Azkals lose to Division 2 squad in Germany

MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippine Azkals got a rude awakening on Wednesday when they faced a Division 2 squad in Germany.
The Azkals suffered a humbling defeat at the hands of FC Ingolstadt, 4-0.
The German club, which finished in 14th place in Germany's 2nd division football tournament, raced off to a 3-0 halftime lead and never allowed the Azkals to get into a groove.
The Philippine football team will play one last game in Germany, this time against 3rd Division squad Darmstadt 98 on Friday. They will fly off to Colombo, Sri Lanka on Sunday for the 1st leg of their FIFA World Cup group qualifier. Source

Azkals face tougher foes in last 2 matches in Germany

by Earl Victor Rosero
The men’s national football team, popularly known as the Azkals, will pit their skills and game strategy against those of FC Ingolstadt 04, a second division Bundesliga football club on June 23 at around 12am Manila time.

"The tune-up games in Germany will help them bond and learn about each teammate's game so they can complement each other and work better together," Stephen Permanes said to GMA News Online via Facebook interview.

Permanes is a member of the Philippines' under-23 national team training pool. As midfielder for the University of the Philippines' football team, he was named the UAAP Season 73 most valuable player.

FC Ingolstadt announced on its website the test match against the Azkals. That fixture was supposed to have taken place two days prior but was reset, allowing the Philippine team two extra days to rest and train further for the friendly.

Members of the Philippine Azkals take a break from their training to tour Amsterdam. Ace Bright

Azkals post 2nd tune-up win in Germany, 4-1 vs teen-age team

by Earl Victor Rosero
The Philippines men's national football team, popularly known as the Azkals, notched a second win in their two-week training camp in Germany. Saturday's early morning test match ended 4-1 against the SC Bonner Under-19 team.

Scoring one goal each for the Azkals were Ian Araneta, Phil Younghusband, Chieffy Caligdong, and Stephan Shrock. "Great game today," Caligdong said in a tweet to fans.

Elated, team manager Dan Palami thanked (through Twitter) the Filipino community in Germany "for the overwhelming support shown when they came in droves to cheer for the Azkals! Salamat po!"

Philippines' Azkals vs SC Bonner Under-19 in a test match in Germany. Rowena Abales Chien

The Azkals. Rowena Abales Chien

Tonight, the Azkals have some down time. They split into three teams for a competition on who sings best the Lupang Hinirang, the Philippine national anthem. For incentive, Palami put up a prize pot of 1,500 euros.

For their third test match, the Azkals will face Ingolstadt I, a Bundesliga 2nd division team, in Gerolfingen, Bavaria in southern Germany Monday evening (Manila time.)

6 Germany-based PH Azkals begin training with team

SIX Germany-based Filipino players, led by prized find Stephan Schrock, have started training with the Philippine Azkals, who are currently in Duren, Germany for a series of tune-up matches against German football clubs as part of their preparation for the 2014 World Cup Qualifying matches against Sri Lanka.

Already recovered from his injury, the 25-year-old Schrock has started scrimmaging with the Azkals, who will play their first tune-up game against Juni Association, a team based in Duren on June 15, Wednesday.
Coach Hans Michael Michael Weiss said Schrock’s presence will be a big boost to the Azkals.
“He is a fantastic player,” said Weiss of Schrock,

Azkals’ training in Germany going well

by Cedelf F. Tupas

MANILA, Philippines — Except for the sudden departure of newcomer Paul Mulders due to the death of his father, the Philippine football team’s training camp in  Germany has been smooth sailing so far.

“We are just on our second day, but things are looking up,” team manager Dan Palami told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in an overseas call.

“The team is really focused, the guys are getting time to really interact with each other on and off the pitch, which is important to the cohesion that we want to achieve

Azkals won’t call off trip

by Francis Santiago

MANILA, Philippines — Team manager Dan Palami said several measures are in place to ensure the Philippine football team will be protected from the E. Coli outbreak plaguing Germany.

The Philippine Azkals are set to leave for Duren tomorrow for a two-week training camp serving as the final phase of their preparation for their FIFA World Cup qualifying first round match against Sri Lanka on June 29.

