On that 3-1 loss to Vietnam
by rick olivares pic from suzuki cup site
How do I look at this 3-1
loss by the Philippines (or a win by Vietnam)?
There’s the Juan Manuel
Marquez School of Thought
How’s boxing get into
this? In the fourth meeting between the Mexican and Manny Pacquiao, Marquez was
fueled by rage and revenge; those two are powerful motivating factors. He felt
he was robbed of a victory in at least one of his first three fights with the Filipino.
Heck, he would have even fought for free in that fourth fight just to prove a
point. And he won it in devastating fashion somewhat erasing the stigma of the
past defeats.
Cut to the 2014 Suzuki
Cup.
First of all, Vietnam
pulled all the stops to win this game. No way were they going to lose three
straight. They sure played the emotional hand in this match.
In 2010, Vietnam that told
that should they successfully defend their Suzuki Cup title their national team
will receive a bonus of at least VND7 billion (US$350,000). According to then
Vietnam Football Federation chairman Nguyen Trong Hy, "If they win, they
will also get awards from VFF's partners and sponsors," said VFF chairman
Nguyen Trong Hy. These could be up to VND10 billion ($500,000).”
Well, we all know what
happened.
In 2012, not soon after
the 1-nil loss to the PMNT, Vietnam head coach Phan Thanh Hung resigned before
his contract ended.
In the Viet Nam Express
dated Friday, November 28, it was written that a victory by Japanese coach
Toshiya Miura will erase all debts of their previous losses. Money was not going
to be dangled but Vietnamese pride.
Second, local newspapers
have once more trumped up the “naturalized players” issue that is meant to add
fuel to the fire. Written in the VN News, “Among the 21 players brought to
Hanoi this time, only two people both have parents who are Filipinos. Many of
those remaining on the payroll once played for Chelsea or Malaga.”
And third, Vietnam dropped
two places in FIFA’s rankings this November. They were below the Philippines.
Don’t think they wanted to remind FIFA who is better.
Motivation – pulling
emotional strings – is a powerful weapon and Toshiya Miura and the Vietnamese
Football Federation (not to mention their local media), made sure to remind the
players of what was at stake.
The PMNT failed to quiet
My Dinh National Stadium
In 2010, the Vietnamese
crowd cheered for the Philippines against Singapore in the opening group stage
match. Being inside My Dinh and about 15 feet away from then goalkeeper Neil
Etheridge on the track, the place was electric. The Vietnamese booed the heck
out of the Singaporeans who were touted to be contenders for the title. But
come the match against the Philippines, every Vietnamese tackle, shot on goal,
interception, pass… anything positive against the Filipinos was cheered.
When Chris Greatwich
scored in the 38th minute, the place was as quiet as a tomb. Said
the television analyst, “That was totally bizarre!” I know it sounds like an
insult but I can take it.
My Dinh is smaller than
the cavernous Rajamangala National Stadium in Thailand where the PMNT played
its group stage matches. The noise at My Dinh bounces onto the pitch whereas at
Rajamangala it is somewhat diffused because it is so huge.
Even on television, you
could hear how the My Dinh crowd gave their team a lift (I am sure you know how
the MOA Arena was a bastion for Gilas Pilipinas in the 2013 FIBA Asia
Championships).
Ideally, you want to score
first and silence the crowd. That would have placed great pressure on Vietnam
that will have to resort to a Plan B if their Plan A didn’t work.
In 2010, Ian Araneta
nearly scored in the opening minutes and the My Dinh crowd heaved a sigh of
relief. When their team couldn't make any headway past the Philippine defense
and Neil, there was an air of anxiety. Even if you couldn't understand
Vietnamese you could feel it. When Phil Younghusband scored in the 78th minute,
lots of folks made a beeline towards the exits.
Four years later, the
Vietnamese scored three straight goals before Paul Mulders pulled back one and
even then they went slightly quiet. Imagine if the PMNT scored a second then
the home side would have been seriously rattled.
I am sure that many of the
Filipinos on that pitch have not faced that huge a hostile crowd at My Dinh
tonight. And now they will be better for it.
Vietnam, buoyed by the
home crowd, served up a better lesson in speed, power, and pace.
That was the Philippines
in a nutshell in its first two matches – all wins. Vietnam beat the Philippines
at their own game.
I thought that the
Filipinos were too bunched up closely to one another that the short passing
wasn’t there and it didn’t allow them to break out for quick counters. In fact,
they nearly got a fourth goal but failed to spot an open teammate on the right
while the Philippines’ defense was concentrated on the left. The other
midfielders are forwards were slow to close down that gap.
The Vietnamese on the
other hand quickly passed the ball forward. Something they did with consistency
as they PMNT failed to mostly break up their passing game.
They also suckered in the
PMNT’s forwards then unleashed long balls in a very opportunistic style to test
the Philippines’ defense in the first half. They attempted such six times in
the first half and got two balls inside the box. The first was where Le Conq
Vinh was carded for diving while the second led to a goal.
Vietnam dictated the pace
from the opening whistle. They attacked, harried our ball carriers, marked all
the threats, and stopped the speed that has been the advantage. The lack of
support or passing triangles hurt and there weren’t much options to pass. So
the Filipinos oft forced the issue on one side when they should have swung it
the other way.
As much as possible, never
give the opposition open looks
As I mentioned about the
spacing, maybe we should have had a stopper up front. The Philippines looked
pretty vulnerable on top of the box.
Daisuke Sato and Amani
Aguinaldo were imperious on defense (except for that third goal that happened
when the ball was swung to the right – no sweeper and no one there to mark Vi
Minh Tuan whose first touch pushed the ball forward and past Sato. The blast to
the far post was exquisite finishing.
Pham Thanh Luong was to
Vietnam on a Friday night is what Okto Maniani was for Indonesia four years
ago. He set the tone on that left side and his wonderful strike for the second
goal was a heartbreaker. In case anyone doesn’t remember, he also gave the PMNT
problems in 2012.
The second and third goals
were howitzers!
Should we have matched
them speed for speed?
Was starting Mark Hartmann
right for the pace of Vietnam (no offense but I think Hartmann is better suited
to play against side like Laos and Indonesia that prefer to play a slower brand
of football as opposed to the speedier Vietnamese game? Or should have Patrick
Reichelt started? So possibly, with Bahadoran on the left; Steuble on the
right; and Reichelt in the middle, we might have seen some through balls,
central midfield pressure on the Vietnamese.
Hindsight of course, is
20/20. But I wondered about that even as the game started and it became obvious
that the home side was looking to press Misagh Bahadoran and was determined to
not give anyone a chance to maneuver inside.
Isn’t it telling that the
first cross inside the box and the Philippines scored? Thanks to substitute
Paul Mulders!
The entry of James
Younghusband also helped the cause (by then Vietnam’s pace had slackened as the
Philippines played better).
What should the
Philippines do next?
I don’t want to go into
tactics. They already know what they need to do. Besides, I think I outlined it
all above. So simply put – defend the home turf. In 2012, the PMNT was unable
to capitalize on the home match although it did finish in a scoreless draw with
Singapore. But in a frenzied Jalan Besar Stadium, the scored the one goal that
mattered.
Vietnam held serve. It is
not time to do the same. Score a bunch of goals in order to put pressure on the
opposing team when both play the second leg.
Time to defend the home
pitch, Filipinos!
No comments:
Post a Comment