AZKALS COACH UPSET OVER INSINUATIONS THAT 7 PLAYERS WERE GRANTED CITIZENSHIP
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 23 Jul 2011
Michael Weiss.
Azkals coach Michael Weiss is upset over insinuations in Kuwait that seven players on the Philippine team were granted Philippine citizenship so they could play for the national team.
When asked the question by an Arab reporter, a peeved Weiss answered "Every single player in the Philippines team is either pure Filipino or their father or mother came from the Philippines, so there are no imported players. Whether they grew up in Europe or the Philippines doesn't matter; they are Filipinos. If I compared the players of Qatar for example, I see many black players and I don't know whether they are all pure Qataris. One thing is sure; all of our players can play legally in the Philippine National Team.?
Arab Times staff writer Ben Garcia reported that the Azkals coach was ?clearly irked about the raising of the players nationality issue.?
He quoted Weiss who said "I think we have to deal with the players with respect and in fact I don't want to deal with the subject because it hurts me personally, since my wife is from Japan and we have two kids. I don't want them to be called half-half; they are human beings and they deserve respect as we have. For me, what is important is that they have an absolute right to play with their country's national team."
It is well known in both basketball, football and track and field that some middle east countries import players from different African nations, give them a passport and huge perks and include them in their national teams. One official pointed out some time ago that Kuwait had recruited some fine middle and long distance runners from Kenya.
Emilio 'Chiffy' Caligdong, a known left-winger for the Philippine team, said that the team is no longer worried about the Kuwaiti weather. "We already adjusted to the weather as far as we're concerned," he said, adding, "It was really hot, but we had two practice sessions already and we hope to give our best tomorrow." Asked whether the Philippines team had studied the playing strategies and techniques of the Kuwaiti teams, Caligong responded in the affirmative "Yes we did, we watched their games carefully
many times."
The Kuwaiti and Philippine teams are ready for tonight?s clash in the second round of the 2014 World Cup qualifier match in Kuwait. Kuwait's Al-Azraq and the Philippines' Azkals teams are set to face off in the first leg of the qualifying round, with the second leg to be played in the Philippines on July 28.
ABS-CBN Studio 23 will begin its coverage at 11:30 p.m. in which a pre-game show will set the stage for ?live? coverage of the match at 12:30 a.m.
The Arab News reported that at a press conference held at the Movenpick Hotel yesterday both teams' coaches, Serbian Goran Tufegdzic, the current head coach of Kuwait's national team, and the Philippines team's
head coach Hans Michael Weiss respectively assured fans that their players are ready for the match today, vowing that it will be one of the greatest matches ever.
The match is scheduled to take place at Qadisiya Sports Club in Hawally. A huge crowd of local and Filipino fans is expected to throng the venue. Media Relations Officer and Kuwaiti football fan Talal Al-Mehteb, who presided over yesterday's press briefing, wished his country's national team victory. "We hope for the better match tomorrow and I especially wish our team's victory," he said, adding jokingly, "I'm sorry, but I don't want to wish luck to the Philippine team!
Coach Goran categorically asserted that the Kuwaiti side is more experienced than the Philippines' team. "While I don't really belittle the capabilities of the Philippine team, our team is more ready, since we've had the series of friendly matches in Jordan and Lebanon. However, we'll see the result by tomorrow [today]," Goran added. For the Philippines team, today's match is their biggest ever to date, said Coach Weiss.
Reaching this far is quite an achievement," he stated. "The Philippines have never reached this far but we are now in the second round. From our side everybody is ready now; we have two players that are not allowed to play, but I hope that at the last minute, they'll be able to get the positive nod from FIFA," he said.
However, Dyan Castillejo told us that FIFA has turned down the Philippine request so skipper Ali Borromeo and Stephen Schrock can play tonight but that the team held a meeting then broke up into smaller groups to get their game plan sorted out.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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