Iza Calzado in my universe

Last Tuesday, October 2, I brought some of my students to a press lunch at Kenny Rogers Roasters in Diliman (Matalino Street near Sulu Hotel and Quezon City Hall) where their endorsers James and Phil Younghusband and Iza Calzado graced the event. My journalism students take pictures of the endorsers as well as interview Iza. Their task is to write about the event and their choices when it comes to sports and living a healthy lifestyle.

We were the last to interview the model/actress and even if she was at this for more than an hour and so, Iza remained effervescent, funny, and very engaging as they talked about trying to live a healthy lifestyle, eating good food, exercise, and sports. My students were very much impressed with Iza and she likewise thought it was cool that they got first hand experience in interviewing her and attending an event like this. And I took the opportunity to complement her on her fine looks. Yes, that's an understatement. 

Some of my students from my Journalism class in Ateneo.

Iza Calzado in my universe

by rick olivares pics by brosi gonzales

When you look at a supermodel/actress, you look at everything from her face to her eyes to her perfect teeth to her body to her hair that you want to smell and touch (because you wonder if all those shampoo commercials that show long silky hair are telling the truth). There may or may not be any truth to advertising but you can determine certain truths when you come face to face with a supermodel/actress.

It’s a novel way of promoting Kenny Rogers Roasters’ endorsers – James and Phil Younghusband and Iza Calzado – their friends roasting them on video. I cannot say it’s revealing because no doubt there are many things that the public doesn’t need to know but it sure is insightful. What this does is it humanizes people that behind the photo-shopped advertising they have warts and all. Beyond the perfect teeth are real people with concerns ordinary and mundane.

And that brings me to Iza Calzado. She’s wearing a fire engine red dress that seems she was poured into rather than she putting it on? Insert your wolf whistle right here. Who doesn’t love what she is wearing as it exudes très cool sexiness? And she carries it well. But for my money, my all-time favorite picture of Iza is what she uses for her Twitter wall where she wears a simple white polo and jeans while standing next to a bicycle. I’d say I wish I was the bicycle but who wants to be a bicycle when you can actually meet and talk to her?

Beyond the drop dead gorgeous looks I wonder what makes her tick and boy what I’d give for an afternoon with someone like her. There’s that quote by Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory that humanizes and makes geeks like me try to be cool where he says to Penny: “Call me a romantic but I think your Mark Ruffalo is still out there.”

Iza Calzado is before me, us (I took some of my students along to interview her) if only for a few minutes of interviews. Will Hsu of Monsters Centaur Production Inc., the public relations and marketing group behind the launch, says, “You have all the time you’re the last ones anyway.”

The afternoon. The afternoon. Only we can’t keep a lady forever. We have a few minutes and I leave my students to do most of the asking.

She eats healthy or at least tries to. She admits to going on occasional binges. Anything – cakes, sweets, and everything that is an anathema to a supermodel. “But not everyday. I eat cakes but not bread with all the palaman.” She confessed to once starving herself because she claims that she was “too fat”.

What drives her to keep her whistle bait figure?

“Vanity. Vaaaniity!” she laughs. “I’m a proud person. When I think of how thin I was back then I want to go back to that.” More giggles. She runs, works out.

In the 20 minutes we have with Iza, it is clear she made a very good impression on my students. She would hold their hands. Look them in the eye. Pat them on the arm like an old friend. She was funny, effervescent, and very engaging. She hinted at making poor choices every now and then but  she made sure that she rebounded from them.

“It all boils down to choices. There’s no great secret to many things. Like being fit. You just have to make a choice – is it bread or rice? What I like to eat in Kenny Rogers? (laughs) Is it working out or going on an eating binge? Is it working yourself to death or giving your body time to recover and rest? In my line of work it is not going to help if I make the wrong choices. So when you make that choice you stick to it. Make a contract with yourself. Put reminders so you’ll be faithful to it. When you accomplish it then you’ll be glad that you did.”

The afternoon ended with a group shot and a photo of me and her. Twice she said that it was cool for the students to be here and to learn first hand about journalism. But it’s a two-way street. I came in and thought about her dazzle, the perfect teeth, the coiffed hair, and gorgeous looks. I came away with a little more knowledge about someone I only see on magazine covers or ads.

To paraphrase Leonard in Season One of The Big Bang Theory, “Maybe in some other universe I’ll get to know Iza really well.”