Reports said death toll from the bacteria outbreak, which was traced to Hamburg area in northern Germany, has climbed 30 and affected 2,900 people in 12 countries.

Germany's E. Coli no threat to Azkals

by Olmin Leyba

MANILA, Philippines - A major earthquake in Japan the last time they trained abroad didn’t break the Philippine Azkals’ spirit. An E. Coli outbreak in Germany won’t either.
The Azkals leave for Germany early Sunday, confident they would meet their training goals and undaunted by the bacterial outbreak that has affected Germany and other parts of Europe.
“Magandang preparation ito para sa amin; magkakaroon kami ng four matches doon, sabi ni coach (Micheal) Weiss. Sigurado ako na matinding bugbugan at training ito (This will be a good preparation for us. We’ll play four matches in Germany and I’m sure this will be a tough stint),” said Ian Araneta.

Germans boost PFF grassroots program

by Cedelf P. Tupas

MANILA—The Philippine Football Federation will embark on a long-term grassroots program with the goal of reaching the Under-17 Fifa World Cup in 2018.
PFF president Nonong Araneta told the Inquirer that the German Football Association (DFB) has agreed to help the PFF map out a feasible program to develop young players.
Araneta met with DFB officials last week in Frankfurt after attending the Fifa Congress in Zurich, Switzerland.
The PFF chief said the DFB will be sending a representative to the country late this month to make an assessment of the PFF’s programs.
“We can’t just say that we want to improve our grassroots program,” said Araneta. “We need to have a specific goal, and that is to make the Under-17 World Cup.”
Araneta said the target of the program will be 7- and 8-year-old players who will be eligible by the time the country joins the qualifying stage of the Under-17 World Cup.
Part of the plan is to come up with elite football centers for young players.
Araneta is optimistic the partnership with the Germans will yield results, pointing out that the DFB also embarked on a program in 2002 to produce a successful national team transition.
The players in that program, like Mesut Ozil, were instrumental in helping Germany reach the semifinal of the 2010 World Cup.
Araneta’s optimism is also spurred by the case of Southeast Asian minnows Timor Leste, whose Under-17 team is now making strides in Asia. It lost to powerhouse Japan by a mere 0-1 score. Source

PH Azkals to play German teams

by Peter Atencio

THE Philippine Azkals national football team will play a series of tune-up games against second division teams in the Bundesliga league in Germany.

Philippine Football Federation president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta Jr. said coach Hans Michael Weiss has already made arrangements with the German Football Association that will have the Azkals playing a series of friendly games against five German club teams.
“As far as the team is concerned, they are ready. And they will be more ready after they play a series of tuneup games against teams in the Bundesliga,” said Araneta.
The PFF chief made an ocular inspection of the Rizal Football Stadium early this week, accompanied by Commissioner Chito Loyzaga of the Philippine Sports Commission.
The Azkals began practicing at the pitch of the Alabang Country Club, and will resume practice at the newly refurbished Rizal Memorial pitch by Monday.
Afterwards, the Azkals will fly to Iloilo and Cebu for more tune-up games until the last week of May.
They then leave for Germany on June 12 for a two-week training camp.
The team meets Sri Lanka in a two-leg qualifying match for the 2014 World Cup at Sri Lanka on June 29, and then at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila on July 3.
Team captains Aly Borromeo and Chieffy Caligdong, Anton del Rosario, Yanti Bersales and the rest of the pool of the men’s team have rejoined the team after conducting a series of tryouts for Fil-American booters in the United States.
Striker Ian Araneta is also expected to return to action after recovering from a groin injury, along with Phil and James Younghusand, who are attending to other commitments.
Filipino-British Azkals goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, who recently signed a contract extension with Fulham Football Club in the English premier league, is also expected to be back with the Azkals.
A total of five aspirants are seeking spots in the team, namely, ex-Azkal booter and Filipino-British Chad Gould, Filipino-Australian Leigh Gunn, Fil-Americans Jose Porteira and Neil Ignacio and 6’4” Fil-Swedish Gustav Sjoberg.
ManilaStandard