It's Been Fun

The Azkals improbable run in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup ended today with a semifinal loss of 2-0 on aggregate to Indonesia.

As I followed match updates beginning at seven a.m. this morning on the Suzuki Cup's website and through Ricky Olivares (Bleacher's Brew) twitter feed, the fact that I was now on pins and needles about a football match in Asia involving the Philippines continued to amaze me. Whatever the Azkals achieved on the pitch was surpassed by the cultural and historical significance of getting Filipinos around the world interested in the national football team.

Although I've read a few critical opinions questioning whether a team filled with players from outside the Philippines' national borders merits widespread adulation, this appears to be a minority viewpoint. And for the few detractors who voice such a complaint, it is worth emphasizing that the two goals that knocked the Philippines out of the Suzuki Cup were scored by the erstwhile Uruguayan, Cristian Gonzales ("El Loco"), who was given an Indonesian passport on November 3rd. This observation is not intended to imply that Indonesia was somehow skirting rules -- although not Indonesian by blood, Gonzales has lived for a considerable time in the county and has built a life for himself on the islands indistinguishable from other Indonesians. But just as pinoys have swooned for the Azkals, El Loco and the Indons appear to have similarly captured the imaginations of a vast and dispersed population.

Following the Azkals has been an absolute blast, particularly because of the work of Olivares on Bleacher's Brew. Olivares tweeted the following after the game:

I just checked Brew's stats for Dec1-19: 35,308 hits, 47,166 page views, 15,051 unique visitors, and average time on site 7mins 36 secs

That's well-deserved. Both the written content and the video clips were fantastic. Before the game this morning, my wife and I watched the video shot of Indonesian reaction to the Filipino team and were amazed by the numbers of people that turned up to watch practice.

We are looking forward to following those from the team that return stateside to play this summer. This run has been a very welcome winter treat.

In return, from this lonely outpost, we send our fondest good wishes to all involved. Maligayang Pasko.

Oh Yeah,,, That's Why

The good mood borne from a nice trip to Verizon to watch Georgetown dispatch Appalachian State evaporated quickly while reading recaps of CAFC's "banana peel" embarrassment against the Saddlers and watching the Bears get whupped -- deservedly so -- by a well-coached Pats team. So I am already writing this from an unhappy place.

The Philippines National Team (the Azkals) closed out the group stage portion of the AFF Suzuki Cup with a disappointing goalless draw against Myanmar, but still managed to make the semifinals. In qualifying, the Azkals have momentarily captured the attention of their countrymen -- something driven home for me by the fact that my cousins back in Mindanao have taken to rating which of the team members is most aesthetically pleasing. The Azkals are coached by a 33-year old Brit named Simon McMenemy and feature a remarkable aggregation of Filipinos from around the world.

But, inevitably, more attention means a spotlight on the things that leave most pinoy shaking their heads.

Two-legged semifinal against Indonesia with both legs to be played in Jakarta? All because the ex-president of the Philippine Football Association informed the ASEAN Football Federation that the Philippines lacked grounds meeting the AFF's requirements and that the team had no objection to an away-away format should the team reach the semifinals?

Wait, the ex-President? Yes, Jose Mari Martinez, who was removed from his post on November 27th (by affirmative vote of 26 of 33 provincial associations), for financial mismanagement -- including an alleged loss of 2.8 million pesos, or 20% of the PFF's operating budget.

Why would an ex-President have any bearing on what happens with the Azkals? As Joaquin Henson reports, FIFA has not recognized Martinez's removal because the vote to remove Martinez "was not properly endorsed in the agenda" of the meeting wherein the action was taken. As a result, Martinez gets to keep speaking for the Philippines, even when the organization he ostensibly represents has clearly articulated a desire to remove him. Simples.

So, that's embarrassing. And while it is not Australia getting one vote to host the World Cup, the loss of a home tie is a huge missed opportunity for the development of soccer in the Philippines.

