On the evening of March 29, 2016, 7,351 fans in the Rizal Memorial Stadium stood witness to the unfolding of history, the Philippine Azkals defeating 2010 World Cup participant North Korea at the very last minute. Long-time observers of Philippine football remarked that they had never seen so many spectators in stands before. Those who showed up were not disappointed. The Azkals won versus North Korea 3-2; the last two goals of the Philippines were made in the last ten minutes of the second half.
In spite of putting up a brave front on March 24 (Maundy Thursday) in Tashkent, where the Philippines lost to the much superior Uzbekistan 0-1, the Azkals were in a bit of a disadvantageous spot. The team was missing key players due to injuries and retirement. If penitence is taken literally in the context of Holy Week, they had a punishing 22-hour travel from Tashkent to Manila and resumed training just on Black Saturday. And, as Azkals’ Coach Thomas Dooley added, North Korea, who did not have a prior game, had ample time to prepare for the Tuesday duel.
“The win tonight was unbelievable,” Coach Dooley exclaimed. “The words on our t-shirt, ‘We believe,’ were the main thing. I’m very happy with the outcome. The players were positive.”
Misagh Bahadoran, who scored the first goal for the Philippines only moments before the end of the first half, dedicated his feat to outgoing Azkals skipper Juani Guirado who had announced his retirement from the Philippine team. Bahadoran said, “I’m so happy to score the goal especially for Juani. Especially since he came from an injury but he started training with us last Saturday.”
Juani Guirado is greeted by Intifanda Nandu (2nd from left) and her sisters. They came all the way from Zamboanga to watch the Azkals play North Korea and to personally thank Juani do on his last game for the flag.
For her and the perhaps the many Pinoy football supporters across the country, the historic win is a great send-off for the defender.
One memorable moment that got plenty of fans cheering was when James Younghusband was called to play near the end of the second half. James’ brother Phil was watching in the audience with other members of their family. “I felt emotional when I was pulled back in,” said James. “It’s good to get involved again (in the national team).”
Goalkeeper Neil Etheridge remarked that Azkals had become more formidable now. “There are a lot more professional players. The UFL (United Football League) really helped in setting a great standard of football.” Etheridge said that the present line-up is “high-strung,” that “it’s hard to pick the starting 11… It’s fantastic to be part of this group.” He and James Younghusband are the only remnants from the Philippines’ historic semifinal appearance in the 2010 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup
While it seems like Easter for Pinoy football fans, it should still be Holy Week mode for the Azkals as Coach Dooley advised the team members to keep working hard to reach world-class levels. “We have to believe that we can beat teams like North Korea, teams who went to the World Cup… Our players should spend more time thinking about their performance and asking themselves ‘What did I do right? What did I do wrong?’ They should spend more time watching the tapes.”
Coach Dooley concluded that the more time players spend on self-reflection, “the better the outcome will be.”
