You can take Frank Muescan out of Victorias, Negros, but you can’t take Victorias, Negros out of him.
At the end of the Season 70 of the Universities Athletics Association of the Philippines, the University of the Philippines made a coaching change for its Men’s Football Team.
Muescan, who served as an assistant to former head coach and one-time varsity player Vanni Tolentino was promoted to the top dog position.
The curly-haired lad was nervous and he first sought the blessings of Tolentino before accepting the job. He never even played for UP but football (he played for Marist and for one brief summer for West Negros College) has a funny way of muddling borders, allegiances, and bloodlines.
With that out of the way, Muescan wasted no time in seeking out the assistance of Andres Gonzales who was a key player for the Maroons’ last title team in 2002.
There was much work to be done as there was word of general unhappiness amongst the players. Some were even have said to tanked in some games just so the season could end sooner. Such was the state of UP football.
And to foster camaraderie and bring out the good vibes, one of the first things Muescan did was… organize a cookout on the UP pitch.
But first he had to go to market to buy ingredients of which some players volunteered to tag along. “That was a good sign that they were willing to do the dirty work,” agreed the new mentor.
“Oh, I love to cook,” he confessed. “Seafood dishes are my specialty. Tambay tayo sa kusina nung bata tayo and up to now, nanonood tayo ng mga cooking shows sa TV, ba.”
“Cooking teaches attention to detail and patience. That is something you can apply to football.”
Apparently there was zen in the two disciplines that seemed the farthest from each other.
The players chipped in on the food. Some would bring drinks. Others would bring other dishes.
Aside from his kith and kin, Muescan professes to have two great loves in his life – cooking and football.
The city of Victorias is uneven land as the terrain slopes and curves into rolling hills that descend into valleys. The greens remain nourished owing to the bountiful rivers and stream that snake across the land. As a kid, Frank learned to fish; a relaxing pursuit that served him in good stead when he was into his culinary dalliances.
But this is Negros where football is king. Here they played under the big black sun until their skin was darkened while their skills were sharpened. Here in the deep south came an understanding and appreciation for the game. Plus, it was a way of life.
And he learned it first from the Italian priests from the local Don Bosco school. Through their stories, books and magazines, and tapes of Paolo Rossi’s exploits in the 1982 World Cup.
Muescan learned to satisfy his hunger for the game. Thrust into the spotlight of coaching a storied football team, he devoured books, scoured the internet for information, watched games, and asked questions.
Even as an assistant, the youthful coach was praised for his work ethic and painstaking attention to detail. So the team knew what kind of head coach they were getting when the Negrense put on a whistle around his neck.
He knew he had inherited a talented team. One that was good enough to contend for the UAAP championship last year. But they made up for that with a third place finish in the University Games that proved to be Tolentino’s last before handing over the reins to Muescan.
There was pressure, the new coach admitted. There always is. He heard the whispers of discrimination. “He never went or played for UP,” critics maliciously derided. “What could he know of Maroon Pride?”
Gonzales’ inclusion smoothed out the ruffled feathers some but immediately, the team responded to the young coaching staff. “Kitang kita na nag-respond yung players. And sila sila na rin nag-discipline na sarili nila,” noted Gonzales.
The Fighting Maroons’ attack-minded 4-3-3 formation was coordinated by Gonzales while Muescan masterminded their punishing defense that tied FEU for the fewest goals surrendered (seven all tournament long). “Maganda yung partnership namin,” explained the latter of the dynamics of the staff. “Two coaches pero one mind. Not a problem.”
And the opposition seemed that way as well as UP topped the first round with 4 wins and 1 draw for 13 points. But come the second round, their overconfidence got the better of them. They won only one match, lost another and drew three other games.
The Maroons’ power failure allowed FEU to leapfrog past them on the final playing day of the eliminations to secure the twice to beat advantage by virtue of goals for difference.
As the Tamaraws thoroughly dismantled UE 3-0 for the number one seed, the Maroons watched from the sidelines. After fulltime, they approached Muescan and Gonzales and collectively said not too worry. It wasn’t misplaced faith but a renewed sense of purpose to get the job done. “Maybe it was better this way,” the team theorized as a whole. It was a better challenge.
In Game One of the Men’s Football Finals, they forced FEU to play one-one-one as they are wont to play on occasion. As dangerous was the Tamaraws’ top striker Jovanie Simpron was, his penchant for solo runs rendered his other teammates non-factors.
The Tamaraws were blessed with dangerous scorers in Glester Sobremisana, Kristian Macaspac, and Raymund Buensuceso. The Maroons shut down FEU’s short game and even if Simpron’s virtuoso strike leveled the match after UP’s Allen Serna drew first blood courtesy off a header from a corner kick, they stepped up the pressure.
By putting FEU on the defensive, they forced a corner of their own and when Steve Permanes’ shot found the middle, the ball hit a Tamaraw defender for an own goal that allowed UP to steal the game and send it to a winner-take-all match for Game Two.
The Tamaraws who were the defending champions know a thing or two about coming back from a Game One loss. In the previous year, Ateneo trumped them 2-nil to force a deciding game. But they came out strong and imposed their will on the pitch and in ball possession.
Against UP, the Tamaraws came out strong for Game Two and forced UP out of its patterns. FEU had learned their lesson and gotten its other key players involved in the offense.
Fortunately for UP, their defense held even if FEU’s shots were bouncing off the crossbar and the side posts.
In the second half, the coaching staff adjusted their strike patterns and now had their own opportunities. But FEU’s defense was prepared as they marked striker Andoni Santos well.
Gonzales constantly harped his team to keep up the pressure on the defense and hopefully, they’d find a hole for a quick strike.
And that is just what happened. After a cross to the outside of the FEU box, the ball skirted through two Tamaraw defenders who were both unable to clear it. Santos whose speed of thought and mental fortitude had allowed him to punish napping defenses through the years pounced on their mistake. A quick turn and bang. That one goal was enough to end FEU’s brief dominance and return the title back to Diliman.
.
As the team celebrated, the coaching staff basked in the congratulations from the sizeable UP alumni that had trooped to the Ateneo football field. Muescan grinned but restrained himself from being overly giddy. “Medyo shock pa tayo,” he smiled. “Para bang hindi ako makapaniwala na nanalo. Ganito pala ‘to.”
Over 600 alumni and former varsity players trooped to a supporter’s house in nearby La Vista to celebrate that evening. They partied, drank, and ate some.
This time, the coach who had idolized Italian World Cup veteran Paolo Rossi in his childhood, the coach who prepared his best kilawin and sinigang that broke the ice at the start of training camp, didn’t have to put on his chef’s hat.
It was his turn to get served.
