Azkals: Everything we’ve got

The Philippines’ Patrick Reichelt controls the ball against Indonesia at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on Sunday. The match ended in a goalless draw.

JAKARTA—After surviving the AFF (Asean Football Federation) Suzuki Cup’s Group of Death for a fourth semifinal appearance in five tournaments, the Philippine Azkals have their work cut out for them even before they face Vietnam over two legs in the knockout round.

As if toppling an in-form Vietnamese side isn’t an already difficult task, the Azkals will have to do it without left back Daisuke Sato, who has ruled himself out of the tournament after he was recalled by Romanian club Sepsi.

But the challenges that the Azkals managed to navigate and survive during the home-and-away group stage may be enough to prepare them for any complications in the semifinals starting with the first leg on Sunday at Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City.

The second leg is slated four days later in Hanoi, but the Azkals are down to 19 players from an original 23-man team, following the departures of Sato, Neil Etheridge and Stephan Palla due to club commitments and Luke Woodland due to injury.

“It hasn’t been a smooth ride for us in terms of preparations,” Azkals manager Dan Palami admitted.

“There have been some glitches and I think I have to credit the heart of our players who put everything aside and not think about the problems every time they are on the pitch. That has been the asset of our team. Once they’re on the pitch, they give everything. I think that’s how Filipinos are.”

Playing four matches in 12 days in three different countries, the Azkals emerged unbeaten from Group B, picking up eight points, following wins over Singapore and Timor Leste and stalemates over Thailand and Indonesia.

Five players have scored for the team so far in the tournament, but so many times in the group stage, the Azkals also left themselves exposed defensively. They’ve somehow done enough to cover mistakes that haunted the team in the past.

In the goalless draw with Indonesia, the Azkals coped well against a counterattacking team that had plenty of pace on the wings, while surviving the absence of skipper Phil Younghusband, who sustained a cut and had to be substituted by Curt Dizon in the 25th minute.
Younghusband said his cut took four stitches to close, but vowed he’ll be ready come the semifinals.

“I think this time we’ve played with a lot of heart,” winger Patrick Reichelt said. “Everybody is fighting for the next guy. There’s a lot of communication on the pitch and positive screaming and encouragement, I feel this year we have a good group.”

Only three weeks into the job, coach Sven Goran Eriksson hailed his squad’s “big heart.”

“I like our team,” he said. “I like it very much, we have a lot of good football players and we are playing with a big heart. I’m proud of the team.”

The Azkals proved compact and disciplined, tracking back when they lost possession against the Indonesians, but it may take more than that effort against Vietnam, especially with Sato, one of the team’s best defenders and a threat going forward, missing the semifinals.

“We’ll really have to regroup and make sure we’re ready for Vietnam,” said Palami.