This appears in inthezone.com.ph
Team
Socceroo: a local side with a samba flavor
by rick olivares with photo courtesy of mark dimalanta
With all the news and hype of national
players and celebrities playing in the ongoing UFL Cup, Team Socceroo finds
itself included in all that talk. “I realize that people will always look to
personalities to write and talk about but I hope that at the end of the
tournament, they can also talk about our game on the pitch.” smiled team
manager Wool Reyes over a cup of coffee at The Coffee Bean in Bonifacio High
Street.
Team Socceroo isn’t one of the
Johnny-come-lately football clubs that mushroomed after the success of the
Philippine Men’s Football National Team last year as they have been around
since 2005. Although the squad was initially an unofficial continuation of the
program of football-crazy Southridge high school, Team Socceroo has come to
include players from other schools and other nationalities.
The team has nine Brazilians of
Japanese origins (who have made the Philippines their home) and actor-model
Jake Cuenca in their lineup. Television personality Paolo Bediones is the team
consultant. Their coach is a Jamaican in Neco Lambey.
“Since there is no college program for
Southridge, our players go to other schools like Ateneo and UP,” related Reyes.
“Their loyalty is turned over to their new schools. We created a program where
we hold football clinics and camps for kids in the grade and high school
levels. We wanted kids to look up to their fellow alumni and associate Team
Socceroo with Southridge.”
After a time, the team switched to
futsal but right before the 2010 Suzuki Cup where the national team performed
so well, Team Socceroo switched back to the 11-a-side game. With the historic
signing between AKTV and the UFL, the time was right for the team to play with
the big boys.
Finding common friends with expatriate
Brapanese (Brazilian-Japanese) players like Daniel Matsunaga, Fabio Ide, and
Akihiro Sato, the team has become a melting pot that has been beneficial for
all. “We like to say that the experience so far has been a transfer of
technology (football skills) and culture between the foreigners and the
locals,” added team captain Michael Reyes, the younger brother of Wool.
Added Amado “Madz” Nidea, who once
played for Southridge and Ateneo de Naga, “It sure is fun to watch these guys
play. But don’t think that Team Socceroo is all about having foreigners. We
also have people who can play.”
But because of the sizeable Brapanese
contingent, the team has taken somewhat of a samba flavor. On their way to
games, samba music is played with each and every player on the team expected to
chime into the manic and infectious beat. “Ah, we do some personal dance
routines from out own seat,” laughed Wool with a mischievous grin. “It’s all in
good fun and it bonds the team.”
Unlike other teams participating in
the UFL Cup that are awash with corporate sponsor’s money, the team relies on
some donations from a few sponsors and from their own day jobs. “Everyone
either has a job or is an entrepreneur,” said Wool. “We all understand that
before this can be a real profession, we have to show our worth on the pitch.”
And no doubt there is pressure on Team
Socceroo. They are in Group B of the cup competition together with the
Azkals-reinforced Loyola Meralco Sparks and their brother club Loyola Agila
(which is composed mainly of their current college team), and Internacionale FC
(a team with an assortment of Cameroonians, Fil-Iranians, Fil-Brits and others
of mixed nationalities hence their name).
“No one is expecting anything from us
but what we hope to do is shock the league by maybe taking some points from the
other teams,” added Michael Reyes.
“Our team motto is ‘Plenus Pectus’,”
offered Wool of his team’s Friday Night Lights inspiration. “That means ‘full
hearts’. If we go out and play with full hearts then who knows how far we can
go.”
TEAM SOCCEROO FC
OFFICIALS:
REYES,
Jose Gaudencio - Manager
BEDIONES,
Paolo Antonio - Consultant
FRANCO,
Bryan - Team Coordinator
LAMBEY,
Neco - Head Coach
PLAYERS:
AVELLANA, Jose
BERHAN, Haitham Abdelwase
BERHAN, Omer
CUENCA, Juan Carlos
DEKOENIGSWARTER, David
EVANGELISTA, Renan
GAUTIER, Janruther Francisco Rene
GONZALES, Jonathan
IDE, Fabio Luis
MATSUNAGA, Daniel Kenji
MATSUNAGA, Guillerme Mitsuo
MURAOKA, Denstin Hideo
NIDEA, Amado Fernando
ORAÀ, Carlo Rufino
PAIN, Alexandre
REYES, Joannes Paulus Mari
REYES, Jose Gaudencio
REYES, Michael Mari
ROZA, Christopher
SALTING, Joseph
SATO, Akihiro
STRANGHETI, Luciano
TIMPANI, Zaydan
VAPOR, John
ZAGHI, Hector
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