Mine tangled thoughts: On Dili kamo nag-iisa (the charity football match for the victims of Typhoon Sendong)

Working the Skype interview with Internacionale de Madrid. Photo by Craig Burrows.

Mine tangled thoughts: On Dili kamo nag-iisa

by rick olivares

While talking to a few friends from football clubs, they said they weren’t really jumping through the hoops to watch the match between the Azkals-UFL Alyansa and Internacional de Madrid. “They’re a third division squad,” said one somewhat derisively.

“I think some people consider our national side a little second or third rate,” I countered.

I think some people are missing the point.

Match day – Saturday, January 7, 2012 – is titled “Dili kamo nag-iisa”. It is a football match for charity. It was organized to help the victims of Typhoon Sendong.

How different is that from a celebrity basketball match? None, right? The idea is to help. And I don’t think that any one is going to play matador defense here. People have to appreciate what is being done. Everyone working behind the scenes is not getting paid a centavo. And in this match, there’s an element of risk. If someone gets injured that will hurt his stint with his club not to mention the national team.

It is not simple organizing a match. Given the short amount of time to put this together, I believe that it’s already a minor miracle getting it done.

While I have several concerns actually but I will share one. I think Internacional’s arrival on Friday is cutting it too close. Assuming they even arrive on time, when they get to the hotel it is late in the afternoon then they have to brave the Friday night traffic to get to the hotel. I know the scrimmage is there but I do not like it. Then they play a match the following day? The quality of play could suffer there.

In a Skype interview with team captain Juli, I asked him about that and he said that he thought they’d be okay. They’re stoked for the trip and the match.

That’s great to hear then because everyone is working hard to make sure that it will be a memorable event.

Having worked with another local organizing group for the Sri Lanka and Kuwait matches, this one is somewhat different although there are some familiar people in familiar if not different roles.

I almost didn’t come on board for this. I was about to turn down being asked to work as media officer but how do you say no to an old friend and schoolmate like Ebong Joson? I don’t regret it. It gave me a chance to work more closely with other people I respect like the indefatigable Craig Burrows. There’s Ritchie Gannaban who has been able to spot things that we oft miss out. Rafa Garcia who I became fast friends with on that long plane ride from Manila to Kuwait last year. We have the lads from Soccer Central who have been a huge help. There’s so many more.

At the end of the day when I get home, I invariably find myself thinking, “I hope this helps the people in Mindanao.” It’s only now as I write this where I realize what this means to myself.

In fact, while attending the press conference where the Sipag program of Gawad Kalinga was launched, I had an epiphany. I shared it with Craig and Ed Formoso, another old friend. I said I’d mull over all the way to next week before making a decision.

The late Bill Shankly once famously said that football is more than life and death. And all I can say for the nth time is, “He sure got that right.”

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Tickets to "Dili kamo nag-iisa" cost Php 100, Php 200, Php 400, and Php 500 exclusive of tax. 

Here are some links related to the event:

The Final line up of the Azkals-UFL Alyansa and Internacional de Madrid for the match

http://bleachersbrew.blogspot.com/2012/01/normal.html

Internacional de Madrid looks forward to playing in Manila

http://bleachersbrew.blogspot.com/2012/01/internacional-de-madrid-looks-forward.html

An interview with LBC's Santi Araneta on the match and helping out

http://bleachersbrew.blogspot.com/2012/01/q-with-lbcs-santi-araneta-on-dili-kamo.html

A Media Advisory on the match

http://bleachersbrew.blogspot.com/2012/01/media-advisory-on-dili-kamo-nag-iisa.html

A poignant start to the New Year
http://bleachersbrew.blogspot.com/2012/01/bleachers-brew-292-poignant-start-to.html

The FINAL lineups of Internacional de Madrid & the Azkals for the January 7 Sendong Charity match Dili kamo nag-iisa

Internacional de Madrid

#1 Alberto Olmedo Calvo - Goal keeper (Alberto)

#3 Joaquin Carlos Cañas Garcia – Defender (Joaco)

#4 Guillermo Lopez Bejar  - Defender (Guille)

#5 Eloy Edu Nkene  - Defender (Eloy)

