Weiss preaches caution amidst Azkals’ roster concerns

Give me a low five. 

This appears in the Wednesday July 6, 2011 edition of the Business Mirror.

Weiss preaches caution amidst Azkals’ roster concerns

by rick olivares

“In football there are no guarantees.”

Philippine Men’s Football National Team head coach Hans Michael Weiss pleaded for caution following the Azkals 4-0 demolition (5-1 on aggregate) of Sri Lanka in the opening round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Qualifiers last Sunday, July 3 at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

In two separate interviews with the German coach at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium and the Diamond Hotel where the team was billeted for the home match, Weiss seemed noticeably irked with the flip-flopping of football fans over the team’s results.

“We have several things going on for us,” defended the gaffer. “First is the system we have been trying to introduce. Systems need to be in place. We ran that against Mongolia with a 3-5-2 formation but we had to change our tactics for the (AFC) Challenge Cup. Second is, we have new players. New players means learning the system and developing chemistry. It is not an overnight achievement for us. And third is, you are playing football. There are no certain wins especially when you play in another team’s home field. None.”

In the same breath, Weiss, who has been head boss for six months now and totes a 3-3-1 win-draw-loss record, complimented for the support bequeathed on the team. “It’s amazing to see this kind of love and support,” he said with a smile.

Some 12,870 fans trooped to the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium to brave alternating weather conditions from extreme heat to sudden rains.

With chemistry and a killer instinct a problem (Weiss believes that his team should have scored more goals in the second half against the Brave Reds), an even bigger cause for concern is the unavailability of midfielder Stephan Schrock and team captain Aly Borromeo for the away match against Kuwait on July 23 due to cumulative yellow cards. “We cannot afford to get hammered by several goals in an away match because that places a lot of pressure on us in the home game,” cautioned Weiss. “If Ray Jonsson and Jerry Lucena will play that will help us.”

However, it is unlikely that Jonsson will be released by Grindavik, his club in Iceland. The Iceland Premier League squad recently suffered several injuries to key personnel and cannot afford to release him for the Kuwait matches because of a conflict with club games around that week. 

De Jong in the meantime, is only playing for the Azkals’ Under-23 team after he was released by Indonesian team Persiba Balikpapan for continuous violations of the terms of his contract.

Fil-Dane left back Dennis Cagara already signed the FIFA document that certified his intent to play for the Philippines. That document, the sole remaining that is needed for his to suit up for the Azkals, prevents him from playing for Denmark, his country of birth, in any tournament. It remains to be seen if he will join the team in their Persian Gulf matches.

Other former mainstays of the national team – midfielders Chris Greatwich and Jason de Jong – remain unavailable. Greatwich, who is currently playing for the Morris County Colonials of New, Jersey, USA in the National Premier Soccer League, a fourth-tier team in the American footballing pyramid. Greatwich expressed his intent to play for the away match in Sri Lanka but after a discussion with Weiss, who wanted him to make the training camp in Duren, Germany, begged off.

The Azkals are scheduled to leave for Bahrain on July 14 after which they will play the host country’s Olympic football team on the 16^th at the Nation Stadium in Riffa and once more at the Muharraq Club Stadium in Arad on the 18^th. The Bahrain national team battled the Kuwait team to a scoreless draw in a friendly last February.

The Philippines plays Kuwait on July 23 at Kuwait City and returns to Rizal Memorial Football Stadium on the 28^th for the home match.

The Local Organizing Committee of the Philippine Football Federation announced that details regarding ticket sales for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Round 2 Leg 2 - Kuwait vs. Philippines will be made on Friday, July 8 by the Local Organizing Committee. The kickoff for the July 28th is at 7pm.