MANILA, Philippines — Pormal nang itinalaga ng Philippine Football Federation (PFF) si Australian Mark Torcaso upang maging head coach ng women’s national football team o mas kilala sa tawag na Filipinas.
Ito ang hahalili sa iniwang puwesto ni dating Filipinas head coach Alen Stajcic na nagpasyang lumipat sa Perth Glory na naglalaro sa A-League men’s division.
Si Torcaso ang reigning A-League Women Coach of the Year na head coach ng Western United FC sa Melbourne.
Mainit na tinanggap ng PFF si Torcaso na inaasahang magtutuloy sa magandang nasimulan ni Stajcic.
“The Philippine Football Federation is delighted to announce the appointment of Australian coach Mark Torcaso as head coach of the Philippine Women’s National Team,” ayon sa statement ng PFF.
Nakipagkita na si Torcaso kina PFF president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta, general secretary Edwin Gastanes at team manager Jefferson Cheng sa Sydney para maipormalisa ang lahat.
Kasama ni Torcaso sina Sinisha Cohadzic at Andrew Durante bilang assistant coaches.
“Watching the development of the team over the last couple of years has been amazing, from the AFF Championship to the World Cup, and I feel honored to be able to try to continue this growth,” ani Torcaso.
Excited na si Torcaso na simulan ang bagong hamon sa kanyang coaching career.
Galing ang Filipinas sa matagumpay na kampanya sa katatapos na FIFA Women’s World Cup na ginanap sa New Zealand at Australia.
Naitarak ng Pilipinas ang unang panalo nito sa World Cup matapos pataubin ang New Zealand sa iskor na 1-0.