The
challenge of change.
by rick olivares
With the Philippine football landscape
constantly shifting, the UFL is not immune to these changes. And if there is a
line that will describe this league season, we will have to borrow a line from that
Bob Dylan classic that says, “the
times they are a changing”.
There’s the usual player movement, the
coaching carousel, and the emergence of new faces. With all these changes, the
question is, what team can get its act together the soonest and make an early
run?
Change begins from the top
Four of the 10 Division One clubs made
changes to the people manning the sidelines.
During the PFF Smart National Club
Championship, one could see clubs like Global, Kaya, Nomads, and Loyola still
adjusting to the coaching changes as well as the new faces. All four coaches
will bring different philosophies to their teams.
Global
(2012 season: Champion 13-3-2)
OUT
Dan Palami (but he slides back into his familiar role as team manager and
owner)
IN
Brian Reid as head coach
The Scottish football great is
arguably the biggest coaching name in Philippine football to date. Brought in
to help the club especially for its AFC President’s Cup campaign later this
year, Reid’s biggest task is to keep this juggernaut going. Easily, they are
the cream of Philippine club football having garnered the lion’s share of
silverware in the last three years. They surrendered their UFL Cup but annexed
the league title by season’s end. Reid’s appointment also hopes to bring a close
to the coaching rigodon of this club that has seen four changes from Frank
Muescan to Graeme MacKinnon to Edwin Cabalida to Dan Palami in the last year
and a half.
Global’s lineup from the past season
all the way to the recently concluded UFL Cup was deep from the starting eleven
all the way to the bench. But they discarded a lot of them including national
player Demetrius Omphroy and super subs Kevin Capolei and Fidelis Nnabuife.
Defender Juani Guirado is back in Spain and that has given other players more
playing time if not chances to shine. It is interesting to what Brian Reid will
do with this leaner but no less dangerous club. Look to Carli de Murga to
become a scoring force for Reid.
Kaya
(2012 season: 2nd 13-3-2)
OUT
Kale Alvarez
IN
Maur Rozen
Rozen’s appointment as head coach
comes after talks with former Azkals head coach Simon McMenemy did not
progress. Rozen, an Uruguayan replaces the youthful Kale Alvarez who did well
on an interim basis for the club steering them to a second place finish in the
league and a quarterfinals berth in the UFL Cup. There have been no big name
signings for Kaya other than the inclusion of defensive back Janrick Soriano
who will shore up the spotty defense at the back. Soriano has excellent
pedigree as he won starting slots and titles with Global and Pachanga. Rozen
lost a lot of big names from Jason Sabio to Prince Boley as well as he looks to
make do with his holdovers.
The saying “the more things change,
the more they stay the same” applies to this club. The lineup changed more by
subtraction than by addition. Jason Sabio is gone as is Lexton Moy who was
highly influential in the middle (as was Boley). Adrian Semblat is now with
Nomads as well. Like Global, Rozen will promote other players like Junior Muñoz
who hardly got any playing time last season under Alvarez.
Based on Kaya’s recent play and the
demotion of Anton Ugarte and Toshi Hosoe to the bench, it has become pretty
obvious that OJ Porteria will become their most influential player. But
football isn’t about one man. Look for this club to build on its huge
breakthrough win against Loyola in the PFF Smart National Club Championship. If
they can replicate that game and apply it to every fixture, Kaya will be right
up to the final bell slugging away.
Loyola
(2012 season: 3rd 11-4-3)
OUT
Kim Chul So
IN
Vincent Santos
For all the firepower and big names on
their lineup it is disappointing for their management and fans that this club
has not won any major silverware in the last year and a half. They have done
well but have always come up short.
The ascension of former national
player Vince Santos as head coach looks to solve the communication problems the
club had with former coach Kim Chul So.
The question many ask is his
experience. Does he have enough of it to steer this team to a title? They lost
Anto Gonzales back to Pachanga and he came up huge for the Sparks last season.
In return, they picked up former national striker Freddy Gonzalez who has yet
to blend well with this team and former Pachanga defender Jalsor Soriano.
Longtime Kaya icon Armand Del Rosario is in the lineup and will provide this
team with veteran smarts and leadership. Del Rosario was in superb shape during
the cup while with Kaya. If he can maintain that form then he will be a huge
addition to Loyola. Gonzalez bombed out with Pachanga during UFL Cup play. If
he can come in superb shape and provide another scoring threat up front, Loyola
will be difficult to beat. Defenders cannot simply knock down Phil Younghusband
now because they will have to contend with multiple scoring threats.
