Filipinos in Kuwait catch Azkals fever

source:  abs-cbnnews.com


KUWAIT – Fans of the Philippine Azkals in Kuwait are eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Philippines new sports heroes.

The Azkals, who already left the Philippines for their acclimatization in Bahrain, are scheduled to play against the Kuwait Al-Azraq in Hawalli on July 23.

Filipinos based in Kuwait have also caught the Azkals fever and are now busy printing Azkals t-shirts, badges and banners which will be used in their away game in Kuwait.

“Ginawa namin ito pang-suporta lang actually sa team Azkals. Proud nga tayo dahil makakarating ang Philippine team dito. Kaming grupo gumawa kami ng paraan para suportahan [sila],” said Azkals fan Nelson Lacson.

“Kaya dito, go, go kami sa Azkals. Support the Azkals,” said another Azkals fan, Romano Roman.

The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait is also helping the Filipino community in Kuwait in their efforts to boost the morale of the Philippine Azkals.

“This is one occasion that the Philippine Embassy and the Filipino community here in Kuwait should join forces together in showing their unity in boosting the morale of the Filipino football national team,” said Ambassador Shulan Primavera.

Impressed

The Kuwait Football Association is also preparing for the arrival of the Azkals.

Talal Al-Mehteb, Kuwait Football Association Media Officer, said their local organizing committee has already laid out plans in welcoming the Philippine national team.

Everything is ok, moving smoothly…but we are waiting from the Philippine team to confirm their time of arrival to Kuwait, to prepare the technical meeting, the press conference for them,” he said.

Al-Mehteb said the Kuwait football team was impressed with the Azkals’ 4-0 victory over the Sri Lankan Brave Reds early this month.

Despite its higher ranking, Team Kuwait refuses to underestimate the Azkals.

“Most of them are professionals. It's a big problem for our team,” said Al-Mehteb. “All of our players are non-professionals, but we are all preparing for them now.”

The away game will take place at the Qadsia Club Stadium.

The Kuwait Football Federation prepared security measures as fans are expected to fill up the 25,000-seater football stadium

“But I don't think there will be a problem. Kuwait is a peaceful country and they can enjoy with the Kuwait people,” said Al-Mehteb.

Ticket for the Azkals’ away game against Kuwait are priced at 5 Kuwait Dinars (P765), 3 Kuwait Dinars (P459), and 2 Kuwait Dinars (P306). -- With a report from Maxxy Santiago, ABS-CBN Middle East Bureau 

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Azkals manager mulls lawsuit over 'rape' rumor

source: by Jojo Malig, abs-cbnNEWS.com



MANILA, Philippines - The manager of the Philippine Azkals is considering suing the sources of a rumor claiming that 4 members of the national football team raped a woman.

Dan Palami said he is now consulting lawyers for their next move.

"I've asked the lawyers to check if we'll have sufficient basis for action," he said.

Palami reiterated his stand on the issue.

"All these accusations are baseless," he said.

He added that he has talked to the players accused of involvement in the issue.

"They have a different version to tell. So I said, let's stop this," he added.

Palami said the rumor's source was German Paul Weiler.


He said Weiler "purports to be a PFF (Philippine Football Federation) consultant, and (who has) since then been denied and disclaimed by the PFF. "


"We have to rely on the credibility of the source and I know that the source is not credible," he added.


"(Weiler) has been applying as a consultant dito sa Azkals and I've turned him down repeateadly," Palami said.

A check by abs-cbnNEWS.com on Weiler's background showed that he has been hounded by allegations of fraud and wrongdoing through the years.

Football blogs and website forums dating back to 2006 accused Weiler of making up stories with regard to his official positions in sports organizations.

Weiler has dismissed the allegations against him, calling them "degrading."

Palami, meanwhile, said facts must be established before he decides on his next step.

"I don't want to proceed based on alleged action. Until now, everything is alleged," he said.

Michelle Madrigal seeks support for Azkals


Meanwhile, actress and model Michelle Madrigal has denied insinuations in gossip blogs that she was the girl allegedly raped by the Azkals members.

"Don't believe everything you read online or on the papers," she said in her Twitter account. "It's all rumors and accusations."


"Think first, sa tingin niyo ba kung nangyari talaga yun will be active on Twitter? The boys don't need this right now. Let's pray that they win the game versus Kuwait," Madrigal said, referring to the Philippines' FIFA World Cup second round qualification tie against Kuwait later this month.

Madrigal issued the statement, even as a glamor model whose name was also dragged into the scandal cried foul on Thursday.

The model said she was removed from the roster of a men's magazine show allegedly because of the rape rumor.
She has also secured the services of a lawyer to study her legal options.

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Azkals up lead vs Brave Reds, 4-0; video recap

source: Dennis Gasgonia and Ira Pedrasa, abs-cbnNEWS.com


MANILA, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) – The Philippine Azkals now have a 4-0 lead over the Sri Lankan Brave Reds in the second leg of their FIFA World Cup qualifier at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Azkals winger Chieffy Caligdong scored the first goal at the 18th minute.

He found the back of the net with a strike in the 18th minute that caromed off the left post.