But wait, there's more: Henson's report includes Martinez ludicrously declaring that the Azkals would be even better if they were under his command. Criticizing the hiring of McMenemy by Azkals' manager Dan Palami, Martinez is quoted as saying:

“That guy applied to Palami and he was taken in without consulting me,” said Martinez. “He came in to take over a team that [former gaffer Desmond] Bulpin formed. I’m now negotiating to recruit a Brazilian coach Rick Figuerido who has about 12 years of World Cup experience with Brazil, Mexico and Jamaica. I can form another national team that’s better than what we’ve got now with guys they dropped. Chad Gould and Roxy Dorlas will be on that team. But I’d rather not elaborate on all of that. Right now, I’d prefer the national team to just focus on the Suzuki Cup and let’s see how far they go.”

Awesome.

To his credit, by citing his preference to Chad Gould, Martinez has not descended to the idiocy of detracting from the Azkals' achievements by arguing that the team is illegitimate because it is not drawn exclusively from the islands.

Instead, Martinez is making the equally spurious, though far less provocative claim that under his unrecognized genius, the Philippines would be a much better team. Why? Because they would hire a Brazilian coach. Brazil > England. Again, simples.

While pinoy may revile the mayabang, Martinez's claims are not arrogance, they are the lunatic ravings of a delusional moron. The Azkals just made the semifinals of the AFF Suzuki Cup for the first time. Under a coach who is younger than me, a motley crew of footballers from all corners of the globe humbled Vietnam and Singapore and will now go toe to toe with Indonesia. And the former head of the PFF is suggesting that the gaffer be fired and his team reformed?

Brilliant.

Mike Limpag suggests that the real reason why both games are in Jakarta is that the Federation may be short of the cash needed to host a home leg. If that is true, it makes all of this even more absurd.

In the end, this story may be all too familiar to Filipinos: a chance at greatness frittered away by the ego of a small man and want of a few coins.

Now I remember the answer to the question of why there aren't better stories coming out of the Philippines.

Kids Day at Comcast

Whenever I run across arguments justifying belligerent behavior and obscene language in the stands as being the badges of "true" fans, I am always curious as to what happened to the proponents' childhood. Did the man spewing inanity in front of me spring fully formed from the gut of a foul-mouthed middle-aged lout?

Being a fan, paying money to watch people do their jobs, living and dying vicariously through people based on the concession that they are better than you will ever be -- these are childish things. Sports, at least from the spectators' perspective, are how we get to act like children in a socially acceptable way along with thousands of closest friends.

Having a child helps to bring this all home. Sunday at Comcast was kid's day hosted by the University of Maryland Women's Basketball team. The athletics program has done a wonderful job of making events for the community and creating an atmosphere that is substantially different from that which pervades at other Maryland Athletics games.

My daughter had a great time. The organizers had made an area available for kids to make signs before going into the stadium. Our little one decided on a design and happily held it over her head at strange moments during the game. She danced when other kids danced. And, when she felt like it, nuzzled in with one of her relatives and watched the game asking questions with bizarre premises regarding what transpired before her.

After the game, juniors Kim Rodgers and Yemi Oyefuwa and freshmen Sequoia Austin, Alyssa Thomas, and Alicia DeVaughn signed autographs for kids with good humor. I bought a basketball for my daughter and, although it was almost the same size as her, she dragged it down in front of each of the players and thanked them with a grin.

She was probably even more pleased with the autograph she had gotten from Testudo earlier in the game, but for a two-year old who had not napped, we left the stadium with a pretty happy little girl.

Thanks to the Terps Athletics program for setting it up and we hope that it will be a regular feature of the team's season.

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One unrelated note: great report on the Philippines' huge upset at the Suzuki Cup by Bleachers' Brew. Just a great story.

Pinoy Pride

Other than her name, I have not passed on much of my Filipino heritage to my daughter. She is far more likely to ask for a tortilla or quesadilla than pancit or adobo. She knows more Arabic and Farsi than Tagalog or Visayan or Cebuano. Her knowledge of pinoy culture is limited to Maligayang Pasko as part of our rotation of holiday music and an awareness of who Manny Pacquiao is.

Watching Bleachers' Brew's video clips of the celebrations in Hanoi with her tonight after getting back from a nice afternoon spent at Comcast was a pleasant surprise.

