Thomas Dooley. AFP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines-Thomas Dooley, the head coach of the Philippine Azkals, has fired back with a maelstrom against Stephan Schrock who has recently quit the team.
Dooley said in a press conference Thursday in the Philippine Football Federation office in Pasig that the accusations of midfielder Stephan Schrock towards the national team was “unprofessional” and uncalled for.
On Monday, Schrock announced that he was quitting the Philippine team. A day later, he revealed that he did not like playing for Dooley.
Dooley called Shcrock, who accused the head coach of favoring the local players instead of those footballers who have played in the European leagues, as “selfish” and a plague to the team.
“What Stephan did was unacceptable, unprofessional, selfish—you cannot have a player like that on a team,” Dooley said. “Players like him make a mess everywhere. He would not play anymore.”
“If the player is selfish, then the team would have a problem,” Dooley said.
In retrospect, Dooley compared Shrock to one veteran of the Azkals, forward James Younghusband.
“James was calling me, talking to me about the situation, and he was doing everything he can to get back in the lineup. That’s professionalism.”
He said that all the brouhaha surrounding Schrock started when the forward was taken out of a game and was given limited playing time due to his injury.
Stephan Schrock
“You see that you have several players on the bench who are fit, what would they think,” Dooley said.
Dooley added that he never kicked Shrock out of the team.
Apart from Shrock, two more players with European blood have resigned from the Azkals, full-back Dennis Cagara and goalkeeper Neil Etheridge.
Dooley said Cagara, like Schrock, took to social media to air their grievances.
Despite the departure of the players, PFF President Mariano Araneta Jr., who himself was a former footballer for the Philippines, said he respects the decision of the three for leaving the national team.
“We respect their decision not to play for the team anymore, we have to move on,” Araneta said.
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