ROY MOORE
The Azkals have released their 21-member squad for the June 1 friendly match with Malaysia. This Friday will see the return of Paul Mulders and a trio of Filipino-Germans: Manny Ott, Roland Müller and Stephan Schröck, the latter of which will make his first appearance since his wonder goal against Kuwait in 2011, a 25-yard strike to the top corner which was voted Kaholeros Goal of the Year.
The Philippine Azkals will face the Malayan Tigers at the Shah Alam Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. It will be the first of three friendly matches during the FIFA-sanctioned international break and will be followed by a game against Indonesia on June 5 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium before a short trip to Bacolod to face Guam at the Panaad Stadium on Independence Day, June 12.
It is a rematch of the February 29 friendly which saw the Azkals dominate but only secure a 1-1 draw as Malaysia equalized in the 91st minute through Shakeer Mohd Ali. He will likely be playing again while his strike partner, Safee Sali, is Malaysia’s star player and only member of the squad not to play in the Malaysian Super League. Instead, the 28-year-old forward, who has 18 goals in 37 appearances for his country, plays for Indonesian club Pelita Jaya. With a strong attacking force Malaysia have scored in every game but only one in their last 14 competitive appearances so we can expect goals as the Philippines take on Malaysia for the second time this year.
A strong Azkals side
The Azkals will still be without captain Aly Borromeo, who is yet to fully recover from his torn ACL. Meanwhile, Chieffy Caligdong is back after his knee injury which will be good news considering the Younghusband brothers—Phil and James—are both unavailable against Malaysia due to a prior commitment. Neil Etheridge will also miss the game against Malaysia as he will serve his one0match suspension after getting sent off in the Azkjals’ 4-3 victory against Palestine in the Challenge Cup’s third place playoff. All three will be back for the game against Indonesia though.
The list of players:
1. Eduard Sacapaño (GK – Philippine Army)
2. Roland Müller (GK – MSV Duisburg)
3. Rob Gier (DEF – Global)
4. Jason Sabio (DEF – Kaya)
5. Juan Luis Guirado (DEF – Global)
6. Roxy Dorlas (DEF – Loyola)
7. Carlie De Murga (DEF – Global)
8. Stephan Schröck (DEF/MID - SpVgg Greuther Fürth)
9. Manny Ott (MID – Ingolstadt II)
10. Misagh Bahadoran (MID – Global)
11. Patrick Reichelt (MID – Global)
12. Marwin Angeles (MID – Global)
13. Lexton Moy (MID – Kaya)
14. Jason De Jong (MID – Dordrecht)
15. Paul Mulders (MID – ADO Den Haag)
16. Jeffrey Christiaens (MID/ATT – Torhout)
17. Chieffy Caligdong (MID/ATT – Philippine Air Force)
18. Angel Guirado (MID/ATT – Global)
19. Ian Araneta (ATT – Philippine Air Force)
20. Denis Wolf (ATT – FC Magdeburg)
21. OJ Clarino (ATT – UST Golden Booters)
Dennis Cagara and Jerry Lucena, who both play at a high level in Europe, will be available for the game against Indonesia on June 5.
Hot and Cold Malaysia
Malaysia will go into the game as slight favorites, however, as they have an incredible home record. Winning eight and drawing one of their last nine home games the Tigers haven’t lost against international opponents in Malaysia for over two years. This is a run that the Azkals will be looking to snap, considering their own form—beating two former Challenge Cup champions and Palestine in their run to third place in Nepal.
Malaysia is a real yes or no team and continues to drift in and out of contention as their away form is abysmal: Malaysia hasn’t beaten a home side for over five years in a competitive match. These up and down performances are largely due to the way the team has been playing a mixture of youngsters with veterans in previous games. With the speculation as to who will join the squad over and the speculation for the starting 11 had begun a debate among fans.
Now both squads have announced their squad in black and white the countdown to Friday begins. Malaysia have named a near full strength squad, clearly taking the game seriously, as 10 of their starting 11 in the 2010 Suzuki Cup Final are listed. The Philippines couldn’t be up against a bigger test in Malaysia and will have to fight to break up the stronghold of Malaysian football.
In addition, an interesting aspect to the game will be that the Shah Alam Stadium has a capacity of 80,000 and it could be the biggest crowd the Azkals have ever played in front of in what will be a very noisy and intimidating environment. Used to smaller crowds in the UFL, which is currently taking a break due to the international schedule, fans are hoping that everyone will come together and kiss and make up to get behind the National Team ahead of these friendly matches. Focus now shifts to football and away from the conflicts over scheduling.
Prelude for the Suzuki Cup
This is also the first time that the Philippines (148) have been ranked higher than Malaysia (153) in the FIFA rankings and the Azkals will be looking to secure their spot in the elite of South East Asian football with a win.
Ahead of the Suzuki Cup later are the friendly matches against both 2010 Finalists will be a good test of how far the Azkals have come. Malaysian Coach K. Rajagopal is clearly thinking ahead and even told ESPN that the friendlies and preparation are “a gradual build-up towards the Suzuki Cup in November.”