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Here's one of the blog posts written by my students: 

Li Ann Santos 

Tampines takes first leg, 2-0, from Loyola

Tampines takes first leg, 2-0, from Loyola

by rick olivares pic by brosi gonzales

Clementi Stadium, Singapore

Attendance: 600

Whoever said that height isn’t might in football should watch this game between Singaporean side Tampines Rovers and Philippine club Loyola Meralco Sparks.

In a clinical display of the use of the long ball, the Stags, as the Tampines Rovers are known by, launched one long bomb after another with GPS precision from their backline and midfield towards targets Aleksandar Duric and Sead Hadzibulic that had the Philippine defense backpedalling for much of the game. Duric is 6’4” while Hadzibulic stands 6’3” and that helped them win the battle for air superiority.

“If we took the game to the ground, we would have had difficulty against Loyola,” said Tampines head coach Tay Peng Kee. “We were on target tonight. Latiff was brilliant.”

Loyola had prepared for Hadzibulic’s feeding Grigor Gligorov and Duric with his accurate passing but Kee masterfully mixed up their patented 3-4-3 formation with Gligorov playing the central midfield and Latiff playing the right forward position raining the long balls to their much taller teammates.

The Sparks were ready for the tall players as they had Chad Gould and Kim Woo Chul, both standing taller than six-foot-one matching up against the Stags frontline. But the Singaporeans’ speed up front pressured the Sparks no end.

Latiff found Duric in the 13^th minute with space and a moment to load up for a big time volley but the longtime Singaporean national striker’s shot lacked power as Loyola keeper Ref Cuaresma easily corralled the ball that went straight to him. But it served notice that their early success with the long ball was opening up large tracts of space for the Stags midfielders to run up and down the field. With the defense staying put because of concerns with Duric, there was not hardly any support link in the Sparks' attack.

The accuracy of the long ball immediately tore to shreds the 1-4-1-4 formation of Loyola. Equally dooming Loyola was – in hindsight of course – the decision to keep midfielders James Younghusband and Mark Hartmann on the bench. Younghusband had been unable to practice because of the flu and the coaching staff didn’t want to waste a substitution in case the club captain wasn’t up to the task.

Hartmann not starting denied Loyola the presence of perhaps the best free kick specialist in the Philippines. He could have found Phil Younghusband up front with his passes while providing a scoring threat from the secondary.

Loyola’s K-Pop contingent of Park Minho, Jang Jowon, and Byeong Yeong Jeol had performed well in the their earlier series against Geylang United and Kanbawza but against Tampines, they were mostly ineffective as their passes were mostly short and incomplete. Their inability to link up the middle and attacking third gave Tampines mastery of the midfield. Latiff ran the pitch with impunity.

Duric, who is as religious as Loyola midfielder in his dieting regimen, told me in a long pre-game chat at the parking lot of Clementi Stadium that his eating right habits have kept him in marvelous shape. “I play a lot of football for an old man,” he said. “I don’t run up and down the pitch like I used to but I can still explode for the ball when I need to.”

Cuaresma glowed about Duric’s pace, skill, and power after the match. “He’s what – fortysomething? But he is very fast and very skilled. He was even outracing our defenders.”

In the 28^th minute, Gligorov found Duric with a longball on a quick counter. Duric had only Gould to beat down the left just outside the penalty area but the latter closed him down. Cuaresma rushed off his line and Duric deft chip off his left boot sailed over the Loyola goalkeeper and just into the far post for the Stags’ first goal of the night.

Tampines’ supporters who numbered about a hundred erupted in joy even popping confetti in celebration. They even exhorted their home side to score in Filipino. “Isa pa!” urged the Stags supporters. “Isa pa para panalo.”

The Filipino supporters who numbered about 400 countered by using the drumbeats of the Singaporean supporters to whip up chants of “Go! Go, Sparks!”

At the reset, Loyola adopted a more conventional 4-4-2 to close out the wings where Latiff ran unchecked earlier. Tampines showed their ability to adjust on the fly when they went to a ground game. Midfielder Imran Sahib found Latiff lurking just outside the penalty area with a square pass and the latter fired on a quick turn. Cuaresma had no chance. Two-nil Tampines.

In the 57^th minute, the Sparks appeared to pull back one when Chad Gould headed in a well-placed free kick by Kim Woo Chul from some 40 yards out from the right side. But referee Sukhbir Singh disallowed the goal because he had not blown his whistle to signify for the play to begin.