#6 Sergio Sardina Olalla - Midfielder ( Sardi)

#7 Alvaro Gonzalez Barahona - Midfielder (Barahona)

#8 Ignacio Buenache Feijoo - Forward (Nacho) 

#9 Rufino Familiar Sanchez  - Forward (Rufo)

#10 Julian Manuel Bautista Rodriguez - Midfielder (Juli)

#11 Manuel Rosales Pacheco - Defender (Manu)

#12 Sergio Plaza Nogales - Midfielder (Plaza)

#16 Mario Sanchez Ponce – Defender (Mario)

#17 Roberto Garcia Ibañez - Forward (Robert)

#18 Daniel Simion - Defender (Ruma)

#19 Rafael Trinidad Hidalgo  - Midfielder (Rafa)

#20 Alain Aliaga Cedillo  - Defender (Alain)

#21 Javier Arribas Rubio – Midfielder (Arribas)

#22 Alberto Palacios Hernandez – Forward (Palacios)

#23 Daniel Garcia Fernandez– Forward (Dani G)

#26 Ruben Encinas Fernandez – Goal keeper (Ruben)

Azkals-UFL Alyansa

Goal Keepers: Eduard Sacapaño, Edmundo Mercado Jr., Paolo Pascual

Left Backs: Roel Gener, Roxy Dorlas

Center Backs: David Basa, Joebel Bermejo, Martin Doctora

Right Backs: Anton Del Rosario, Jerry Barbaso

Left Midfielders: Emelio Caligdong, Misagh Bahadoran

Central Midfielders: Peter Jaugan, Angel Guirado, Carli de Murga, Lexton Moy

Right Midfield: James Younghusband

Strikers: Phil Younghusband, Ian Araneta, Ojay Clariño

List of Metro Manila-based high school All-Stars who will play in the first-ever Seaoil All-Star High School Game. Player from Juniors Divisions of UAAP and NCAA and more!

Here's the list of the Metro Manila-based high school players who will be playing in the first ever Seaoil All Star High School Game. They are culled from not only the Juniors Divisions of the NCAA and the UAAP but from the Tiong Lian Leagues and others. This is a partial list. Not included YET are those coming from the provinces. That will be made known very soon. Check out the jersey (that will be in both dark and light) that they will be wearing for the game.

Arellano: Ronald Allan Cerrudo

Letran: McJour Luib

La Salle Greenhills: Thomas Christopher Torres and Jon Richie Villaruz

EAC: Nelson Mendoza Jr. and Allen Superable

JRU: John Frederick Fernandez

MIT: Rodolfo Alejandro, Ariel Basas Jr. and Ian Carlo Valdez

SBC: Francis Johnson Abarcar, Van Adam Abatayo, Gideon Ira Babilonia, Daryl Nazareno, and Limuel Patenio

SSC: Abraham Isaac Pante

UPHSD: Joshua Diaz

UNO HS: Philip Licaros

St. Stephen: Eric Ngcha and Adrian Te

St. Jude: Jason Ligad and Joel Chang

SBC-Alabang: Thaddeus Dominique Ballad and Vinzon Toribid

Xavier: Jeron Teng, Paolo Cabero, Marco Ayuste and Francis Yao

Chiang Kai: John Paul Nieles and John Kevin Baytan

NU: Ralph Tansingco, Norjohn Tendenilla, Paul Baliton and Ralph Napa

FEU: Josuah Palacio, Jovanie Luz, Janner Hassan, and John Estacio

DLSZ: Alex Torres, Gabby Reyes, Joseph Tempongko, John Boo, Martin Betia and Von Yu

Ateneo: Kris Porter, Lambert Tenorio, Jed Austria, Kiefer Lim, Kyle Suarez, Fran Asuncion and Tomas Ramos

UST: Brian Ilarde, Paolo Florentin, and Ivan Lazaro

Adamson: Quispe, Angelo Quinlog, Carl Soriano, and Margallo

UP: Kim Cinco

Next week: watch out for interviews and player profiles of some of these players!

