Vietnam coach scouted under-23 Azkals very well

JAKARTA—Vietnam scouted the Philippines well and knew exactly what the Azkals’ biggest weakness was.

Vietnam’s German coach, Flako Gerd Gotz said he knew some key Filipino players arrived in Jakarta late and did not have enough rest for the opening match of the 26th Southeast Asian Games which his team won over the Philippines, 3-1, Thursday.

Four players, including keeper Richard Muller and striker Manny Ott, planed in straight from Europe to join the rest of the Azkals here.

The other members came from other parts of the world and have been training as a team for less than a month only. The Philippine Under-23 squad has but one homegrown player in defender Neckson Leonora, a part of the starting eleven.

Gotz, a former Bundesliga standout who is also Vietnam’s senior team coach, came in last June to whip the Under-23 squad into a form he thinks is capable of winning the gold medal against the likes of Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

“I don’t know much about football in Southeast Asia,” Gotz said. “I only know it from DVDs (of games). And I think there are three other teams that are capable of winning the gold here.”

Gotz didn’t answer when pressed to name the three, but after a thorough beating handed out to the Azkals, it seems that the Filipinos are not in the equation as far as he is concerned.

The Philippines’ chance at getting another crack at the Vietnamese lies in winning its last four games in Group B, toppling the No. 1 team in Group A and hope that Vietnam also survives its crossover assignment, which could be against the Thais, the Malaysians, the Singaporeans or the host Indonesians.

Michael Weiss, another German, is working round the clock to give the Azkals the cohesion they need.

The Azkals practiced in the morning of Saturday and were slated to go to the Lebak Bulus Stadium, which is about two hours away, in the afternoon to watch matches of teams in their group.