Schrock announces retirement

Stephan Schrock: 11-year PH career —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Stephan Schrock said that he had appeared in a national team shirt for the final time on Monday when the Philippine Azkals concluded another early exit in the Asean Football Federation Mitsubishi Electric Cup.

The veteran midfielder was expected to be given a warm sendoff from fans who attended the Azkals’ final group stage match against Indonesia at Rizal Memorial Stadium after 57 caps in an 11-year stint filled with success and controversy.

“It’s quite emotional for me,” he said after confirming his decision in a prematch press conference held on New Year’s Day at nearby Ninoy Aquino Stadium, adding that it was not done without plenty of things to give up.

“Not many know what I have to sacrifice, how many European contracts I jeopardized to come in for the national team [and] how many moments I missed out with my family. So I sacrificed a lot,” added Schrock.Schrock debuted in 2011 when the Philippines defeated Sri Lanka, 5-1, on aggregate in the first round of the Fifa (International Federation of Association Football) World Cup Qualifiers.

He would later produce his first international goal in style, firing a strike in the second leg of the second round meeting with Kuwait in the same qualifiers before a big crowd at Rizal Memorial. But the Azkals lost, 5-1, on aggregate.

Dooley controversy

That became the first of six goals Schrock produced for flag and country, including the one during the Philippines’ maiden appearance in the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

It came in a 3-1 loss to Kyrgyzstan when Schrock fired a long range attempt to prevent the Philippines from being shut out for the third straight time.

He also had two stints in the 2019 and the pandemic-delayed 2021 edition of the Southeast Asian Games as an overage player, as his Azkals appearances became a regular thing after becoming a fixture on the domestic scene in 2016.

But his Azkals career was also marred by his on-and-off dispute with former national coach Thomas Dooley, first between 2014 and 2015 when the then-European based Schrock left the team.

The two eventually patched things up, but it appeared that their feud resurfaced in 2022 when Dooley, who was rehired to call the shots for the Asian Cup Qualifiers in Mongolia, left Schrock off the squad. INQ