Most of the Philippines' triumphs in football come from a time well outside of mortal memory. Until this last week.

A 1-1 draw with Singapore was huge. But a 2-0 win over the host nation? Well, that's just not football.

Chris Greatwich, lion of Morristown, New Jersey, scored his second goal of the competition -- the game winner -- as a robust defense frustrated a team that had put up a seven spot against Myanmar in the preceding match.

What the Philippines is achieving at the Suzuki Cup is nothing short of stunning. It may not be pretty, but then again, neither is losing seven to one.

I doubt my daughter will ever appreciate the significance of what she watched with me, but it is great to have the excuse to share something with her that features people that look like her relatives celebrate a victory in a sport in which she is familiar.

Separate from the generational tie, just for myself, the Philippines' historic win provided the impetus to become familiar with the phenomenal Bleachers' Brew. I may not learn anything about Chris Greatwich on the National Premier Soccer League's website or from the athletics department at his alma mater Hartwick College, but Bleachers' Brew's got a good interview with Greatwich from 2008 and was on hand to capture Chris's thoughts following the goal in extra time against Singapore.

On Wednesday, the Philippines will close out its group play matches with a game against Myanmar. If they can pull off a win, they are likely to finish top of the table. Vietnam will be desperate to stave off horrible embarrassment should it fail to advance out of group play and needs a win against Singapore. The way things are set up, the Philippines should advance as Group B winners and, should they do so, their opponent -- with the first leg set for December 15th -- will be either Thailand, Malaysia, or Laos. Of course, the way things were set up in Group B, Vietnam and Singapore were supposed to waltz into the semifinals.

But that is why they play the games.

Strong Foundations

I was on my way to the Newseum this morning to join the watch party when a friend e-mailed noting that early reports had the 2022 World Cup being awarded to Qatar. I thought about it for a moment, realized it was probably true, and headed to the office.

I am disappointed by the fact that the World Cup won't be staged here anytime in the near future, but doubt that it will have any lasting negative impact on the continued development of the game in this country. The result is certainly not good news for D.C. United, which will now lose a useful argument in favor of securing public investment to maintain a top flight team in the city.

But, in terms of the state of the game in the United States, there are all kinds of reason for optimism. And one, which few may care about, was on display earlier today in Vietnam.

When the Philippines qualified for the Suzuki Cup, I entertained thoughts of heading to Hanoi to support the land of my forefathers, but a quick check of our bank account indicated that no unknown benefactor had boosted our financial assets such that showing up at work was no longer necessary. Accordingly, I am reduced to having to follow the team's exploits on the internets.

Growing up pinoy introduced me to a careless disdain for soccer. Filipinos, as a general matter, did not seem to care for the sport and, in consequence, it is not terribly surprising that the country's national team has largely been a door mat in regional competitions.

However, of late, the quality of the Philippines national team has progressed significantly. Still, the team's one-one draw against Singapore in the first game of their group matches is stunning. Singapore was expected to obliterate the Philippines, just as the home country was expected to have a walk over against Myanmar in the other group B match.

But Singapore dropped two points thanks to the late equalizer off the foot of Chris Greatwich. That's right. Chris Greatwich. Of the legendary Morris County Colonials (of Morristown, New Jersey).

In other words, one of the most important goals in Philippine soccer history was scored by someone playing in the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid (in the National Premier Soccer League).

As the American soccer pyramid develops further -- and perhaps we will see some period of stability with the USL focused on the third tier and NASL on the second tier -- it should increasingly offer opportunities from players throughout the world and American players will, in turn, benefit from higher quality opposition in the domestic game.

Chris has (along with his two younger brothers) also benefited from participating in the college game in the United States. Chris, like his brother Simon (currently a sophomore) played college ball at Hartwick College near the former National Soccer Hall of Fame and the third Greatwich boy, Phil, finished off his college career this season up the road for the Towson Tigers.

Separate and apart from the foregoing, reading about the Greatwich boys has me a bit embarrassed that I had no idea that there was a fourth division club team in Howard County, the Thunder Soccer Club. If the Red Devils rejoin the NPSL next year, then I will have even more opportunities to drag my family around to soccer contests. Hoorah.