Anton del Rosario's temper tantrum

MOST fans are wondering whether Neil Etheridge will play in Mongolia but for me, the bigger question is Anton del Rosario’s role in the Azkals in the second leg.

Will he play?

Will he be benched?

Will he even be named to the team?

After he was replaced late in the second half by Jayson Sabio, Anton threw a tantrum.

As he was walking to the bench, he slapped an energy drink that was offered by an official, forcing him to do a comical skip/dance to avoid getting wet. And before he sat down, anyone from the stand could see him murmuring.

He scowled, took a glance at coach Michael Weiss who was at the sidelines, and then raised both hands in that universal posture that says, “what did I do wrong?”

Del Rosario, in all my years of covering the team, has never been subbed, but that doesn’t mean he should expect to finish every game.

“If he was on my team, he won’t be playing if he shows such disrespect,” Graeme Mackinnon, that respected coach, told me.

It was disrespect and it was very disappointing to see it displayed in front of adoring fans.

I remember after seeing that tantrum I wanted Sabio to score that second goal just to put Anton in his place. But he didn’t need to.

Del Rosario has always been an asset with that powerful throw of his but Sabio showed he got an even more powerful throw. And in injury time, when Sabio threaded through two sleeping Mongolian defense to provide the key assist for Phil Younghusband’s goal?

All I thought was, “That's for you, Anton!!!”

“No superstars in my team!” didn’t coach Weiss say that a couple of weeks ago?

So, will Anton del Rosario play?

For me, that question is the more interesting one.

Comments

sidrow_c said…
i think its a tactical move in the part of weiss who wanted to earn more goals to cushion their lead entering the 2nd leg. anton consider being replaced as an indication of sub par performance.

an issue that needs to be settled immediately.
jdog said…
I think this is a bit blown out of proportion. One of Anton's greatest assets as a player is that he plays with so much heart, and to be substituted at that time of the match must've been massively disappointing. Any footballer would be pissed, especially when it wasn't suspected. It's not like Anton played poorly...he had a rough start to the match like everyone else, but settled quickly and played in some great crosses from the wing throughout the entire match. Remember, he saved a goal in the first half as well coming back with his tremendous speed.

Jason played well, but let's remember the second goal wasn't anything that we really did, it happened because the Mongolians basically stopped because they though there was a foul (taking nothing away from Jason's pass and Phil's finish).

Anton is one of the key leaders of this team, and that leadership along with his experience will be crucial in a match where conditions are going to be less than ideal. I have no doubt in my mind that he'll get the start (and should get the start) and that he'll have a great game.
Mike Limpag said…
Jdog, I agree. Anton plays with a lot of heart, as shown in those two games against Indonesia. But I think he made a mistake in the Mongolia game. Whether it's nothing or something, we will know on March 15.

I just hope that's he last tantrum we'll see from an Azkal
sidrow_c said…
siguro na address na ng management ng team ang issue na to. di pwede lumala to, anton is good player. na frustrate lang siguro sa laro against mongolia dahil ang nasa mind set nya ay pwede nila tambakan ang kalaban but it turns out to be a difficult game for them. probably di na emphasize ng coach ang bagay sa pagpalit ng player due to tactical shift. considering na maikli pa lang ang time ng pagsasama nya sa team di pa yata establisado ang communication between player and manager at na misinterpret ng player ang pag palit sa kanya na under performing sya.
underdog said…
If this is true, he must act as a professional at all times. You must respect your coach no matter what. In the first place, he is one who can see all the action and its his job. Secondly, it was a tactical move and he just wanted to try different combination, try what works and what doesnt. Maybe, He just wanted to try Jason Sabio and see how he plays in a real game.
All the Azkals should stay grounded and check their heads and not get carried away with this few successes that we had recently. We are still far from being good to be honest and now we hear things like this. We wont go far if this continues. Even superstars like Drogba, Torres, Messi get subbed sometimes and I havent seen them act like that.
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