The additions of these players give
Loyola flexibility to put players around. It’s allowed them to place Phil
Younghusband in the middle where he has thrived a as a distributor for forwards
like Mark Hartmann and Chad Gould. The move has made Loyola more fluid in its
attack. However as always, their Achilles’ Heel is their defense.
For Vince Santos is to mold this team
into championship form, they have to ratchet up their defense and to come out
strong every time.
Nomads
(2012 season: 7th 4-7-7)
OUT
Michael Denison
IN
John Jofre
When talking about challenges, for
Nomads it’s all about fielding a proper team of players. It’s mostly expat club
who are all full time business professionals who are top officials of different
multinationals. So that means practices let alone games make it impossible to
field a complete roster.
But no excuses. After their inaugural
stint in Division One football, they know what the league is all about. Jofre
comes in with a football pedigree and makes him another huge Scottish signing
in the UFL.
Nomads made a name for itself as a
tough team – solid in the back and tough in the middle with Phil Connolly. If
Connolly is healthy, the forwards will find themselves with some forward balls to
latch on to. But the club cannot entirely depend on one man. Look to Selu
Lozano to provide more toughness for this club that is sorely in need of it.
However, the onus is on Jofre to get their slick passing midfield to dominate
and provide deep threats.
Holding patterns: making do with
what we have
Six of the 10 Division One clubs opted
to not make changes at the top. And more than that, they have kept their
lineups mostly intact with one or two choice additions. However, perhaps, that
is an understatement.
Stallion
(2012 season: 4th 8-5-5)
How does this club build on its UFL
Cup title? Well, they added a little star power with the addition of Daniel
Matsunaga (Pachanga), Fabio Ide (Sta. Lucia), and Andrew Wolff (Sta. Lucia).
Don’t think that the three were merely added to give the girls something to
cheer for as the three are good footballers. Wolff, the Philippine Volcano
player, showed his skills during last year’s Clear Dream Match.
But what a build up for this team that
has seen its metamorphosis from a strictly Iloilo-based club to a more
cosmopolitan side with its Korean players (based in Iloilo City) and Spanish
additions from International de Madrid. They have simply gotten better with
every tournament and that culminated in a UFL Cup title.
What Nierras did was to add a few more
weapons without sacrificing for quality. There’s the speedy Prince Boley from
Kaya who will help up front while Jerome Etoundi, the former Global keeper,
will backstop stud netminder Wilson Muñoz.
This team is already darn solid their
foreign players complementing top local players in forward Ruben Doctora Jr.,
Bervic Italia, and Muñoz. The challenge for Nierras, it’s just making sure that
everyone gets their playing time and chemistry down pat.
Air
Force (2012 season: 5th 7-4-7)
That league record sure sounds symmetrical
-- 747. This is a team in transition not to mention in a flux. After the high
of winning the 2011-12 UFL Cup, they fell by the wayside in league play and the
ensuing 2012 UFL Cup. This proud club also saw its longtime icon Chieffy
Caligdong move to Green Archers United.
There have been rumors of internal
strife and dissension but at the end of the day, Air Force is coming to play
with key additions. They add former Stallion players Vince Braga, Antonio
Albor, and Francis Gustilo who saw their playing time plummet with the arrival
of the Koreans and Spaniards. They will want to prove themselves.
The biggest and most obvious changes
in Air Force will be at forward and at goal. With Yanti Bersales finally
hanging up his boots, Vince Braga, who can play multiple positions will play
alongside Araneta. The other is the departure of longtime netminder Tats
Mercado who made a huge name for himself during his epic stand against Loyola
in the 2011 UFL Cup where he stopped 26 shots. In his place is Kenneth Dolloso
who has lived a semi-charmed kind of life. He won championships with Global and
with the old Pachanga before tending Pasargad’s nets last season. He left PSG
when he thought that there would be a reunion of his old Pachanga team in Sta.
Lucia. When the “reunion” did not materialize, Dolloso, without a home, made
his way to Air Force where the team has once more become proudly a homegrown
and Illonggo club.
The challenge for second year head
coach Sgt. Edzel Bracamonte is to instill that confidence and belief that they
can still be an elite football club.
Pasargad
(2012 season: Last season 6th 7-3-8)
The change in Pasargad is obvious as
they are now known as “PSG”. One can make all the Paris St. Germain and
Presidential Security Group jokes about the acronym but no one is laughing
because of the prowess of this club. They came on strong in the league during
the second round and their run to the finals of the PFF Smart National Club
Championship is testament to their ability.