Internacional de Madrid looks forward to charity match with Azkals

Internacional de Madrid looks forward to charity match with Azkals

by rick olivares

Last Wednesday evening (mid-morning Madrid time), we conducted a Skype interview with Javier Garcia Marquez and Julian Bautista, head coach and captain respectively of Internacional de Madrid, a Spanish Third Division team that will be playing a charity match with the Philippine Men’s Football National Team on Saturday, January 7, 2012.

The Spanish club, which is currently in third place in the 20-team Group 7 of the Madrid cluster of the Trecera Division and will be briefly on leave from their domestic league play to make the Philippine trip, will field their entire lineup of 25 players.

In the Skype interview, Bautista said “It is a nice experience to be able to get out of Spain to play another team like the Azkals.” Internacional’s captain also admitted that they had heard much about the Azkals because they compatriot Angel Guirado is a prominent member of the national side and because of Phil Younghusband whose goal-scoring feats are regularly posted on social media site YouTube. “We will see what we can do against them (the Azkals),” promised Bautista.

Marquez clarified that the event is more than a football match. “It is a celebration of the sport and it has to be beneficial since the objective is to raise funds for the victims of Typhoon Sendong.”

Internacional’s head coach admitted that getting out of the Third Division is the club’s goal for the season. “We want to take the next step. If we are successful in moving to the Segunda Division, that level of competition is considered semi-professional and that gives the team the option to compete in the Copa Tournament and that is a national tournament.

The Spanish club was originally slated to arrive last Thursday but a change in their schedule will instead find Internacional planning into to Manila on Friday, January 6 to a very tight schedule. As soon as the squad arrives, they check into their hotel before a part of the delegation breaks off into the requisite manager’s meeting and pre-match press conference while the larger party goes off to practice. The following day, they play the Azkals at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

Yet both Marquez and Bautista aren’t worried if their bodies will be up to the task.  “We’re not worried,” expressed Internacional’s skipper. “We’re all excited about the trip and helping out. Instead of worrying about jetlag and if we have our legs, we instead cannot wait to land and to make the most out of our trip. Hopefully, we will have a nice time and play a competitive match.”

Marquez also said that their club is all too aware of the relationship between the Philippines and Spain. “We know how important the Philippines is in the history of Spain. But we also have a brotherhood between our peoples. All you have to do is to look at someone like Angel Guirado whose mother is a Filipina. We have many countrymen who have lived in the Philippines and there are many Filipinos also in Spain.”

The Spanish club hopes that the match will bring more than financial help and attention to the victims of Sendong. “Maybe this can be a start of more coordination and programs between our two countries,” said club chairman Stephen Newman, an expatriate Englishman who put the side together some nine years ago and is married to a Filipina. Newman, who speaks fluent Spanish concluded by saying that event is a win-win situation for all sides regardless of the outcome of the match. “The game does really transcend borders and cultures. And this match is for a good cause.”

Back Four Bums: Dili Kamo Nag-iisa Sendong Podcast (with a little help from our friends)

The Back Four Bums recorded a quick podcast about the "Dili Kamo Nag-iisa" January 7, 2012 match. We had a lot of help with many of the regulars busy with the match.  Left-to-right: Cedelf Tupas, Bob Guerrero, Rick Olivares, Mikhail de Guzman, Jady Salonga, Andi Sia, Craig Burrows, and Ebong Joson. Not in the picture: Ritchie Gannaban and Rafa Garcia. Peter Atencio was saling ket and seated at the lower left. Snicker.

 Back Four Bums - Sendong Episode by RixOlivares 

To live and die in LA: David Beckham stays with the LA Galaxy (spurns Paris St. Germain)

David Beckham is going to stay with the Los Angeles Galaxy after turning down a fantastic offer from Paris St. Germain (they would have doubled LA's base offer). It looks like the 36-year old midfielder will get two-more years with the Galaxy after a successful season. Looks like the Beckham experiment is a success after all. According to reports, it seems that Beckham’s family didn’t want to uproot themselves and the Galaxy sweetened the pot by allowing him to play for the England National Team for the London Olympic Games this year if he is selected (you must get him, Fabio Capello).

That means that LA gets to keep their trio of stars in Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane, and Beckham.