Incredibly, Kim took his time before sending the ball into the box and every Sparks and Stags player was just waiting for the ball to be launched. Singh blew his whistle only after Gould had scored. An irate Loyola assistant coach Vince Santos said that afterwards that if there was a violation, Singh should have blown his whistle before the shot was taken and not after. Furthermore, Kim took his time before firing away.

Singh booked Kim for a second yellow (he had one earlier in the match) and that sent off the tall Korean to the showers. “That was a crucial call,” said a displeased Santos. “That leaves us a tall centerback short. The referee was too hasty in his decision.”

That wasn’t the only decision that spelled problems for Loyola. Head coach Kim Chul So’s decision not to make early substitutions proved disastrous. He pulled out Simon Greatwich too early when it should have been either Minho or Byeong who should have been replaced. He brought in James Younghusband late in the first half and both Mark Hartmann and Jake Morallo really late into the game. Hartmann, who has scored two massive goals in this competition made an immediate impact while Morallo gave Loyola speed in the wings.

Incredibly, Loyola played better with 10 men as Tampines began to tire. Hartmann’s volleys and Morallo’s speed helped but Loyola could not find proper shots. James Younghusband had a pair of scoring chances in the 55^th and 76^th minute but both shots went wide right.

A late Cuaresma save off a header by Hadzibulic proved to be a huge one as a third goal would have pretty much put this series out of reach.

Matters evened out manpower-wise as Stags defender Ben Croissant was sent off on account of two yellows. That means both Kim and Croissant will miss the second leg that will be played on Sunday at Jalan Besar Stadium.

“We aren’t out of it yet,” said Phil Younghusand who remained optimistic of Loyola’s chances. “We have to stop their long balls and their tall forwards but that is saying a lot. It will be difficult. And we have to score early so we’re back in the fight.”

Sasa Dreven

Anaz Hadee    Ben Croissant    Mustafic Fahrudin

Imran Sahib    Gligor Gligorov    Ismadi Mukhtar   Jufri Taha

Ahmad Latiff    Aleksandar Duric   Sead Hadzibulic

Phil Younghusband

Byeong Yeong Jeol   Park Minho   Jang Jowon   Simon Greatwich

Anto Gonzales

Roxy Dorlas   Kim Woo Chul   Chad Gould   Alex Elnar

Ref Cuaresma

Referee: Sukhbir Singh

First Assistant: Lim Kok Heng

Second Assistant: Er Swee Ann

Fourth Official: W. Ravisanthiran

Match Commissioner: K Kandasamy

Kickoff 745pm

Loyola players confront the referee over the disallowed goal. There was a near fight after this as Byeong booted the ball to the opposite side in disgust prompting the Tampines players to confront Loyola.

2012 Singapore Cup semis preview: Scouting the Tampines Rovers

Scouting the Tampines Rovers

by rick olivares

Tampines Rovers look to stamp their class as Singapore’s top football side when they take on Loyola Meralco Sparks in the two-legged semifinals series of the 2012 Singapore Cup.

Not only is Tampines the defending S. League champions but they are also the current league leaders with a 14-4-4 record (with Albirex Niigata, the squad they vanquished in the Singapore Cup quarterfinals behind by four points in the standings).

The first leg of the semis clash will be at Tampines’ home field of Clementi Stadium. The stadium seats about 4,000 people and has an excellent grass pitch. It’s a 30-40-minute drive including traffic from where Loyola is based in Bugis.

Tampines runs a 3-4-3 formation:

Sasha Dreven

Jufri Taha    Anaz Hadee    Benoit Croissant

Ismadi Mukhtar    Fahrudin Mustafic   Saed Hadzibulic    Jamil Ali

David Piskor    Alex Duric    Gligor Gligorov

Hadzibulic plays a holding midfield position that is crucial to Tampines’ game plan as he is a good stopper and can deliver the ball to Duric who plays the target with accuracy.

Gligorov takes their free kicks and can be spot on with his delivery. It is a huge advantage that Tampines’ forwards are all very tall and can win those high balls.

They have speed on the wings with Jamil Ali but he tends to dribble a little too much when he should pass.

The way to beat Tampines is to stop Hadzibulic and Mustafic. Divest them of the ball. That will force Gligorov to go back and help out. Duric may be getting in on the years but he remains a dangerous scorer. The old warhorse has eight goals in the current S. League. But the Bosnian Serb doesn’t track back as much as he used to as he picks his spots. A fast pace doesn’t suit Tampines as they prefer a more deliberate game with Hadzibulic launches those GPS-laced long balls of his to his forward line.

