MANILA, Philippines—Stephan Schrock won’t be suiting up for the Philippines when it faces Bahrain on March 30, but coach Thomas Dooley isn’t closing the door on the dynamic midfielder from coming back in the future.
Dooley clarified that Schrock has yet to express his interest in coming back to the team, although the former Bundesliga player has repeatedly said he would welcome a recall to the team.
“First of all, he never asked me about being part of the team,” said Dooley. “Second, he texted me with an apology. I accepted his apology, and I said, yeah everybody makes a mistake. He’s young, so I [accepted] his apology.”
READ: Comeback on the cards? Schrock patches things up with coach Dooley
Dooley hinted that it would take more than an apology through a text message for Schrock to make his way back to the team.
“Again, there are things that he has said that’s not true,” said Dooley. “That needs to be corrected, and if that’s corrected, I think there would be a door open.”
Azkals manager Dan Palami is upbeat that the issue will eventually be resolved considering that it is best for the team to have all of its finest players at its disposal.