Personally, watching their group dynamics during their recent Manila trip, I thought they were a pretty close bunch. That helps, right?

And the MLS is really growing. Their average attendance was better last year than a couple of major leagues in the US not named NFL and MLB. A new franchise will open in Montreal and the New York Cosmos are knocking. There’s talk of a team in Miami. That’s a good sign.

On a mischievous note, here are possible other reasons why Beckham is staying with LA:

Posh said NO.

NO Lakers games.

Ron Hernandez theorizes it’s because of the Mayan Calendar to which a few other fans replied: “So he can return to his alien planet when the portal opens” and “Back to the Milky Way Galaxy.” Hilarious!

Azkals Alyansa coach Edwin Cabalida & Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho weigh in on Sendong & Phil Younghusband respectively

Azkals Alyansa Coach Edwin Cabalida on Typhoon Sendong and the upcoming charity match: “I felt bad and was very emotional when I heard the news about the destruction that Typhoon Sendong caused. I was in Dumaguete during at that time our house was nearly flooded. But one of my relatives was not so lucky, If the rains poured for another than 30 minutes maybe our house would have been under water as well.

When I was younger, I was also part of the relief effort when Typhoon Nitang hit Negros. I think that was in 1984. Malaking bagay na nakatulong ako sa relief effort na yun. Meron satisfaction from helping others. But iba yung perspective kapag naging biktima ka rin ng baha.”

Also here's a quote from Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho about Azkals striker Phil Younghusband: "Phil Younghusband was a young talented player with great potential who worked hard in search of his dream. I helped make this dream come true by giving him his first team debut with Chelsea. I wish him all the best".


Other reading material on the January 7 match:
http://bleachersbrew.blogspot.com/2012/01/media-advisory-on-dili-kamo-nag-iisa.html


http://bleachersbrew.blogspot.com/2012/01/q-with-lbcs-santi-araneta-on-dili-kamo.html

Q&A with LBC's Santi Araneta on Dili kamo nag-iisa Jan. 7 game between Azkals Alyansa and Internacional de Madrid

This is an interview conducted with LBC Big Boss Santi Araneta regarding "Dili kamo nag-iisa". We will feature interviews with different people involved in the charity match leading up to match day.

Q: When you watched or read about the first reports of the devastation and toll of Typhoon Sendong, how did you feel? What emotions and thoughts came to you?

Santi Araneta: First, I thought "not again". Our country has been battered too much already.  Then I saw how bad the devastation was from the news reports and felt sad that this was just a week before Christmas. I realized we had to act quickly and do whatever we can in our capacity to help them. 

Q: Why is the DILI KAMO NAG-IISA Jan. 7 match important? Why a football match and why does the game invoke so much passion? 

Santi Araneta: It is important that during times like these we pool our resources together for a common goal which is to aid and show community spirit, a united force when faced with a situation that affects all of us as a country, as a nation. Why football? Because it takes a team not an individual to win a game. This is symbolic of our own efforts to help out. We need to do it together so everyone wins. The passion comes because you play your heart out for ninety minutes and all it takes is one goal to win the entire game, that "one" goal becomes so elusive. Imagine that, eleven players, ninety minutes just for a single goal. 

Q: How did the match between the Azkals and friends and CF Madrid come about? 

Santi Araneta: It all started when Chris Greatwich sent a bunch of us a message wondering what us football people can do to help. I know we all do our share in our own little way, but we wanted to use our influence in the football community to be able to gain the most support.  

Q: As youngsters -- when we were all in school -- did you ever help out in relief efforts of any sort? If you did, can you share an anecdote about this?

Santi Araneta: Yes, I remember being a part of the relief efforts for the Mt. Pinatubo eruption as well as for Typhoon Ondoy. We sorted and repacked donations and relief goods and helped with the distribution of these goods directly to the victims. It was all at once a humbling yet uplifting and heartwarming experience. 

Q: What does it mean for you to participate in an event like this where you are helping out in an incredible relief effort?

Santi Araneta: It is very fulfilling and of course the more successful the event is the better for all the victims. It will be the most meaningful match we've ever organized and I feel very blessed to be a part of it and am grateful for the opportunity to make a difference in their lives. 