Mustafic? I am not sure if he has come back healthy. But I would not underestimate him.  This team as coached by Tay Peng Kee (who once played forward for Singapore) has scorers. Yes, they love to play attacking football. 

Tampines is vulnerable from attack from the right side where Ben Croissant will have his hands full. 


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In other Singapore Cup action, Singapore Armed Forces defeated Gombak United , 1-0, after a Takeshi Inui penalty in the 35th minute. Second leg is at the Jurong West Stadium this Saturday.

Quotes from Loyola Meralco Sparks on the eve of the Singapore Cup semis

Vince Santos, coach, Loyola

We came to Singapore to participate. When we were playing in the Philippines, there was pressure to perform which is good or bad. We realized this in Singapore we were playing loose. It has gotten us to where we are now given this opportunity in this semifinals, we intend to go all the way.

Kim Chul So, head coach, Loyola

It will be good game good measure to see where Philippine club football is now. (against Tampines Rovers)

David Cortina, midfielder, Loyola

It would be nice to watch. I am excited. Tampines is a defensive team. They are not too big on ball possession. (Sead) Hadzibulic is a good player who feeds (Aleksandar) Duric the ball well. They do a lot of blind passing as they know each other well. We’ll have a good game for us and I feel it will be 1-0 for us.

Chad Gould, defender, Loyola

We are felling very confident despite Tampines being favorites.  The team has come together morale wise and I am sure we will give our 110%.

Phil Younghusband, striker, Loyola

It is the first game of season for us and we played well in our pre-season games before this. Hopefully, that confidence will help us in this match vs Tampines and in the UFL.

Randy Roxas, president, Loyola

We didn’t expect to be here. When we set out on this adventure, our mindset was to see what was out there and see how we fare against other squads in the region. And our success speaks well of Philippine club football as we are the only foreign team left. It would be great to take it further. Our chances are fair to good. And we hope we close it our in the next 180 minutes.

Cebu Pacific backs Loyola’s Singapore Cup bid

Cebu Pacific backs Loyola’s Singapore Cup bid

Cebu Pacific, the number one airline in the Philippines, is supporting United Football League club Loyola Meralco Sparks in its current 2012 Singapore Cup campaign.

Loyola is in a two-legged semifinals clash with top Singapore club Tampines Rovers on October 4 and 7 for the right to go to the finals that will be played in the end of the month.

The Sparks defeated Geylang United 2-1 in an intense opening Round of 16 game that saw the Philippine club advance to the next round. Once there, Loyola played Myanmar eleven Kanbawza in a two-legged series to win, 5-3.

Tampines, which boasts of Singapore national players Aleksandar Duric, Fahrudin Mustafic, and Noh Alam Shah, bested Phnom Penh 4-3 in the opening round before destroying Japanese side Albirex Niigata 4-1 to book the clash with Loyola.

“Cebu Pacific is a great partner to have because of the infrastructure that they provide,” said Loyola club president Randy Roxas. “Aside from flying us to Singapore, they allow us to concentrate in other areas that need immediate attention while here in this competition. And we hope they support us for our future endeavors.” 

Aside from Cebu Pacific, the Loyola Meralco Sparks are sponsored by Meralco, Mizuno, Gatorade, and Maybank ATR-Kimeng.

Singapore Cup Diary Thursday October 4

I hate flying. Well long flights that is. Maybe if I had a much bigger seat I'd be fine. That's a problem when you're tall and need all the leg room you can get. So if I don't normally get an exit seat, then I get one along the aisle. Or if I am able to book ahead, the seats up front. An evening or redeye flight makes it worse. Travel sickness. It's like driving. I have to hop out every 30 minutes or so for me to stretch the legs that ache. 

Left Manila not exactly the happiest. Part of me wanted to go and follow Loyola's semifinals adventure in the 2012 Singapore Cup and a part of me wanted to stay home and do other things -- work, the UFL, NBTC, and a few others. And there's the matter of missing Game One of the UAAP Men's Basketball Finals. How did that happen now? If this crossed over into Game Two then I would have most certainly stayed behind. A five-peat doesn't happen every day, you know. But I am glad to be here. I started this and I have to see it to its end. 

Took the 830pm flight with Loyola defenders Alex Elnar and PJ Fadrigalan. Both have work and they cannot file as many leaves as they can because of this. Both are excited to be back and be a part of this historic participation by a Philippine/UFL club in a foreign tournament. 

