A Weiss choice?

This story appears in the Tuesday January 4, 2011 edition of the Business Mirror.

A Weiss choice?

by rick olivares

With the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup five weeks away, Englishman Simon McMenemy might not make it back in time to handle the Philippine National Men’s Football Team which just came of a successful Suzuki Cup campaign where they made it to the semifinal round.

McMenemy does not have the proper “B” coaching license to be accredited for the tournament which is strictly monitored by the AFC. “I’m working on it,” said the English coach who professed that coaching the national team was the experience of a lifetime.

With a gaping hole at the bench, there is a possibility for a couple of coaches to come in. All of them happen to be Germans and that includes Hans Michael Weiss to whose resume includes a lengthy tour of duty on three continents.

“During the last 14 years, I have obtained great knowledge on the International football level in Asia in Japan and China,” said Weiss who holds a UEFA Pro License and who completed his studies in Sports
Science and Management at the University of Mainz in 1995.  “I have worked on the highest professional level in the J-League in Kyoto, worked on the highest youth level with the CFA in China and also at the best high school for developing young players in Nagasaki, Japan.”

Weiss also worked as a Technical Director and coach of the Under-17 National Team of Rwanda in East Africa. “We started under very difficult conditions in 2007 and have changed the system there.” said the native of Dannenfels, Germany. “I was successful in training and detecting young talents in order to prepare them for the National Team. So most of the players coming up to their A-team learned from the ‘German System’. During the past years we had even managed to reach the top 100 in the FIFA ranking.”

If he lands the job of national team boss, Weiss said he will tap his network that includes the German Deutscher Fussball Bund, FIFA and AFC to develop the Azkals into a better and more respected squad. “I am sure that given some time and intensive preparations on the pitch we can lift the level of the National Team in the Philippines.”

In related football news, the 2014 World Cup Asian Qualifiers kicks off this coming June 29 and July 3, 2011 in a home-and-away format. The winners from Round One will progress to the second round which will also have a home-and-away format on July 23, 2011, and July 28, 2011.

Twenty teams, including the winners of the second round, will be divided into five groups of four teams each. The winners and runners-up from each group will advance to the fourth round after playing in a home-and-away format. Ten teams in the fourth round will be divided into two groups of five and top two teams from each group will qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. This round will have a home-and-away format. Third-best teams from Round 4 will play home-and-away in Round 5 and the winner will qualify for a Round 6 playoff against a team from another continent to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

MATCH DAYS

Round 1 MD1: June 29, 2011 MD2: July 3, 2011

Round 2 MD1: July 23, 2011 MD2: July 28, 2011

Round 3 MD1: September 2, 2011 MD2: September 6, 2011

MD3: October 11, 2011 MD4: November 11, 2011

MD5: November 15, 2011 MD6: February 29, 2012

Round 4 MD1: June 3, 2012 MD2: June 8, 2012

MD3: June 12, 2012 MD4: September 11, 2012

MD5: October 16, 2012 MD6: November 14, 2012

MD7: March 26, 2013 MD8: June 4, 2013

MD9: June 11, 2013 MD10: June 18, 2013

Round 5 MD1: September 6, 2013 MD2: September 10, 2013

Round 6 MD1: October 15, 2013 MD2: November 19, 2013