Coach Weiss not worried by Azkals’ circuitous trips

by Cedelf P. Tupas

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine football team coach Michael Weiss allayed fears on Sunday that the long trips in Germany and the travel from Frankfurt to Colombo would take a toll on the Azkals when they face Sri Lanka for their World Cup first-round qualifying clash on Wednesday.

“The team is tired, but this is normal,” Weiss said in an e-mail to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
“But we will be in good shape on Wednesday,” assured the German coach.

Azkals coach confident of winning

by Francis Santiago

MANILA, Philippines — German coach Michael Weiss said he feels more excited than pressured despite his unenviable task of making sure the Philippine football team will do well in the qualifying tournament for the 2014 World Cup.

It will be his biggest assignment since taking the coaching helm of the national football team four months ago, but Weiss said he thrives under pressure.

”There’s no pressure,” he said, though admitting that the qualifying tourney, where they will meet Sri Lanka in the first round on June 29 in Colombo, is very significant for the country.

Much has changed since the Philippines last took part in the World Cup qualifier in 2001.

The stands were empty when the Azkals hosted a qualifying match against Laos (1-1) at the 10,000-seater Philsports Arena in Pasig.

Ten years after, things are going to be different given the tremendous popularity and expectation from the Azkals.

Proof is that game tickets to their home match against Sri Lanka at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum on July 3 were sold out in two hours.

”Everybody is excited about this, and I know what this tournament means for the Philippines.” Weiss said. “Football is only starting to get recognized so we need every win to keep it.”

The Azkals are set to leave for Germany on Sunday for a couple of tune up matches for their first-round match against Sri Lanka on June 29.

“We can expect to win but we should not underestimate them,” said Weiss, adding that Sri Lanka is not taking the game lightly and is going to South Korea for a couple of tune up matches.

Considering that the Azkals have never played Sri Lanka before, Weiss said they don’t plan to be too aggressive and will just counter whatever their South Asian rivals bring to the table.

“But we have to have cohesion first. That will be the main focus in Germany: cohesion, tactical, technical training,” Weiss said. Source

Azkals coach: German camp a good respite from Manila’s distractions

by Cedelf F. Tupas

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine football team coach Michael Weiss is looking forward to putting the Azkals in a tighter leash when they undergo a two-week camp in Germany starting Monday.

“We will not put them into prison, but we will have control over them,” Weiss said Tuesday night before leaving for Germany to make the necessary preparations for the camp in Duren, a city near the Dutch border three hours away from Frankfurt.

“We need to control if we want to

Philippine football team arrives in Cebu; with Neil

by Cheska D. Geli

THE Philippine National Football Team arrived yesterday morning for their Cebu visit where they are set to have a series of team- building activities, and trainings.

Head Coach Hans Michael Weiss led the team together with the coaching staff and players, who just came from Iloilo after they played a practice game and drew with a Korean-led Central Philippines University squad, 1-1.


Among the players who arrived yesterday were team captain Aly Borromeo, Ian Araneta, Chieffy Caligdong, Ed Sacapaño and Cebuano Paolo Pascual. Some of the new recruits also came with the team.

WEISS STILL NEED TIME TO FINALISE SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS

MANILA (23 May 2011) – Philippines national chief coach Michael Weiss still need time before deciding on his line-up for the Philippines national side which is to play in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers against Sri Lanka next month.
“We are still evaluating the new players trying out, although I haven’t seen spectacular stuff,” said the 44-year-old after a training session at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium. “I cannot single out anyone so far.”
Among those who are hoping to win their spot in the squad are Filipino-British Chad Gould, Fil-Aussie Leigh Gunn, Fil-Ams James Rochilitz and Nathaniel Burkey.

Weiss needs more time to finalize team

by Bong Pedralvez

After supervising the last eight days of the Azkals’ training camp-cum-tryouts, national coach Michael Weiss is not yet ready to sift the wheat from the chaff.

"We are still evaluating the new players trying out, although I haven’t seen spectacular stuff," the 44-year-old mentor said after practice at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium that lasted until early evening last Wednesday. "I cannot single out anyone so far."

Weiss rues Azkals lack of focus

by Olmin Leyba

MANILA, Philippines - Coach Michael Weiss longs for the day when he can put the Azkals on a tighter leash and make them 100 percent focused on training for their Fifa World Cup Asian Qualifier match with Sri Lanka in June and July.


Weiss, who supervised the Azkals’ first day of training at the Rizal Memorial pitch, lamented how tired most of the players are due to a number of things, from commitments to clubs and other ongoing competitions, to other non-football stuff.


“We need to get the players in, we need to get better organized. We need especially the help of the clubs because there are too many matches now, so the players are distracted and exhausted because there’s no time for relaxment (relaxation),” Weiss said.