History made by Azkals: Philippine FootBall Team

It was just a few months ago when the country knew almost nothing about this group called Philippines Azkals. when the country woke up to the power of the Azkals, it did not look back and stayed awake since then and its fans growing in number by the multitudes.

That continued on yesterday when the Azkals beat Sri-Lanka in a most convincing and impressive fashion at 4-0. we almost fell asleep, worried even, last week when they could only muster a 1-1 tie in Sri-Lanka. yesterday’s game showed us a different team when the Azkals showed class, fineness and the tenacity of mad dogs going after it’s prey almost at the start of the bell.

The Azkals were relentless in their offense from the very start of the game. i would say the ball was on the half of the pitch on the Sri-Lankan side for a good 85% of the time. and during those moments the ball was on their opponent’s half, the Azkals attempted to kick a score almost every time they were there.

The Azkals that played yesterday looked like they were a completely different team from the one that played in Sri-Lanka last week.
The offense the Azkals executed last week was nowhere to be found. it just didn’t work.
yesterday at the Rizal, the Azkals were nothing but an offensive team
they passed the ball very well; they created openings for others; they communicated with each other very well and they had set patterns to execute that almost always worked flawlessly
they also showed a lot of confidence in the plays. it did not look like this was a team who has not played together a lot. this time around, they seemed to know what the other was going to do and made opportunities for scoring and attackTthe defense was also excellent with the ball going to the Azkals side not as often and offensive dangers occurring even fewer times etheridge, the goal keeper worked less this time, showing just how great the defense was
but of those times etheridge worked, he performed his job flawlessly as always. etheridge we think is clearly a great asset to the team
The fact that those who scored yesterday are the same people who used to score before tells you the offensive machine is working very well and the team’s scorers are gaining much confidence on their skills and trust on their teammates

Everything about the Azkals just worked perfectly. they did look like a team who has been playing together for many years. aside from the players, credit goes to the coach and his staff. they have obviously done their job in getting the team together. the couch’s effort and skill cannot be ignored. this coach knows his job and he planned this game brilliantly.
The other equally important ingredient in yesterday’s win goes to the fans, the pinoys who were at the stands going crazy cheering the azkals on. a punishing rain poured on Rizal but the fans stayed on and did not let up in their cheers. we only watched the game on TV but there was no moment during the game that we did not hear the fans cheering the Azkals on. they reacted to every moment where we could have scored, made a mistake or did something right. eveything was noticed, even the smallest things.
We think the fans at Rizal made one hell of a difference in the way the Azkals played. football in the country was no linger a sport for the few meztizos and the rich. this was now a game every filipino enjoyed lustily for, for the players who practiced almost 24/7 hearing the fans go crazy in the stands translates into energy and determination among the players.
The azkals not only made its thousands of fans and pinoys happy in yesterday’s win, the team also made history for philippine football as for the first time the country has reached this stage in the qualifying games for the world cup. on that alone, the Azkals has achieved glory and they are already champions! for the pinoys.

-wawam(wordpress)