Face Off 2

4.27.14. Mark this date as another milestone in Cebu Football history. For the third year in a row, Cebu hosts yet another international football game. We had Face Off 1 (Azkals versus Singapore in 2012, then group play of the AFC President’s Cup last year. All these were played at the Cebu City Sports Center with the Cebu Football Association (CFA) taking the lead in getting things done.

The funny thing is that everytime this happens, we always wonder how we do it. Or better yet, how Cebu managed to get it off. The final approval to host the game came in early April. With Holy Week thrown in somewhere in between, Cebu had barely three (or was it two?) weeks to set up the game. Then a simple given. Whether or not we admit it, Cebu doesn’t have until now a world-class venue for games of this magnitude. A stadium that we can call our own and can proudly show off to the world. Make no mistake about it, the Cebu City Sports Center will suffice for the game, but we just can’t go on fixing it up only once year now, can we? But we’ll save all that talk for another time.

For now, it’s Face Off 2: Azkals versus Malaysia at 7:00 tonight.

Football and sports fans alike have no reason to miss the biggest international football event of the year for Cebu. It’s the second match between both countries which has an agreement to do a home and away series of friendlies. They played to a scoreless draw last March in Coach Thomas Dooley’s debut as head coach of the Azkals. Someone at yesterday’s presscon said that the past four matches between both teams have ended in draws. Will Game 5 serve as a rubbermatch of sorts even if it’s only a friendly game?             

Malaysia has come in full force with head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee leading the delegation that arrived on Friday. On the other side is Dooley with yet another mix of players who are all fighting for slots on the team that will see action at the AFC Challenge Cup later in the year. When asked by a Malaysian journalist if the team still had players from the 0-0 draw last March, Dooley didn’t have a ready answer. Ever since that game, the Azkals played Azerbaijan, Al Ahli and Nepal using a different set of players for practically every game. My guess is that this is part of Dooley’s way of getting to know all his prospects better and to also ensure that he can bring in the best possible team at any given time, based on the availability of players.

It’s interesting to note that for tonight’s match, majority of the players present are all locally-based. Only two are here from Europe. I hope this also means that our players in the UFL are getting to be more competitive through the years. Who are here? Patrick Deyto (Green Archers United FC), Eduard Sacapano (Philippine Army-GTI FC), Simone Rota (Stallion FC), Amani Aguinaldo (Global FC), Charles Pettys (Global FC), Anton Del Rosario (Kaya FC), Daisuke Sato (Global FC), Chris Greatwich (Kaya FC), Simon Greatwich (Loyola Meralco Sparks FC), Jason De Jong (Global FC), Ruben Doctora Jr. (Stallion FC), Curt Dizon (Global FC), Jose Porteria (Kaya FC), James Younghusband (Loyola Meralco Sparks FC), Nathaniel Burkey (Pachanga Diliman FC), Joven Bedic (Kaya FC), Roxy Dorlas (Loyola Meralco Sparks FC), Patrick Reichelt (Ceres La Salle FC), Carlos De Murga (Ceres La Salle FC), Kenshiro Daniels (Kaya FC), Jerry Lucena (Esbjerg fB), and Martin Steuble (FC Wil 1990).

As always, team manager Dan Palami is also in town closely monitoring the performance of the Azkals. The “fruits” of this mix-use strategy of Dooley? This has brought out the best in players like Deyto who has been playing well as goalkeeper. This also marks the calling up of other players who are not as popular as the Azkals as many know, but who can also deliver. Balot Doctora, Simone Rota, Joven Bedic and Rozy Dorlas are some of them. Remember Anton del Rosario? He was part of the Azkals that shocked the AFF Suzuki Cup in 2010 when the Azkals qualified for the knockout stage. He somehow faded from the Azkals between then and today and was called up for tonight’s game. He was even named captain for tonight. I haven’t seen an excited del Rosario since those days when he manned the D-Fense beside captain Aly Borromeo.

Friendly it might be, the Azkals are looking to win in Dooley’s first home game as coach of the Azkals. If we are trace the development of Dooley’s brief stint as coach, he has managed to introduce his system to the players, have them play within this system and gain the much-needed exposure from international friendlies and a training camp. After drawing Malaysia, 0-0, the Azkals bowed to Azerbaijan, 0-1, in a game that Dooley said was a good one for the Azkals despite the loss. The team then won over Nepal, 3-0, and drew with Al Ahli, 1-1. Through these games, Dooley has seen the team play well together, commit mistakes, and most importantly get to be comfortable with his program.

We’re hoping that Face Off 2 serves its purpose by providing the Azkals that rare playing time together as they prepare for the AFC Challenge Cup. Winning the game tonight would be great; a bonus for local football.

So what are you waiting for? Go rush to the SM Tickets outlet at the SM City Cebu or Consolacion and score your seats now.

***

Time-out: Join the BEST Center Basketball Clinic sponsored by Milo. May 12-17, 2014 at the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Mango Avenue Campus. For more info, check out the page BEST Center Sports-Cebu in Facebook. >>> You can reach me at [email protected].