WHEN the Sri Lankan and the Azkals take to the pitch of the Sugathadasa Stadium on Thursday afternoon for the first leg of a home-and-away series of the first round of the World Cup Qualifiers for Brazil 2014, both squads could very well say, “At last.”
In their entire footballing lives, neither has participated in a World Cup Qualifiers. Maybe the teams never tried to enter, withdrew their participation or were denied a chance to qualify for the world’s biggest and most prestigious tournament.
The Brave Reds, as the Sri Lankan booters are nicknamed, and ranked No. 169 in by Fifa, are coming off a dismal Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup Qualifiers where they drew one match and handily lost two others.
The Azkals, as the Filipinos who are ranked No. 155 are called, qualified for the next stage of the Challenge Cup as they finished runners-up in their group with a 1-win (a 3-0 thrashing of Sri Lanka’s South Asian neighbor Bangladesh) and two draws (1-1 against nemesis Myanmar and 0-0 against group winner Palestine).
But during the Azkals’ preparation for the Qualifiers in Duren, Germany, they had a topsy-turvy series of friendlies beginning with a 4-3 loss to the United Football League All-Stars of Paranaque that was followed by a pair of 4-1 victories over Aachen-Düren Selection and SC Bonner before limping off with a 4-0 and 5-0 drubbing at the hands of FC Ingolstadt and SV Darmstadt.
The loss to FC Ingoldstadt, a third-division team in the German Bundesliga, included a howler by Azkals ’keeper Neil Etheridge whose “miskick” of a clearance led to a goal.
“Losing is learning,” said the Fulham reserve ’keeper in his Facebook page. That same day on his Twitter account, Etheridge added: “Can’t be afraid to fail. I’m searching for perfection.”
“Our losses are all part of the learning experience,” said Philippine right back Anton del Rosario. “That is why we are here.”
The Sri Lankans haven’t been idle as they have trained in Korea under former South Korean internationalist Jang Jung who, aside from playing in his homeland for Lucky Goldstar Hwangso, also played in the domestic leagues of Malaysia (Perak FA and Singapore M-League Team) and Singapore (Geylang United). Jung has been coaching in Sri Lanka since 2006, first with the U-23 national squad and in 2008 with the senior team.
Jung admitted to the Sri Lanka Daily Star that the team was only formed a few weeks ago due to delayed selection process. Three players were banned by Fifa for their role in a match-fixing incident.
In the Daily Mirror article, Brave Reds captain Rohana Ruwanthilaka said, “Our main target is to perform well in the first leg which will be played on home soil. All of them [his teammates] have gained experience playing international matches and are determined to give a torrid time for the visiting Philippine side.”
However, this is a Philippine side that is unlike no other formed in its history. Bolstered by Filipinos of foreign heritage, the Azkals have turned not only the Philippines into a football-mad country but have put their regional rivals on notice.
The projected starting 11 by German head coach Michael Weiss will feature the back four of Anton del Rosario, Rob Gier, Aly Borromeo and Ray Jonnson; a midfield featuring James Younghusband, Stephan Schrock, who drew raves for his sterling playing during training camp, the vastly improved Manuel Ott and Emelio “Chieffy” Caligdong; and at the forward position is the twin strike force of Phil Younghusband and Angel Guirado, who was a revelation during the Challenge Cup in Myanmar.
Also included in the Azkals’ lineup are Eduard Sacapaño, Jason Sabio, Dennis Cagara, Roel Gener, Nestor Margarse Jr., Paul Mulders, Ricardo Becite, Jerry Lucena, James Rochlitz, Nate Burkey, Ian Araneta and Misagh Bahadoran.
“We have a good team,” said Weiss. “We have to continuously work on our chemistry and our system of play. With every match we play we gain confidence. Hopefully, we can score a couple of goals in Sri Lanka that will help us a lot when we play in Manila.”
The Azkals’ home match against Sri Lanka will be on Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium at 3:30 p.m.