Good results in Kuala Lumpur and Manila will signal to the rest of the region that the Azkals are contenders for the Suzuki Cup later this year. With both sides looking to prove a point, this match may not be so friendly after all. — JVP, GMA News
The Azkals have released their 21-member squad for the June 1 friendly match with Malaysia. This Friday will see the return of Paul Mulders and a trio of Filipino-Germans: Manny Ott, Roland Müller and Stephan Schröck, the latter of which will make his first appearance since his wonder goal against Kuwait in 2011, a 25-yard strike to the top corner which was voted Kaholeros Goal of the Year.
The Philippine Azkals will face the Malayan Tigers at the Shah Alam Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. It will be the first of three friendly matches during the FIFA-sanctioned international break and will be followed by a game against Indonesia on June 5 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium before a short trip to Bacolod to face Guam at the Panaad Stadium on Independence Day, June 12.
It is a rematch of the February 29 friendly which saw the Azkals dominate but only secure a 1-1 draw as Malaysia equalized in the 91st minute through Shakeer Mohd Ali. He will likely be playing again while his strike partner, Safee Sali, is Malaysia’s star player and only member of the squad not to play in the Malaysian Super League. Instead, the 28-year-old forward, who has 18 goals in 37 appearances for his country, plays for Indonesian club Pelita Jaya. With a strong attacking force Malaysia have scored in every game but only one in their last 14 competitive appearances so we can expect goals as the Philippines take on Malaysia for the second time this year.
A strong Azkals side
The Azkals will still be without captain Aly Borromeo, who is yet to fully recover from his torn ACL. Meanwhile, Chieffy Caligdong is back after his knee injury which will be good news considering the Younghusband brothers—Phil and James—are both unavailable against Malaysia due to a prior commitment. Neil Etheridge will also miss the game against Malaysia as he will serve his one0match suspension after getting sent off in the Azkjals’ 4-3 victory against Palestine in the Challenge Cup’s third place playoff. All three will be back for the game against Indonesia though.
The list of players:
1. Eduard Sacapaño (GK – Philippine Army)
2. Roland Müller (GK – MSV Duisburg)
3. Rob Gier (DEF – Global)
4. Jason Sabio (DEF – Kaya)
5. Juan Luis Guirado (DEF – Global)
6. Roxy Dorlas (DEF – Loyola)
7. Carlie De Murga (DEF – Global)
8. Stephan Schröck (DEF/MID - SpVgg Greuther Fürth)
9. Manny Ott (MID – Ingolstadt II)
10. Misagh Bahadoran (MID – Global)
11. Patrick Reichelt (MID – Global)
12. Marwin Angeles (MID – Global)
13. Lexton Moy (MID – Kaya)
14. Jason De Jong (MID – Dordrecht)
15. Paul Mulders (MID – ADO Den Haag)
16. Jeffrey Christiaens (MID/ATT – Torhout)
17. Chieffy Caligdong (MID/ATT – Philippine Air Force)
18. Angel Guirado (MID/ATT – Global)
19. Ian Araneta (ATT – Philippine Air Force)
20. Denis Wolf (ATT – FC Magdeburg)
21. OJ Clarino (ATT – UST Golden Booters)
Dennis Cagara and Jerry Lucena, who both play at a high level in Europe, will be available for the game against Indonesia on June 5.
Hot and Cold Malaysia
Malaysia will go into the game as slight favorites, however, as they have an incredible home record. Winning eight and drawing one of their last nine home games the Tigers haven’t lost against international opponents in Malaysia for over two years. This is a run that the Azkals will be looking to snap, considering their own form—beating two former Challenge Cup champions and Palestine in their run to third place in Nepal.
Malaysia is a real yes or no team and continues to drift in and out of contention as their away form is abysmal: Malaysia hasn’t beaten a home side for over five years in a competitive match. These up and down performances are largely due to the way the team has been playing a mixture of youngsters with veterans in previous games. With the speculation as to who will join the squad over and the speculation for the starting 11 had begun a debate among fans.
Now both squads have announced their squad in black and white the countdown to Friday begins. Malaysia have named a near full strength squad, clearly taking the game seriously, as 10 of their starting 11 in the 2010 Suzuki Cup Final are listed. The Philippines couldn’t be up against a bigger test in Malaysia and will have to fight to break up the stronghold of Malaysian football.
In addition, an interesting aspect to the game will be that the Shah Alam Stadium has a capacity of 80,000 and it could be the biggest crowd the Azkals have ever played in front of in what will be a very noisy and intimidating environment. Used to smaller crowds in the UFL, which is currently taking a break due to the international schedule, fans are hoping that everyone will come together and kiss and make up to get behind the National Team ahead of these friendly matches. Focus now shifts to football and away from the conflicts over scheduling.
Prelude for the Suzuki Cup
This is also the first time that the Philippines (148) have been ranked higher than Malaysia (153) in the FIFA rankings and the Azkals will be looking to secure their spot in the elite of South East Asian football with a win.
Ahead of the Suzuki Cup later are the friendly matches against both 2010 Finalists will be a good test of how far the Azkals have come. Malaysian Coach K. Rajagopal is clearly thinking ahead and even told ESPN that the friendlies and preparation are “a gradual build-up towards the Suzuki Cup in November.”
Good results in Kuala Lumpur and Manila will signal to the rest of the region that the Azkals are contenders for the Suzuki Cup later this year. With both sides looking to prove a point, this match may not be so friendly after all. — JVP, GMA News
