Azkals in Sports Illustrated top 10 football stories for 2010
IN YET another milestone, the Philippine Azkals made it in a prestigious American sports magazine’s list of the world’s top 10 football stories in 2010.
The Sports Illustrated magazine picked the surge of the Philippine Football team’s 2-0 upset of defending Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup champ Vietnam as No. 10 in the list.
“The Asean Football Federation’s biennial Suzuki Cup might not be too high up on your list of priorities, but this year’s tournament produced arguably the biggest upset in its history,” SI’s Georgina Turner wrote on its website on Dec. 22.
“Defending champion and federation powerhouse Vietnam lost 2-0 to the Philippines, ranked 151st in the world and without so much as a point off Vietnam in nearly 20 years.”
Incident
Turner also cited a post-match incident that stirred a minor controversy, noting that Vietnam’s Portuguese Henrique Calisto, “refused to shake PHL coach Simon McMenemy’s hand after the match, after accusing the AzkaLs of ‘parking the bus (in front of the goal)’.”
“Simon McMenemy was upset by the gesture, but would not be drawn into a slanging match,” Turner wrote.
In an interview with ANC, McMenemy said Calisto told him “I will not shake your hand because you don’t play fair.”
Aside from the accomplishment of the PHL team, which made the semifinals of the 14-year-old tournament for the first time, Turner picked the reported corruption in the International Football Federation in the bidding for the World Cup and the world going “loco” over World Cup champion Spain as the No. 1 and No. 2 stories, respectively.
Rewards
Being mentioned in America’s most popular sports magazine is just the latest in accolades and tributes for the national men’s football team, whose moniker Azkals has become a household word, for their successful stint in the recent AFF Suzuki Cup tourney.
Bankrolled by businessman and national team manager Dan Palami, the Filipino booters had the most successful international campaign in history.
Along their march to the semis, they drew three-time AFF champion Singapore, 1-1, with an injury-time goal by Christopher Greatwich, then humbled the Vietnamese, 2-0, right on their own turf and in front of their stunned countrymen to advance to the final four.
Forced to play their “home” game in hostile ground for lack of a field that met AFF standards in the country, the Azkals managed to hold host Indonesia to two close 0-1 decisions before bowing out of the tournament.
The Sports Illustrated magazine picked the surge of the Philippine Football team’s 2-0 upset of defending Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup champ Vietnam as No. 10 in the list.
“The Asean Football Federation’s biennial Suzuki Cup might not be too high up on your list of priorities, but this year’s tournament produced arguably the biggest upset in its history,” SI’s Georgina Turner wrote on its website on Dec. 22.
“Defending champion and federation powerhouse Vietnam lost 2-0 to the Philippines, ranked 151st in the world and without so much as a point off Vietnam in nearly 20 years.”
Incident
Turner also cited a post-match incident that stirred a minor controversy, noting that Vietnam’s Portuguese Henrique Calisto, “refused to shake PHL coach Simon McMenemy’s hand after the match, after accusing the AzkaLs of ‘parking the bus (in front of the goal)’.”
“Simon McMenemy was upset by the gesture, but would not be drawn into a slanging match,” Turner wrote.
In an interview with ANC, McMenemy said Calisto told him “I will not shake your hand because you don’t play fair.”
Aside from the accomplishment of the PHL team, which made the semifinals of the 14-year-old tournament for the first time, Turner picked the reported corruption in the International Football Federation in the bidding for the World Cup and the world going “loco” over World Cup champion Spain as the No. 1 and No. 2 stories, respectively.
Rewards
Being mentioned in America’s most popular sports magazine is just the latest in accolades and tributes for the national men’s football team, whose moniker Azkals has become a household word, for their successful stint in the recent AFF Suzuki Cup tourney.
Bankrolled by businessman and national team manager Dan Palami, the Filipino booters had the most successful international campaign in history.
Along their march to the semis, they drew three-time AFF champion Singapore, 1-1, with an injury-time goal by Christopher Greatwich, then humbled the Vietnamese, 2-0, right on their own turf and in front of their stunned countrymen to advance to the final four.
Forced to play their “home” game in hostile ground for lack of a field that met AFF standards in the country, the Azkals managed to hold host Indonesia to two close 0-1 decisions before bowing out of the tournament.
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