While the Philippines Football Federation (PFF) searches for young homegrown talent to develop for future competitions, its officials admit there is a need to reinforce the current seniors squad with players who grew up playing the foreign brand of football.
Azkals team manager Dan Palami and other officials are scheduled to conduct tryouts in England and the US and hold a training camp in Dubai, noting that the Philippines is years behind the Europeans and other football-mad nations.
“It’s this realization that requires us to look for Filipinos outside the country who have better training,” said Palami.
“I’m sure given the time and popularity the sport is having [here], there will come a time when our dependence on foreign-based Filipinos will be lessened. But at this point, we have no choice but to look for players outside the Philippines to augment our bench,” he added.
The Filipino-foreign recruits have also helped boost the Azkals off the pitch, drawing thousands, if not millions, of admirers.
And so female fans here were hugely disappointed when the team planed in for a two-day visit over the weekend without three of the most popular Azkals—brothers James and Phil Younghusband and Neil Etheridge.
The only Filipino-foreigner who came along was William Guerridon who was adopted by a family in Germany when he was five years old. The team is in Ormoc to grace the National Football Invitational Tournament, one of the events of the Terry Larrazabal Bike Festival.
Angie, one of the autograph-seeking teens waiting for the squad, said she is happy the players took time to visit their fans here but quickly added it would have been better if the other Filipino-foreigners joined the trip.
Asked about talks that suggest the squad wouldn’t have risen to fame if not for the Filipino-foreigners, Palami explained that football is a team sport and should be considered as such and that he believes the sport is bigger than any other nationality and goes beyond personality.
He noted that the Younghusbands have been with the team for years now but it was the semifinal run in the Asean Football Federation Cup that shot them to stardom.
“I would like to think that it is more the success of the team rather than the looks of individuals that make the team acceptable to the masses,” Palami said.
“Of course, we couldn’t discount good looks and good skills will always get a better number of fans. But I think there are a lot of fans who are actually educated in football already and their admiration for the team goes beyond a single person. That’s the more important thing,” he added.
Palami added that Phil Younghusband didn’t play in Myanmar.
“It’s not that he’s not important, but (my point is) the guys play as a team and that’s what it’s giving them success,” he explains.
He noted there are homegrown key players like Ian Araneta, who scored the first goal in Bangladesh and Yanti Barsales who hit a goal in Myanmar, among others.
Palami admits there are fans who know only stars and celebrities but noted they are those who are not really into the game but there are those who appreciate other aspects of the game and members of the team including the coaching and support staff.
He also concedes it will take a while for Filipinos in general to develop the love for football rather than the individual players.
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