Q: How will the monies earned from this event be distributed? 

Santi Araneta: Everything earned prior to the game such as ticket sales through Ticketworld outlets. And an auction of player memorabilia will be collected by LBC Foundation which will then be presented to the Philippine Red Cross. Earnings from the telethon on the other hand will be given to ABS-CBN Foundation. Everything of course for the benefit of the typhoon Sendong victims.

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Other reading material on the January 7 charity match:


http://bleachersbrew.blogspot.com/2012/01/media-advisory-on-dili-kamo-nag-iisa.html

http://bleachersbrew.blogspot.com/2012/01/azkals-alyansa-coach-edwin-cabalida.html

Spanish newspaper Marca features "Dili Kamo Nag-iisa" in their sports page

Here are a couple of articles about the upcoming Dili Kamo Nag-iisa football charity match that appeared in the Spanish newspaper Marca. 

Media Advisory on Dili Kamo Nag-iisa January 7 football charity match

Media Advisory

Typhoon Sendong battered the Mindanao region and left the entire nation as well as the international community shocked and grieving following the grisly aftermath that included a terrible death toll.

As a nation we have a chance to stand as one with the victims and let them know they are not alone. Football is said to be more than a sport. It transcends borders, languages, beliefs, and cultures. And now, it will provide badly needed relief to the thousands and thousands affected by Typhoon Sendong.

“Dili kamo nag-iisa” is more than a football match. The match’s title is an amalgam of Bisaya and Tagalog and is meant to show the strength of unity and purpose that if one of us suffers, then we all stand together to care for one another thereby being far stronger. “Dili kamo nag-iisa” is to date the most meaningful football match in our nation's history because it is organized to raise funds for the victims and let them know we care. 

The match will be between a joint team of Azkals Alyansa and Internacional de Madrid, a Spanish league side, will be played on Jan. 7th at the Rizal Memorial Stadium at 4pm. The match will be preceded a celebrity football challenge at 2pm.

The event will be televised live over Studio 23.

Tickets are now on sale from Ticketworld with prices pegged at Php 100, Php 200, Php 400, and Php 500. PRICES ARE EXCLUSIVE OF TAXES!!! CLICK ON THE IMAGE ON ENLARGE.

The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) has been chosen as the main beneficiary for the monies raised from this event and the LBC Foundation are working with the organizers to maximize collecting and distributing donations.

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Azkals Alyansa line up:

Coach: Edwin Cabalida
Goal Keepers: Eduard Sacapaño, Edmundo Mercado Jr., Paolo Pascual

Left Backs: Roel Gener, Roxy Dorlas

Center Backs: Ange Tressor-Guisso, Yves Ashime, Martin Doctora

Right Backs: Anton Del Rosario, Jerry Barbaso

Left Midfielders: Emelio Caligdong, Misagh Bahadoran

Central Midfielders: Valentine Kama, Angel Guirado, Carli de Murga, Lexton Moy

Right Midfield: James Younghusband

Strikers: Phil Younghusband, Ian Araneta, Nate Burkey, Ojay Clariño

Pre-match presscon

January 6, 2012

6pm Discovery Suites

Media IDs (unfortunately, not all previously accredited will be given IDs because of the limited space) will be distributed prior to the press con.

Prohibited items for the match include:

-       Cigarettes and lighters

-       Laser pens and pointers

-       Weapons and/or sharp objects

-       Candles, fireworks, or any type of pyrotechnics

-       Glass bottles, PET bottles, cans, and hard plastic containers

-    Posters, banners, and signage with any politics slogans or advertising without the express written approval by the Local Organizing Committee

-       Alcoholic beverages

-       Illegal drugs

-       Large chains, spike bracelets, wallet chains, metal belt buckles

-       Balloons

-       Chairs

-       Pregnant women should sign a waiver prior to entry

-       Parents of children below 12 years old should sign a waiver prior to entry
y YOU MAY BRING DIGICAMS OR CAMERAS WITHOUT PROFESSIONAL OR LONG LENSES. LET'S BE CLEAR ON THIS. THE LONG LENSES WILL NOT BE ALLOWED.

