Cebu Football

The search for the next coach is over and the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) has found its man. National team manager Dan Palami has chosen Thomas Dooley as the next head coach of the Philippine national team, which will see action in the AFC Challenge Cup in the Maldives in May.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Jan. 30 issue) I MAY criticize the Cesafi a lot, especially on its eligibility rules but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate what the league has done. That’s why I’m glad that the Cesafi was recognized by the Philippine Sportswriters Association--despite the name, it’s a Manila-based group of sports scribes--for being a breeding ground of football, volleyball and of course, basketball players.

(Please don't copy-paste to other blogs.) IT SEEMS Raddy Avramovich is no longer in the running for the coaching job of the Philippine National Team as Myanmar, which sacked its coach after failing to reach the semifinals of the SEA Games, is keen on hiring the Serbian who steered Singapore to three Suzuki Cup.

IT WAS almost two years ago, when the I first wrote about the "fire the coach" clamor and defended Michael Weiss and said it was stupid. I wrote that changing the head coach just six months before the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup finals would be suicide. Two years later, it's January 2014, five months before the AFC Challenge Cup finals in May and we don't have a head coach, having sacked our coach. Is it crazy doing it this close to a tournament?

THE thing that I hate most in sports are coaches that cheat. They are the scummest of  scums who don’t deserve to be handling teams. I was exposed to age cheating early. Then, it was so prevalent that it seemed the norm. So, when I saw a few teammates who were off to a provincial meet memorizing new birth dates from their tampered birth certificates, I thought nothing of it as it was normal.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Jan. 11 issue) ORGANIZERS of the Sinulog Football Cup said their event faced the threat of a phaseout due to lack of funds, but thanks to a chance remark, they now have a sponsor and better yet, there's a new player in the Cebu football scene. After the Sinulog Foundation decided to phase out some of their events in their calendar, the Sinulog Cup was left with eager clubs and players, a spot in the calendar and a venue, but with no money to fund it.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Jan. 9 edition) I DON’T envy who ever would be in charge of the Philippine men’s senior football team this year as his would be one one pressure-packed job. Wait, let me backtrack a bit. A couple of weeks ago, Dan Palami said they were evaluating everybody’s spot in the national team, including the coaching staff, and were supposed to make an announcement at the end of last year.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Jan. 6 issue) I THOUGHT Philippine Olympic Committee president Peping Cojuangco got it but his latest statement showed that he hasn’t. Never have I seen the critics of Philippine sports so united as they were in the previous SEA Games in Myanmar, where the Philippines had the latest version of its worst finish with 29 golds, 34 silvers and 38 bronze medals.

LAST year, Cebu football raised the bar anew when the local FA held a glitzy general assembly complete with an awards night for the key individuals who helped the sport grow in 2012.  In all of my years in the sports scene, it was the first of its kind, not just in football but in other sports as well.