The other was to become a feared side in Southeast Asia. Check!
Now. We need some silverware to validate that.
We – not just the team but also the fans – have to help out in
checking out that last item.
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