MANILA (6 Feb 2011) – The Philippines have targeted the bronze medal at the SEA Games in Indonesia at the end of the year and a quarter-final finish at the AFC Challenge Cup which begins this month.
They will open their qualifying campaign in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup on 9 February against Mongolia at the Panaad Stadium.
“I’ll work with two teams – the other is the under-23 side for the SEA Games in Indonesia this year. I hope we’ll be competitive and I’m told if we get even a bronze, it’ll be a big accomplishment,” said Fili chief coach Michael Weiss.
“We’ll go as far as we can in the Challenge Cup. I think we should be able to beat Mongolia and perhaps, finish in the best eight. I’m not sure about the World Cup qualifiers because that may be too soon.”
Weiss said the important thing is players on the national team respect each other for what they bring to the field.
“The idea is to get everyone to play together as a unit,” added Weiss.
“We’ve got players coming from overseas with different backgrounds. They’re welcome to join. We’re opening the doors to players who can contribute. We’re a heterogeneous group but we’re learning to play as a team. We’re discovering new players like William Espinosa who’s from the local leagues. We want the best players who will be proud to represent the country.”
However Weiss, 45, said he’s not inclined to recruit a naturalized player like Christian Gonzales, a Uruguayan who plays for Indonesia.
“I don’t think it will work to bring a foreigner into the national team. Chemistry is critical and I’m not sure if there will be good chemistry if a foreigner comes to play for the national team.”
In the meantime, an additional 300 lux was installed for the match at the Panaad Stadium, bringing it up to 800 lux.
“We’re 60% to 70% ready,” said Weiss. “We still need some fine-tuning. We’re getting used to playing together, getting comfortable with each other and the stiff pitch. Success won’t come overnight. It takes a plan, a strategy, patience, money, support, hard work and many tears before we can move ahead. I’ve been in the country only three weeks and I like it. My goal is to take the team to top form for the 2012 Suzuki Cup.
“Right now, I think we could be at the top of South Asia,” he said. “We’ll test our team against Middle East countries like Kuwait, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates and see how we do against them in the coming months. Then, we’ll find out where we stand against other Asian countries. What the team needs is a clear tactical plan and an organizational set-up.
“It won’t do running in counters which is suicide football. The players are technically very good with a good understanding of the game. We have speed and I want to develop fast passes, big movements and switching positions to surprise opponents. I want an attacking team with a lot of speed. Our players are just getting used to practicing twice a day when before, it was twice a week which won’t get you very far.
“If the Philippines ever hope to be like Japan or Korea or even Bahrain, it will take a lot of time and effort. It will take putting up big football centers, maybe in six or seven years. But we’ve got to make the big first step now.”
