Etheridge’s goal in between posts
By Cedelf P. Tupas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:25:00 05/13/2008
ILOILO CITY—As his teammate blasts a safety, long-range rocket goalwards, Neil Etheridge makes one quick lunge to his left, grips the ball with one hand and, with authority, unleashes a wicked right-footed punt that covers three-fourths of the pitch, past the midfielders, and landing nicely in front of their striker.
On the sidelines, the move gets a gesture of approval from a member of the coaching staff.
Goalkeeping—long considered as football’s most unglamorous position—in the Philippines has a new face in the 18-year-old Etheridge, a tall, muscular young man from Enfield, London, who traces his roots in Tarlac province.
“Hopefully, my arrival here as a goalkeeper will inspire others to become better in that position,” the 6-foot-3 Etheridge, a former England Under-16 international, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net).
Switch to another country
Players with dual citizenships who have played for one National team in their youth can switch to another country at senior level. And Etheridge has forfeited the chance of representing the global football powerhouse in the future by playing for the Philippines.
“It wasn’t the easiest decision to come to but I made it as I wanted to represent the country,” said Etheridge, whose mother, Melissa Dula, is from Tarlac. “My mother is the eldest of 13 children and her side of the family lives in the Philippines. They will come to watch me play,”
Like many other young players, Etheridge, who took up the sport when he was 9, didn’t always want to be a goalkeeper. Instead, he was on the opposite side of the pitch, creating problems to defenders and scoring goals as a striker.
Special and unique position
But when his youth coach asked him to switch positions, he obliged, knowing that “being a goalkeeper is a special and unique position.”
“Almost everyone wants to be outfield players,” he said. “But people need to understand that if a team doesn’t have a goalkeeper, it can’t play.
“Goalkeepers do a lot of things that people don’t see. They talk to the defenders. And of course, aside from making saves, we also have to play football. The back four (defenders) work with goalkeepers, passing the ball around the back to make plays and they also get involved in the strategy on attack. So, I hope people will take notice of that when I play.”
Etheridge, a reserve for English Premiere League side Fulham FC, will make his international debut on Tuesday when the Filipinos meet Brunei in the opener of the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup Qualifiers.
Etheridge, who recently inked a fresh one-year deal with Fulham, joined the London-based club when he was 15. Prior to that, he was also part of the Chelsea youth academy, along with Filipino internationals Phil and James Younghusband.
It was actually Phil who invited Etheridge to join the Philippine squad.
“Phil (Younghusband) convinced me to go and told me that I would enjoy the experience,” said Etheridge, who counts playing basketball as one of his pastimes.
Acknowledging that football isn’t the most popular in the Philippines, Etheridge—who had the best defensive record in the youth league last season—is bent on making a difference.
“I would like to help raise the profile of football in the Philippines as it’s not a massive hifootballing nation, and we can help generate more interest not only among the fans but for the future development of players,” he added.
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