New coach wants Azkals to play attractive game

MANILA, Philippines – A new era in Philippine Football has kicked off when former US team captain Thomas Dooley was formally introduced as the new head coach of the Philippine Azkals on Friday succeeding German Michael Weiss.

Dooley, a German-American who was inducted to the USA Football Hall of Fame in 2010, has been given a one-year contract according to PFF president Mariano "Nonong" Araneta with a goal of winning two major tournaments - the AFC Challenge Cup in May and the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup. He will bring with him his glowing credentials as a player and a UEFA Pro License, the highest attainable license to coach a national team.

Dooley won crowns in all three divisions of Bundesliga including a UEFA Cup while playing for FC Shalke 04 in 1997. In 1993, he was the consensus US Soccer Athlete of the Year that led to his stint with the US men’s soccer team for the 1994 World Cup before returning to skipper the team in the 1998 edition.  While his playing resume is impressive, his coaching experience is bereft of the accolades.

The 52-year old defender started his coaching career on a low note with Saarbrucken finishing dead last in the Bundesliga’s second division. After his forgettable head coaching debut that he said got little support from the management, Dooley put up his own Soccer University named after him while assisting Jurgen Klinsman with the US men’s team and Tab Ramos with the U-20 team.  

Dooley plans to employ a 4-2-3-1 formation that will play an attacking style without undermining the defense.

“I love to play the game of soccer (football). I want to let the players play a game that the fans will be excited to watch. I would like to play nice, attractive and offensive-minded with quick combinations and safe passing and all that stuff,” Dooley told reporters during the press conference held at the PFF headquarters in Pasig City.

Dooley stressed that the players have to be technically good without forgetting the basics. He wants the Azkals to emulate the best teams in the world like Barcelona and Arsenal.     

“They play simple soccer. But you have to be technically good. Sometimes, the players make it too difficult. Sometimes, when they shift the ball, they want to be outstanding. You’d be outstanding when you don’t lose the ball. That’s how simple it is,” Dooley explained.

In essence, Dooley wants to correct the long balls that characterized the Azkals’ play under Weiss.

Dooley’s first test will be against Malaysia on March 1 followed by Azerbaijan four days later in a match where he can size up the Fil-foreigners play with the local-based national players for the first time.

Azkals’ team manager Dan Palami also added that friendlies against two Qatar professional clubs are in order. He also added that a camp in first or second week of May will be the final phase of their preparation for the AFC Challenge Cup set to kick off in May 19 at Maldives.