This appears on abs-cbnnews.com
Excited but cautious Younghusband & Azkals look to break new ground
by rick olivares
“It never gets old.”
Phil Younghusband quipped on the
eve of his fourth Suzuki Cup; the biggest senior men’s national team football
competition in Southeast Asia.
His first was that historic 2010
Suzuki Cup where the Philippines barged out of the group stages to make the
semi-finals of that competition. Since then, the PMNT has made two more final
four berths but have yet to advance to the championship game.
Younghusband missed the 2008
edition because Chelsea, the English club he was playing for at that time,
asked him to stay. At that time, the Suzuki Cup wasn’t considered by FIFA as a Category-A
tournament.
This 2016 staging on the other
hand, will be the first in this biennial tournament where FIFA will award world
ranking points to participating nations. Hence, there is more at stake than the
regional bragging rights.
“For starters, we’re hosting the
group stages and that is massive,” said Younghusband. “Hopefully, people will
rally around the team and give us a lift.”
And it is a different
Younghusband who will lead the Azkals onto the Philippine Arena pitch in
Bocaue, Bulacan, as opposed to the one who took to My Dinh National Stadium in
Hanoi six years ago. For starters, he will be wearing the captain’s armband and
for those accustomed to him playing the forward position, Phil now plays deep,
and looks to pass first and not shoot.
Now the most capped Filipino with
82 international matches to go with 42 goals, Younghusband plays a vastly
different role nowadays.
“I started when I was barely in
my 20s and now I am in my late 20s,” pointed out Younghusband who along with
his brother James are the only ones left from that Miracle in Hanoi where the
Philippines defeated then-defending champion, Vietnam, 2-nil, that not only
changed Philippine football forever but also regional competition. “I am
approaching this competition with a different mindset. Now I give more advice.
Before I was the one still learning from the likes of Chieffy Caligdong and Aly
Borromeo. Now it’s the other way around. My attitude is different. I feel more
of a responsibility now. It’s not pressure and I just can’t concentrate on my
game but I also have responsibility in helping out the others. Coach (Thomas
Dooley) feels that is an attribute that can help the team. It is less about
scoring goals but distributing the ball now.”
The changes aren’t only limited
to roles. There’s the expectancy about this tournament. “We’ve made the semis
in the last three years,” noted the captain. “Now that is no longer good
enough. I will say this though -- in 2010, we got by on individual talent
although with a lot of team spirit. This year, we have a lot of talent,
individual and team-wise, plus better team spirit. You can say, winning, the
journey from the last few years, access to better training and facilities, has
made us better. I look at the players around me and I have full confidence in
them.”
In 2010, for the Azkals’ final
tune-up match before the Suzuki Cup, they took a three-hour bus ride outside
Bangkok to play a Thai club team. “We had 10-minutes to warm up and we got
blasted, 9-0,” laughs Phil at the memory.
Last November 9, the Azkals
defeated Kyrgyzstan, 1-nil, at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
Yet the 29-year old Younghusband dispels
any suggestion that the Azkals can make short work of other teams. In 2010,
maybe Singapore were overconfident going into our match. Maybe, they were
already looking beyond to Vietnam and we burned them. I think we as a team or
as a football nation aren’t at that point to be looking past opponents. The
last thing we need to be is just like they (Singapore) were back then. Every
team in the competition is very good. Anyone can beat another on any given
night. That is why it is called “the Group of Death.”
The Philippines is bracketed
together with Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia. The first two are the last
two Suzuki Cup winners. Indonesia on the other hand, is always dangerous.”
“People say we cannot take anyone
lightly as we are in the Group of Death,” said Younghusband. “That’s good. We
want it no less. If we are to achieve something – and that is winning it all --
then we know we worked hard for it.”
The Philippines-Singapore match
kicks-off is at 8pm.
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