Krautzun advises Azkals to be modest

MANILA, Philippines - German football guru Eckhard Krautzun has sage advice for the Azkals – be modest, work hard and play as a team. 

“They’ve got to set a good example, on and off the field,” said the 70-year-old Krautzun who has coached the national teams of Canada, Tunisia, Kenya and the Philippines. “They’ve done an excellent job of creating interest in football but we’re still waiting for good results. Some of the players think they’re superstars but in Europe, they sit on the bench of Division III clubs. They must show good behavior. They must be humble. I think there are players with a lot of promise but the Azkals still have a long way to go before becoming competitive in the Asian Cup.”

Krautzun was recently in the country for seven weeks to evaluate the state of football. He visited Davao, Cebu, Iloilo and Bacolod to assess players, facilities and equipment and met with Philippine Football Federation (PFF) officials to discuss short, medium and long-term goals. Krautzun also flew to Indonesia to watch the Philippines under-23 squad play in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. 

Based on Krautzun’s findings, the German Football Association and the German government may assign a technical director to oversee the development of the sport here. Krautzun said he is in close contact with Azkals coach Michael Weiss in determining the direction for Philippine football.

“Michael has done a good job,” said Krautzun. “I know he’s been under some criticism but you learn to live with criticism. If all you hear are praises, you don’t improve. Give Michael time. When you lose, there are no excuses. You can only analyze what went wrong so you don’t make the same mistakes. In the SEA Games, we played against a Vietnam under-19 team that practiced for at least three months. Some of our players arrived just in time for the games. How can we expect them to perform after a long flight from Europe? There must be good chemistry between the Filipino players and those coming from overseas. That can only happen if they play together continuously.”

Krautzun said with Nonong Araneta at the PFF helm, he knows the way is clear for the sport to progress. “He’s very eager, a professional and hard-working,” said Krautzun. “He understands what has to be done and must get the support of his Board. The Philippines needs better facilities. In some schools, there are no balls. In Davao, there is only one field and no stadium. I think ideally, every big city must have a football stadium.”

Krautzun said providing the bare essentials is a priority.   “I’ve seen kids playing with tin cans instead of balls,” he continued. “In 1947, the situation was similar in Germany after the war and when we couldn’t play with a ball, we kicked around a pig’s bladder for a game. In China, there are about 80 million kids in the 8 to 12 age bracket and I recently spent a few months there scouting for players who are 13 to 15. Player identification is critical and once the players are identified, we must know how to develop them. That means we need to train teachers in elementary schools, educators who must have a working knowledge of technique and skills.”

Krautzun said Germany has enjoyed a long relationship with the Philippines in terms of supporting football development, dating back to the days of coaches Bernard Zgol, Dettmar Kramer and Bernd Fischer. It is this relationship that Krautzun said he hopes to re-establish with a new order for Philippine football.

“I’ve been married to football half my life, coaching in countries all over the world, including China and Korea,” said Krautzun. “That’s why I never married. It wouldn’t be fair to my wife. Through the years, my greatest achievement was taking the Philippines to the SEA Games semifinals in 1991. That achievement was even written up in Der Spiegel. The German government supplied our team with jerseys, balls and shoes. Luckily, a German named Mr. Lambe, who was with IRRI, hosted us to train in Los Baños for about three months. I remember our players had to carry the goalposts on their shoulders for two kilometers to put them up on a field. At first, we only had provisions for rice and some vegetables. A Chinese businessman later gave us cereal, meat and more food. We played with a rare team spirit. Our players were intelligent, quick and agile. Before football, some of them would play chess. It was an inspiring story of a team that came from nowhere to finish in the semifinals.”

In 1991, the Philippines tied Vietnam, 2-2, and shocked Malaysia, 1-0, to enter the SEA Games football semifinals. In the battle for third, Singapore beat the Philippines, 2-0. The players on Krautzun’s squad included Elmer Bedia, Norman Fegidero, Rudy del Rosario, Roy Pinero, Marlon Maro, Judy Saluria and goalie Melo Sabacan. 

“To be competitive in Asia, the Philippines must gain more international experience,” said Krautzun. “Players must play 25 to 40 games a year. There’s no specific age for players, you can be 18 or 36, the measure is whether you’re good or not. Because Filipinos are small and quick, they’ve got to play on the ground, not in the air.  For the future, grassroots development is necessary to introduce the basics of shooting, heading, defending, control and passing to kids in school. The PFF must set up regional offices with a technical staff and a communicator to form a network. Preparing for the 2013 SEA Games must start now since 80 percent of our players today will still be eligible for the under-23 team. Perhaps, if a development program is put in place today, in 10 to 20 years, the Philippines will be competitive in the Asian Cup.”