By the same token, there is excitement here in Singapore that local club Lions XII made it to the semifinals of the Malaysia Cup with a 2-0 win over (Malaysian side) Pahang at the Jalan Besar Stadium two nights ago. Lions XII overcame a 1-2 first leg deficit in Malaysia to advance. Sharil Ishak scored both goals. Incidentally, Jalan Besar is the home field of Lions. That match drew 7,429 paying patrons to the match. So I wonder if we're going to get the same kind of attendance and reaction when the Singapore Cup semis kicks off Thursday night.

We arrive at our hotel around 1245am. The hotel looks nice and it's a plus to be in Bugis because I love this area -- nice eats, malls around and easy to get around with a MRT stop nearby. We dump our gear in the room and head out to eat. I spotted a late night chain of restaurants before our cab entered these maze of side streets. But I've got an excellent sense of direction and we manage to wolf down a late late nite meal of chicken briyani before we call it a night. The internet is darn expensive and I guess I won't use it much. So I watch some late night WWE Smackdown while trying to figure out what to write. Later will have a little bit on Tampines.

Late Pasilan goal secures Green Archers draw with Kaya

Late Pasilan goal secures Green Archers draw with Kaya

by rick olivares

Tating Pasilan had four breakaway attempts where he was in a superb position to score a goal against Kaya but either he missed the shot or he was turned back by defender Nico Bolzico.

Strike mate Jon Melliza likewise had several opportunities for his own breakaway attempts but likewise met the same fate as Pasilan’s sorties.

But with three minutes left in regulation, Pasilan converted on a pass following an indirect free kick that found a hole underneath the wall the skittered past the arms of Kaya goalkeeper Saba Sedeghi. The goal secured a well-deserved draw for Archers who gamely battled Kaya in a thrilling match on opening day for the 2012 UFL Cup at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

Pasilan’s late goal neutralized Kaya’s advantage that was made possible following a Nate Burkey goal in the game’s fifth minute. After a Kaya volley towards the goal, Green Archers keeper Patrick Deyto took flight to corral the ball. The net minder collided with Archers defender Reynald Villareal and the ball landed around teammate Lawrence Ikegwuruka who turned to clar it to safety. Only Ikegwuruka, who last year played central back for Loyola, lost the ball to Burkey who was waiting to poach for a goal.

The Kaya striker stripped Ikegwuruka and fired into an empty net giving the Kala Alvarez-coached side the early advantage.

But last year’s league runners-up were unable to double their advantage as Burkey misfired thrice from close range while new acquisition Dario Dakic flubbed a clear shot that went high and wide late in the game.

Archers in the meantime, refused to fold with midfielders Ayi Nii Aryee and Nikko Villa finding Pasilan and Melliza up front with well-placed long balls. Kaya, running its patented 4-2-3-1 formation under Alvarez, had all sorts of trouble defending the long ball as their holding midfielders – Armand del Rosario and Toshiya Hosoe – and right back Anton del Rosario would link up for the attack but track back slowly on Archers’ counter.

Bolzico, despite towering over Melliza and Pasilan was mostly successful in turning back the two strikers but late in the game, he touched the ball inside the box to prevent the former from booting the ball in past a fallen Sedeghi.

Another long ball had found Melliza but it fell a little ahead of him and close to Kaya defender Masa Omura. The Japanese defender thinking Melliza would not pursue didn’t control the ball right away prompting the Archers striker to steal the ball and drive inside the box. His shot was stopped by Bolzico but as all four – including Sedeghi – collided and fell to the pitch, it was Melliza who was quick to his feet. Bolzico used his hands in pushing the ball towards his goalkeeper prompting referee Rey Ritaga to whistle for an indirect free kick.

Both teams had numerous chances to add to their goal tally but they flubbed their shots. New Kaya midfielder Dario Dakic had an opportunity to put it away for his side when he found himself with the space to shoot with nary a defender in his way. But the Fil-Bosnian from Sweden misfired and the ball sailed harmlessly into the stands behind the goal.

It was a disappointing draw for Kaya that had problems finding the back of the net last season. Even with their new acquisitions, they dominated stretches of the game but lacked in quality finishing. Last season, they dominated Green Archers with a pair of wins in the league.

“Not the result we wanted,” bemoaned defender Anton del Rosario after the match. “We made some mistakes and we paid for it. We’re lucky they didn’t score more or else this would have been a disaster.”

“Good result,” smiled Green Archers coach Rodolfo Alicante after the match. “Tama lang. But we could have won.”