MANAGEMENT RESERVES THE RIGHT TO DENY ENTRY TO ANYONE CARRYING PROHIBITED ITEMS OR THOSE DEEMED TO BE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS OR ALCOHOL.

Preview of HBO's 24/7 Winter Classic Flyers-Rangers

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I've been so distracted with work and other matters that I have forgotten to follow the NHL (but I do know that my Islanders are still at the bottom). The annual Winter Classic is upon us. 

Bleachers' Brew #292 A poignant start to 2012

This appears in the Monday January 2, 2012 edition of the Business Mirror.

A poignant start to 2012

by rick olivares

The year 2011 was a very good one for me. I rebounded from a couple of tough years were I felt like I was slugging it out against Manny Pacquiao so I had to do a Joshua Clottey to survive. If there has been anything that I have learned the past decade or so is that there is no reason to leave the good ship of hope. So on to 2012 it is!

As much as most of us would like to look forward, there is the matter of the victims of Typhoon Sendong who dropped more than a load of coal on the Christmas stockings of the people of Mindanao.

Typhoon Sendong battered the Mindanao region and left the entire nation as well as the international community shocked and grieving following the grisly aftermath that included a terrible death toll.

But even as the country seems to constantly bear the brunt of nature’s wrath, such disasters also bring out the best in the Filipino people. And the football community has organized a charity football match between a mixed squad of national players and club players and Internacional de Madrid, a Spanish league side, that will be played on Jan. 7th at the Rizal Memorial Stadium at 4pm.

One might say that in the midst of tragedy, how can one think of sports?

Not everyone can physically help in the relief efforts of Ground Zero. Help and succor can come from a sense of normalcy and from fund-raisers.

In 2001, Major League Baseball gave a massive lift to New Yorkers and Americans who were reeling from the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

A little over a decade after that infamous day that forever changed the world, we as a nation we have a chance to stand as one with the victims and let them know they are not alone through football.

To paraphrase the late Bill Shankly, “Football is much more than a game. It is about life and death.”  The game itself transcends borders, languages, beliefs, and cultures. Whether rightly or wrongly, it binds people. It’s a call for nationalism and Croatia made its feelings known through a match that preceded the Yugoslavian Civil War. In the African country of Ivory Coast, when Didier Drogba plays, the warring factions of their long internal strife would stop shooting at one another. In Libya, the defiance of the football national team and its supporters galvanized the popular uprising against a long-time dictator.

And now, “the beautiful game,” as Brazilian football great Pele once described football, will provide badly needed relief to the thousands and thousands affected by Typhoon Sendong.

“Dili kamo nag-iisa” is more than a football match. The match’s title is an amalgam of Visayan and Tagalog and is meant to show the strength of unity and purpose that if one of us suffers, then we all stand together to care for one another thereby being far stronger. “Dili kamo nag-iisa” is to date the most meaningful football match in our nation's history because it is organized to raise funds for the victims and let them know we care. 

Right before kickoff, messages of hope will be read in Tagalog, Visayan, and Spanish. And the entire crowd at the stadium will be enjoined to sing the Gerry and the Pacemakers classic “You’ll Never Walk Alone” that they remade from the 1943 Rodgers and Hammerstein musicale Carousel.

Almost as soon “You’ll Never Walk Alone” was released as a single by Columbia EMI in July of 1963, the song was quickly adopted by Liverpool Football Club as their anthem. The song has become so popular that other football teams such as Celtic, Feyenoord, Twente, Cambuur, Borussia Dortmund, Kaiserslautern, Borussia Monchengladbach, St. Pauli, Darmstadt 98 and Tokyo all sing the anthem in their home matches.

It’s a stirring song of comfort, hope, and encouragement. And no doubt, the song, and more importantly, the charity football match, will touch the hearts of many to provide much needed support to the people of Mindanao.

And the match serves notice that our men’s football national team does more than represent the country. They play for our people. And that should serve as a fitting springboard when they begin their campaign in the AFC Challenge Cup and the year-ending AFF Suzuki Cup.

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The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) has been chosen as the main beneficiary for the monies raised from this event and the LBC Foundation are working with the organizers to maximize collecting and distributing donations.