MANILA, Philippines
- The Younghusbands are not breaking up with the Azkals even if they soon end up playing for the Jakarta 1928 FC in the Indonesia Premier League.
“Yes, there’s interest from other clubs,” said the 24-year-old James, confirming a standing offer, a lucrative one, for them to play for the Indonesian ballclub.
“But we have other commitments. We have the academy and the national team,” he added yesterday, referring to the The Younghusbands Football Academy (TYFC).
The younger Younghusband, the 23-year-old Phil, said they remain committed to the national team, which recently made a lot of heads turn in the AFF Suzuki Cup.
“I can’t say definitely if we’re going somewhere else right now. I can’t divulge any details on that right now. But definitely we’re still playing for the national team,” he said.
The Younghusbands, Filipino-Britons, started playing for the Philippine team in 2005 and have been based here since last year. They have put up their own football academy.
They announced the TYFA schedule in yesterday’s PSA Forum, along with executive director Kathy Rivilla.
On tap are football clinics for young players, their trainers and coaches, at Ateneo de Manila on Jan. 13, the Tarlac Recreational Park on Jan. 20 and 21, in Palawan on Jan. 29 and 30, the Alabang Country Club on Feb. 19, in Taguig on Feb. 26 and 27, in Cebu and Iloilo in mid-April, Metro Manila in April to May, back to Alabang on May 14 and 15, and Lanao del Norte in June.
In between camps, the two products of the Chelsea Football Club program will honor their commitment to the national team or even the Indonesian ballclub if indeed they end up with the latter.
They have played major roles in the resurgence of Philippine football, and along with a handful other Fil-foreign players, are expected to do more in the coming years.
The Azkals, fresh from a historic semifinal finish in the Suzuki Cup, are in the AFC Challenge Cup. They will face Mongolia on Feb. 9 at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod, and on March 15, in Mongolia.
The Younghusbands showed mixed reactions on the decision of the Philippine Football Federation to tap a new coach, Hans Michael Weiss of Germany, in favor of Simon McMenemy.
We’re very disappointed that Simon won’t be with the team anymore, and we wish him the best,” said Phil of the 33-year-old Englishman who coached the team in the AFF Suzuki Cup.
“But it’s a new year, a new start under a new coach. We also look forward to his new ideas and what he can bring to the team,” said Phil, who like his brother is armed with a UEFA coaching badge.
“We only have one month to prepare for the AFC Challenge. And our new coach must learn the players’ names, and how we play. There are new players coming in as well, and it’s good for the team,” he added.
“This should be a good year for Philippine football,” James assured.
If not, a better one for the year that just passed.
philstar.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
soccer sucks. bakit nag-aabala pa kayo sa boring na sport na yan.
ReplyDeleteBASKETBALL PA RIN.
First of all, its football, not soccer.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, play basketball all you want. Nobody's forcing you to pay attention to football.
By your post here, it shows you took the time out and noticed football, contradicting your own statement.
As for the Younghusbands, I do wish that they (or at least Phil, the better of the two) gets a contract to player in a bigger Asia league in Korea or Japan. I also hope that other Azkal players get offers to play abroad. The experience will help them in their respective careers.
i like playing basketball and football.
ReplyDeleteas for mapster, i think the younghusbands' playing in indonesia hurt your pride. now, you have to look at the indonesian league just to see the best pinoy players which I don't mind. im sure they will be compensated enough if they agreed to play there
for the future, i hope phil makes it to MLS at least. etheridge too.
To Mr. Basketball Pa rin,
ReplyDeleteLlamadista ka ba? Just to give you some figures, this game you call boring had 26 billion total viewership in last years world cup. The olympics in 2008 had less than 5 billion. You are the minority bro.
But seriously, bakit kami naabala? There is no sport that is more intense..Thats my reason.
to the first poster
ReplyDeleteBasketball sucks.Bakit nagaabala ka sa boring na sports na yan.....looser pandak....
grow up first then maybe you will have a right to hold a basketball...
you are a minority in a global scale....football rules..its not called soccer you uneducated moron.....if you wanna call it soccer move to the USA...looser....outta here...
@ Rodz
ReplyDeleteRelax pre, I can hear you hitting the keyboard while reading your post.hahaha. Dont mind those people, it takes a little more brain to like futbol something the first poster doesnt have.
To anonymous poster #1:
ReplyDeleteWorld's most popular sport? - Football. Call it soccer if you will, the term was coined in England anyway. You know where football was born right? Probably not.
World's #2 Sport? - Cricket is a DISTANT second.
World's #3 Sport? - Rugby
Thank you Jay for pointing out that the viewership in combined sports in the olympics still do not match the viewership of the World Cup.
How many filipino (born and raised) kids have excelled in the US NCAA, the mecca of college basketball? 0. How many filipinos play in the NBA? 0. Maybe our race wasn't built for that sport.
I too played some basketball, but for purely recreational purposes. While I obviously have nothing against basketball, I do rail against morons who put down a sport that is loved by hundreds of thousands if not millions of Filipinos.
Be a little more patriotic and a little less idiotic, and support people who represent the country, no matter what sport.
It's nice that football fans don't like the term "Soccer". I hate the term too, but I'm slowly learning to accept it after some research.
ReplyDeleteThe term came from the time when there are different forms of football, before association football was developed. Long story short, the term is from the word "association".
Association---assoc---soc---soccer
Anyway, let's not get too affected by the basketball fanatics. One should not stoop down to the level of those who are immature.
And besides, maybe he's sarcastic. I remember posting something similar in GMA news, but written to clearly be sarcastic.
Leave the Basketball guy alone.
ReplyDeleteHe didn't even have the guts to leave his name.
He's just trying to get us angry.
@Anonymous1
ReplyDeleteYou were probably never a Filipino growing up in Europe.
Think you idiot.
Basketball after MJ becomes a boring sport with only 3-4 competitive teams to watch every season.
ReplyDeleteI like basketball but please non football fans please just comments on basketball blogs and not here.
And hope no Philippino footballers to play in Indonesia. Everybody knows why. Plus its hard to find many beautful gals on that place...................
They better waste their time practicing than playing and losing their talents to that place. So many nice places to play.
AND ONLY THE AMRCANS GIVE A DAMN ABOUT SOCCER???
ITS FOOTBALL AROUND THE WORLD
Actually the Australians and New Zealanders also call it soccer to distinguish it from Australian Rules Football. In fact the official nickname for the Aussie team is Socceroos.
ReplyDeleteThe official term for our sport at FIFA is Association Football. The English a long time ago used to call our sport soccer as a shortened form or the term association to differentiate it from other forms of football like Rugby football which at that time was termed rugger.
Both football(soccer) and rugby had similar roots in England and were indistinquishable a couple of hundred years ago.
Just ignore the basketball guy. He is just feeling threatened by the sudden rise in the popularity of our sport and is lashing out.
I am just glad that numerous articles are being penned everyday on football as a few months ago there were almost none.
PLEASE NAME THE COUNTRIES THAT CALLS IT FOOTBALL?
ReplyDeleteIF ITS ONLY A THREE THEN I WILL CUT MY HEAD.
Well the Italians call it calcio, the Germans call it fussbal, the Hispanic countries call it futbol and your favorite country Indonesia calls it sepak bola in their language. Maybe we should call it sipang bola or paang bola. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteYou can keep your head though.