Another goal by Azkals striker Phil Younghusband in the 42nd minute made it 2-0 in favor of the Philippines.
The Filipino-British footballer evaded 2 defenders and the Sri Lankan goal keeper to increase the Azkals' lead.



An assistant match official initially ruled out Younghusband's goal because an alleged foul.

However, the senior referee overruled the sideline official, saying that the Azkals; contact with a Sri Lankan defender was only minimal.

It was Angel Guirado’s turn to score in the second half.

The Filipino-Spaniard scored the country’s third goal in the 50th minute after receiving a through ball from James Younghusband.

Guirado beat the Sri Lankans' offside trap and rounded the goalkeeper to tap the ball in.
Phil scored the fourth goal through a penalty kick in the 56th minute after Stephan Schrock was brought down by a Sri Lankan defender inside the box.

5-1 on aggregate
The Azkals are now ahead, 5-1 on aggregate, over Sri Lanka.

The Philippines launched attacks right at the kick off as the Sri Lankans struggled under the pouring rain.
Guirado and Phil fired long-range shots that troubled the opposing goalkeeper before Caligdong scored the opening goal.

Schrock was physical against the Brave Reds and was slapped a yellow card in the match.
He was also given a yellow card in the first leg, which means that he will be barred from playing in the Azkals' next game.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, is trying to claw back into the match by counterattacking and using the wings.

Azkals team manager Dan Palami earlier said he is confident that his boys will pull off a better performance on their home pitch, which is in better condition compared to Sri Lanka's Sugathadasa Stadium.

Palami said the well-conditioned pitch will help the Azkals in their offense-to-defense switch, which they could not do in Sri Lanka's uneven field.

“We were unable to do that in Sri Lanka because of their uneven field but here we have better chances of pulling that off,” he said.

The Filipinos will take on Kuwait in the second round of the qualifiers if they defeat Sri Lanka.

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Scrappy Azkals to rebound

source: By Olmin Leyba (The Philippine Star)

Manila, Philippines - A scene after the Azkals-Brave Reds match, Chieffy Caligdong dropping to the ground, speaks volumes about the souped-up Philippine men’s football team’s disappointment with its 1-1 draw with Sri Lanka Wednesday night.

“Decent result, scrappy game,” skipper Aly Borromeo posted on Twitter hours after the first leg of their first round encounter in the 2014 Fifa World Cup Asian Qualifiers in Colombo, where they were held to the standoff and worse, lost star striker Phil Younghusband to a hamstring injury.

Like true pros, though, the Azkals will lick their wounds and move on, especially with the second leg to be played in front of some 13,000 supporters at the refurbished Rizal pitch.

“Bawi na lang kami sa Manila...sana di kayo magsawa sa suporta (We’ll bounce back in Manila. Hope you won’t get tired supporting us),” Caligdong twitted.

But the problem is the Azkals may have to make a go at it possibly without the Fil-British Younghusband, who injured his right hamstring anew. It was the same injury that sidelined him in the Azkals’ campaign in the AFC Challenge Cup group stages last March.

“He (Younghusband) will be checked by the doctors and will undergo tests tomorrow (today). We’ll have to wait for what the doctors will recommend,” said Philippine Football Federation president Nonong Araneta.
The PFF boss added it is possible they would not force the issue on Younghusband. “It won’t do us good if we risk it. We need him more if we qualify to the next round against Kuwait,” Araneta said.

Having assembled the best possible team and toughened up by a two-week training in Germany, expectations on the Azkals were high going into their away match.

“We would have wanted a two-goal cushion. But we can’t always get what we want,” team manager Dan Palami said.

Engaged in a rugged battle by the Brave Reds while having to deal with the hard conditions of pitch at Sugathadasa Stadium, the Azkals surrendered the first goal - a Chathura Guranarathna free kick (43rd) from 30 yards that slipped past a gap on the Phl wall and beyond Neil Etheridge’s reach.

It took a crucial header (50th) from Fil-Am Nate Burkey, subbing for the injured Phil Younghusband, who followed up a saved header from James Younghusband off a Caligdong free kick to make it even.

“We could have finished the match in the first half. But we didn’t do it and we got punished. The goal (of Sri Lanka) was unlucky, it was deflected. We continued to play and press for a goal in the second half.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t finish them off,” said coach Michael Weiss.
“We were lucky at the end. It’s a good result for us. We wanted to win but things don’t turn out as planned,” he added.
The German mentor noted that the surface affected their game.

“The conditions on the pitch were difficult. I don’t want to make it an excuse but it was difficult to have a passing game on that pitch. We had to play long balls. It’s not my favorite style of play but we were able to create chances with it,” he said.

But with Rizal’s better pitch and crowd support, the Azkals look to show more bite on Sunday’s 3:30 p.m. second leg.

“It’s going to be different crowd, a different pitch and as long as we learned from this draw, we will be okay. I’m confident that the guys will be able to play the way they should considering the crowd and the pitch,” said Palami.

With a one-goal away cushion, Phl can afford to have a scoreless draw and still advance to the second round against Kuwait. But they want to finish it strong and make history for Phl football.

“We will go for the win and not just the draw,” Palami said.

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