Global kicks off UFL Cup campaign with 3-1 triumph over Pasargad

Global kicks off UFL Cup campaign with 3-1 triumph over Pasargad

story and pic by rick olivares

Global displayed fine form, skill, speed, discipline, and firepower in destroying Pasargad, 3-1, last night at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium to seize the early lead in the 2012 UFL Cup.

With its bevy of national players who were flush with confidence from winning the Peace Cup, Global swiftly stamped its mastery on the pitch with stifling defense in the midfield despite the steady rain.

The 2012 UFL champions routinely stripped new Pasargad acquisitions Josh Boone, Promise Jolomi, and Amin Nefasty of the ball making it difficult for strikers Masood Shedideh and Emmanuel Mbata to receive the ball. It took Pasargad close to six minutes before they could even get the ball into the final third but holding midfielder Matthew Uy aided by the tough back four of Jerry Barbaso, Carli de Murga, Angge Guiso and Jeffrey Christiaens would repel all sorties.

Uy was deft in his defense and distribution of the ball that allowed wingers Misagh Bahadoran and Patrick Reichelt to raid Pasargad from the wings for crosses or volleys. Were it not for the sterling goalkeeping of Kenneth Dolloso and the leadership of playmaker Hamed Hajimehdi – the lone voice in an otherwise Global-dominated midfield --- Pasargad would have been down much earlier.

However in the 15^th minute, Global finally beat Dolloso who up to that point had three superb stops, when forward Izzo EL Habbib headed in a cross by Denis Wolf.

In the 39^th minute, Carli de Murga scored on a rebound off an El Habbib to give the Edwin Cabalida-coached side a comfortable, 2-0 lead.

Pasargad came out of the second half a more compact defense as they forced the ball to go through the middle where defenders Charles Ujam held fast. But a defensive miscue in the 54^th minute, saw Bahadoran break two tackles to race forward unimpeded for a volley just outside the box that Dolloso was unable to save; 3-0 Global.

Minutes later, Pasargad, salvaged a measure of pride when Hajimehdi delivered a cross that striker Shedideh converted with a spectacular bicycle kick to make it 3-1. They threatened on a few more occasions as the Global players, many who had just seen action in the Peace Cup, grew tired. But on the few occasions the ball got back Global’s defensive line, goalkeeper stopped Pasargad cold.

“It’s a disappointing result. We have to work on our chemistry,” pointed out Pasargad coach Essi Sedigh whose side paraded 14 new players. “But we played better in the second half.”

Bahadoran on the other hand said that it was too early in the season to say that Global looked to romp all the way to the UFL Cup title despite being massive favorites. “Pasargad has many new players. They played us better in the second half. And I am sure they will play better as the tournament goes on. Many teams are better as well.

My picks for the next matches of the UEFA Champions League

My picks for the next fixtures of the UEFA Champions League.

2012 UFL Cup preview: Q&A with Nomads coach Mick Denison

This appears in the Monday, October 1, 2012 edition of the Business Mirror.

Q&A with Nomads coach Mick Denison

by rick olivares

UFL: How does Nomads look into the new season?

Coach Mick: We have a very strong squad when everyone is available due to work commitments.

UFL: What changed in the offseason?

Coach Mick: Randy has stepped down as his wife is pregnant. He’s still captain but Nichi Severino is now my right hand man plus Paul Hynes is now assistant.

UFL: Does the club have enough funds now to sign players and compete?

Coach Mick: At the moment no we do not have money to compete. I am working on a sponsorship deal for the UFL league. Too late for the Cup. Our lads who do not work are basically getting minimal expenses for training and games.  

UFL: The UFL just got a whole lot more competitive with the promotion of Pachanga and their subsequent merger with Diliman. Has Nomads ever discussed as a team about staying in Division One and not wanting to move down?

Coach Mick: We will be OK. Similar to last year. 5^th is excellent for us. We should not be in the bottom 3. We have a friendly versus Pachanga at Nomads on Sunday at 4pm.

UFL: Who are the new players and where did they come from?

Coach Mick: The two Fil-Brits Aaron De Rama and Jason Arroyo turned up for try outs and are very good players. They will be big assets for us. I want to give them contracts if we get a sponsor. John Atangana is still very raw from the 2^nd team but has a lot of promise and I expect him to play well this year. He is a very nice lad and I like him very much. Mikael Carduso came from the 2^nd team too, he can play football and I like him. The other new lads are very much an unknown at the moment as we have struggled to train because of the rain and pitch closure.