FIFA’s Team of the Year
Football’s world governing body, FIFA, ranks member countries according to the number of official international matches they have played. The world ranking was first introduced in 1993 and it determines the positions of national teams on a monthly basis.
The year 2007 ended on a high note for
On second spot is
Following the two South American teams are
The highest ranked Asian team is
It is very lamentable considering the fact that we have all the materials to excell in the sport. School-based tournaments produces top talents but after graduation, then what? There simply are no sponsors to sustain the interest. The sport dies after college ball as there never were organized big-time commercial leagues to begin with and it is disheartening to see talent go stale.
When international tournaments are in the offing, we always make do with quick fixes and load the national team with foreign-born and bred half-Filipinos and promptly declare the team formidable. And where are these hyped-up athletes now? In all fairness, these guys are good but in order to be a cohesive unit, the team must be together for at least six months before entertaining any thoughts of competing. Cohesion means consistency and consistency means victory. Only then can we say that the team is formidable.
Until the powers-that-be of our national football body adopt some kind of a system for long-term development, Philippine football will continue to wallow in the quagmire of mediocrity.
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If beach volleyball is your thing, the M. Lhuillier-sponsored tournament will spike off this morning at Wiggy’s Beach Resort in Liloan. This will serve as the qualifiers for the national tilt at Boracay this coming May. Guys, just don’t go crazy staring at all those legs. These ladies pack a mean wallop. Beware, they might mistake your face for a volleyball.
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