PSG is moving to a more homegrown and
Filipino club but until that happens, given the loss of Shayan Jafari
Dastjerdi, Masood Shahdideh, and Ken Dolloso, this club’s success will be
dependent on the play of brilliant midfielder Hamed Hajimehdi and defenders
Reza Amirkhizan and Jaham Taher. If these three can keep their heads in the
ballgame (as does goal keeper Reza Ataei), they’ll be a top team. The same goes
for Charles Ujam who plays well when the spirit moves him. He’s like the Mark
Hartmann of PSG – tall, rangy, tracks back well, and can pass. But the key as
always is consistency and spirit. Just like the rest of the team.
Emmanuel MBata is a good addition up
front to replace Shayan but the loss of Masood will hurt too. MBata and Promise
Jolomi are not – at least just yet – the scoring machines expected.
Emotion is never a problem for head
coach Esmail Sedigh’s players. It’s just reining in their emotions and playing
with focus that is key.
Green
Archers United (2012 season: 8th 3-5-10)
No team undertook a more serious
manpower build-up than GAU. Beginning cup play, this team added former Global
stalwart Ayi Aryee, Nomads defender Dominic Mensah, Loyola defender Lawrence
Obinna, FEU midfielder Sean Lee, and Chieffy Caligdong (who came on board
beginning the PFF Smart National Club Championship).
The style of play went up with their
addition and it resulted in a fourth place finish in the UFL Cup and a
semifinals berth in the PFF Smart National Club Championship. In both those tournaments,
GAU flamed out in the end casting a pall on their aspirations. But if anything,
those setbacks will only whet their appetite for silverware and in league play,
they will be a dark horse contender.
For head coach Rodolfo Alicante, the
challenge is to find consistency in his players. Tating Pasilan is a dangerous
scorer but is mostly inconsistent. Jon Melliza, when he returns to the fold in
the March transfer window after playing for FEU in the UAAP, will help. Aryee
was superb as was Lee. But with the arrival of Caligdong both players looked
lost in the shuffle. And such, their central midfield play suffered. For Lee
and Aryee to be effective, they need their touches. But when you have excellent
wing players such as Arnie Pasinabo and Caligdong, the touches will be limited.
If they can find a merry solution to
their midfield play then this team could win it all.
Army
(2012 season: 9th 3-4-11)
With all the Philippine military teams
struggling in club play, Army has mostly kept its head above water. More so than
Navy that got sunk to Division Two.
Because of the structure of the
military clubs, they are in no position to recruit except for military duty.
And that hurts them. With an aging club, the challenge for coach Sgt. Ricky Cain is how to get
the most out of a club that lost sparkplug Champ Baron while picking up no one
of exceptional talent who can help.
It falls then to its pool of national
players in Boogie Margarse, Roel Gener, Ric Becite, and Eddie Sacapaño to hold
the fort.
Without being cold about it, Army must
raise its game or face the specter of relegation.
Pachanga (2012 season: Division Two champions)
You will have to do a double take on
that – Division Two champions. Because this is not that Pachanga team. It’s
Diliman using Pachanga’s name after they purchased the club from previous owner
Freddy Gonzalez. The only Pachanga holdovers are defender Yves Ashime and
midfielders Ousseneyou Diop and Boyet Cañedo who are all solid contributors on
the Bob Salvacion coached team. This league play sees the return of midfielder
Anto Gonzales after a yearlong loan to Loyola where he was an integral part of
the Sparks’ success last season.
There’s talent here without a doubt.
Their pick up of Fil-German Manu Saubach was huge for them during the UFL Cup.
The industrious OJ Clarino will help while Jinggoy Valmayor is still in the
UAAP. Clarino will help the strike force of Ariel Zerrudo Jr. and Andoni
Santos. Cañedo is perhaps the best free kick specialist outside Loyola’s Mark
Hartmann.
They have an elite lineup. If they can
find their bearings early on they will challenge for the title.
A
twist in promotion and relegation
By the league’s end, the team that
finished last will be relegated to the UFL’s second division while the champion
from that level will be promoted. However, it doesn’t end there, the ninth
placer of Division One will take on the Division Two second placer in a two-game
aggregate format. Should the Division One side win, it remains in the top-flight
group. Should the Division Two side upset the top tier club, they get promoted
at their victim’s expense.
With all the changes, clubs more than
ever cannot afford to have an off day. The possibility of having two teams relegated
means no one can sit pretty and coast because no one wants to be in the
relegation zone. One key to any club’s chances it fielding a deep lineup. The
UFL will not brook any stoppage in play this league tournament even for the
national team. That means matches will go on sans their national players.
Winning early is paramount because clubs without its core of Azkals can make a
run when the national team will be playing.
So at the end of the day, a deep
lineup can just change the equation of what promises to be an exciting league
season.
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