Editor’s note: Football blogger Ryan Fenix of The Prawn Sandwich Brigade takes an early look at the World Cup qualifiers in the third part of his Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup qualifier recap. Check out part 1 and part 2 if you missed them.

Next up for the Azkals is the small matter of trying to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil, a competition that we all but ignored prior to the Azkals coming to fore.

But first things first: Make no mistake, we are NOT going to win the World Cup. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

We can however, attempt to qualify for it, first by beating Sri Lanka in the first round.

Continue reading "Wins, losses, and World Cup: The Azkals and the Philippines as a football country"

Editor’s note: This is the second part of Ryan Fenix’s report on the Azkals following their historic run in the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup campaign. In this installment, he looks at the players’ performance, and the team’s future potential. Click here if you missed the first part.

Going into the group stages, there was apprehension about the loss of Phil Younghusband due to injury. Although Phil’s loss was tempered somewhat by the inclusion of Fil-Spanish striker Angel Guirado, the team was also missing the services of midfielders Chris Greatwich and Jason de Jong.

Were they missed?

Continue reading "Football beyond the scoreboard: A look at the Azkals and our unheralded heroes"

Editor’s note: Our regular football contributor Ryan Fenix, who runs the The Prawn Sandwich Brigade blog, is back with a review of the Azkals’ successful campaign to qualify for the AFC Challenge Cup. In part 1, he takes a look at the team’s long hard climb, and how it pulled off a 3-0 win over Bangladesh to make Pinoy football history.

The Azkals’ Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup journey that started one raucous February night at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City, Philippines culminated in euphoria at the Bogyoke Aung San Stadium in Rangoon, Burma on the afternoon of March 25, 211.

We are through to the AFC Challenge Cup in 2012, for the first time in Philippine football history.

Continue reading "AFC Challenge Cup qualifying round recap: How the Azkals won big over Bangladesh"

Editor’s note: This post was written by Ryan Fenix, a football addict who runs the blog The Prawn Sandwich Brigade.

News reports coming in from Myanmar, thanks to Craig Burrows of PinoyFootball.com, suggest that the Azkals will employ the 4-2-3-1 formation later tonight in the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers against Myanmar. This is a more defensive variation of the 4-5-1 midfield formation.

Continue reading "Azkals strategy: The 4-2-3-1 formation"

Editor’s note: This post was written by Ryan Fenix, a football addict who runs the blog The Prawn Sandwich Brigade.

In the end, we lost the battle, but we won the war. But not before we had some unnecessarily tense moments out there.

Did the weather play a major factor in the Azkals loss to Mongolia in the second leg of its AFC Challenge Cup playoff in Ulan Bator? Absolutely.

Continue reading "Football Analysis: The Azkals take a step back against Mongolia in Ulan Bator"

Editor’s note: Ryan Fenix continues his analysis of the Azkals with a look at the new offensive strategy installed by Coach Hans Weiss, and the role of each player in the new attack. Photos courtesy of S. Kieron Tan of SKT Digital Productions. Check out the first part if you missed it.

The 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup will always be memorable to Philippine football. The sport which had been forgotten in the country was catapulted to the front pages locally and internationally. There was newfound respect for the rag-tag Azkals, ensuring that opposing coaches and players would no longer look at the Philippine national football team with mock contempt in future competitions. Football won’t be the same again in these shores.

But arguably the greater legacy of our Cinderella run in the Cup is the stability it allowed the Philippine Football Federation to pursue its programs and grassroots level development. This is due in large part to the funding pledged by the private sector in light of the Azkals success.

Continue reading "More football strategy talk: A deeper look at the Azkal’s exciting new offensive attack"

Editor’s note: This post was written by Ryan Fenix, a football addict who watched the Azkals game versus Mongolia in a hospital room shortly after his wife had given birth. He runs the football blog The Prawn Sandwich Brigade.

We should have won by a more comfortable margin against Mongolia in the first leg of our AFC Challenge Cup playoff at Panaad Stadium. I believe Azkals fans, basketball fans, boxing fans, and most neutral observers can agree on this.

It certainly would have helped our chances if we had a few more goals tucked under our belt, because the prospects of our boys playing in sub-zero temperature looms in the second leg of the tie, which will be held at the Mongolian capital of Ulaan Baatar.

Continue reading "Azkals strategy talk: Breaking down the tough defense of Mongolia’s Blue Wolves"