Younghusbands out of Azkals lineup, will abide by decision

MANILA, Philippines -  Phil and James Younghusband were left out of the Azkals’ lineup to this week’s Philippine Football Peace Cup at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium as Phl XI management demands players’  “unequivocal commitment” in all activities from here.

In a statement, Azkals management said they require full participation from members of the pool as they “enter a more rigorous phase of preparations” for AFF Suzuki Cup in November, setting a series of training camps abroad and friendlies prior to the ASEAN tourney.

Apparently, the Younghusbands’ commitment to their club and other personal and business concerns would prevent their participation in some of the Azkals’ activities.

“Given this grueling schedule and the demands it will entail from the team, we have asked the players to give their unequivocal commitment to participate fully in the preparations. Having greatly benefited from Suzuki Cup 2010, we expect our players to work harder than ever this year,” management and coaching staff said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, not everyone in the team could assure us of this; a few have already signified their unavailability for some crucial activities leading up to the tournament. While this is admittedly a setback in our plans, we understand that family obligations and club/work commitments sometimes take precedence. The coaching staff will instead make adjustments in the game plan and in the roster of players, starting from the Philippine Football Peace Cup,” it added.

The Azkals will play Guam tomorrow night, Macau on Thursday and Chinese-Taipei on Saturday. Denis Wolf and Ian Araneta will play up front, while Chieffy Caligdong will make the play in the midfield along with, among others, Patrick Reichelt, Jason de Jong, Misagh Bahadoran, Marwin Angeles and Anto Gonzales. New recruits Matthew Uy and Demit Omphroy will join Jason Sabio, Jeff Christiaens and Carli de Murga in defense while Eduard Sacapano and Ref Cuaresma will tend the goal.

 The Younghusbands, in a joint statement posted on the website Interaksyon, said they respected the decision, which they claimed was relayed to them only via text message. 

`“We remain 100 percent committed to the national team. We do not know what transpired, as we have been in constant talks with coach (Michael) Weiss. But we respect whatever decision management has. We will be available for whatever call up,” they said.

They added that they only “wish communication is better amongst player, national team, and club.”