'Adopt Azkals' way'
PHILIPPINE football team manager Dan Palami said the formula he used for the success of the Azkals can be used not just for football, but for all of Philippine sports.
Palami, the guest speaker and the Presidential Awardee during last night’s Sportswriters Association of Cebu-San Miguel Brewery event, said he was able to succeed as the manager of the Azkals because of his stubborn belief in the team.
“When I took on the job, my friends all told me to stop wasting money but I defiantly insisted on aiming for what was then considered inconceivable,” Palami said in his speech in front of some of Cebu’s most decorated athletes and coaches.
The 40-year-old team manager said 2010 was the first time he really got involved in any athletic endeavor and that experience made him admire athletes more.
“I have seen how they have encountered difficulties and how their discipline helped them overcome them. That has doubled my admiration for them,” Palami said.
Before the Philippine Azkals took the country by storm in what is now being dubbed the Miracle in Hanoi, the team trained largely unnoticed by the fans and perennially lacked funds.
The Philippine team pulled one of the biggest shocks in Southeast Asian football by beating defending champions Vietnam in the Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup on the way to making the semis.
Now that the Azkals have slipped into the country’s consciousness and funds are finally pouring into the sport, Palami promised to ensure transparency.
“I will do my part to ensure that all these funds will go to building the sport, and not somebody’s ego,” he said. “We have learned many hard lessons in the past.”
As for the Cebuano fans, Palami promised that he will bring the Azkals back to Cebu, again.
“You showed us that we were not alone. You were there for us in the difficult beginnings, so should you be in the glorious future,” he said.
Back in 2008, the Azkals had a friendly match in local soil against the Cebu All-Stars.
Meanwhile, WBO minimumweight champion Donnie “Ahas” Nietes was named the Athlete of the Year for the second straight year.
Nietes defeated Mario Rodriguez last Aug. 14, 2010 in Mexico to retain his belt. The other major awardees yesterday were Sportsman of the Year Boojie Lim and Orlando C. Sanchez Awardee Dr. Danilo Villadolid.
Palami, the guest speaker and the Presidential Awardee during last night’s Sportswriters Association of Cebu-San Miguel Brewery event, said he was able to succeed as the manager of the Azkals because of his stubborn belief in the team.
“When I took on the job, my friends all told me to stop wasting money but I defiantly insisted on aiming for what was then considered inconceivable,” Palami said in his speech in front of some of Cebu’s most decorated athletes and coaches.
The 40-year-old team manager said 2010 was the first time he really got involved in any athletic endeavor and that experience made him admire athletes more.
“I have seen how they have encountered difficulties and how their discipline helped them overcome them. That has doubled my admiration for them,” Palami said.
Before the Philippine Azkals took the country by storm in what is now being dubbed the Miracle in Hanoi, the team trained largely unnoticed by the fans and perennially lacked funds.
The Philippine team pulled one of the biggest shocks in Southeast Asian football by beating defending champions Vietnam in the Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup on the way to making the semis.
Now that the Azkals have slipped into the country’s consciousness and funds are finally pouring into the sport, Palami promised to ensure transparency.
“I will do my part to ensure that all these funds will go to building the sport, and not somebody’s ego,” he said. “We have learned many hard lessons in the past.”
As for the Cebuano fans, Palami promised that he will bring the Azkals back to Cebu, again.
“You showed us that we were not alone. You were there for us in the difficult beginnings, so should you be in the glorious future,” he said.
Back in 2008, the Azkals had a friendly match in local soil against the Cebu All-Stars.
Meanwhile, WBO minimumweight champion Donnie “Ahas” Nietes was named the Athlete of the Year for the second straight year.
Nietes defeated Mario Rodriguez last Aug. 14, 2010 in Mexico to retain his belt. The other major awardees yesterday were Sportsman of the Year Boojie Lim and Orlando C. Sanchez Awardee Dr. Danilo Villadolid.
Comments