Members of the Philippine men’s national football team pose for a group photo during their send-off dinner press conference on Wednesday night at the Eastwood Richmonde Hotel in Quezon City. (FCF / Jenner Ong)

Caligdong named captain for national squad in biennial ASEAN football meet

Two years ago, the Philippine men’s national football team wasn’t even on the radar for so many football afficionados in the Southeast Asian region. But a semi-finals appearance in that year’s AFF Suzuki Cup and a swift two years later, Philippine football has caught the fancy of so many sports fans in the country and has proven that the sport is here to stay.

And for a good number of players from that squad, they will once again take the pitch and don the national colors for another crack at the title.

Led by team captain and exiting Airman Emelio “Chieffy” Caligdong, the team affectionately known by their fans as the Azkals will field in some familiar names from the 2010 squad, including the tandem of brothers Phil and James Younghusband.

The full 22-man roster, however, will be announced days before the squad’s runup to their group stage opening match against hosts Thailand at Bangkok on November 24.

“It’s going to be a physical game against the host team, and it’s going to depend on us on how the result will be,” said Caligdong on their opening game.

“Underdog pa rin kami, pero ‘wag sana kami maliitin (We’re still underdogs, but I hope that they would not take us for granted),” added the 10-year Air Force veteran.

The Azkals are clumped in Group A together with qualifier stage winners Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand in the so-called “Group of Death,” as all teams are seen as “dark horses” to contend with the big guns in the other group.

In Group B, qualifying stage runner-up Laos joins Singapore, 2010 runner-up Indonesia, and defending champions Malaysia in a tough draw.

Following their November 24 tiff, the Philippines round off their group stage matches at Bangkok against Vietnam on November 27, and their final match against Myanmar on November 30.

Should the team finish within the top two of their group, they will move on to the “home-and-away” semi-finals series against a team in the opposing group.

It must be noted that when the team qualified for the semi-finals during the last staging of the AFF Cup, the Azkals had to play both of their matches against Indonesia in Jakarta due to a lack of a suitable venue to host the first leg. However, with the popularity of football having exponentially increased within the last two years, together with the refurbishing of the near-century old Rizal Memorial Football Stadium, Filipino fans are hoping for another major international home game before the calendar year ends.

Months before the start of this tournament, the squad has already begun its run-up to the biennial meet by participating in training camps in the Middle East and in the United States, plus their recent campaign in the inaugural four-team Philippine Peace Cup last September against the likes of Chinese Taipei, Guam, and Macau that boosted their stock in the international rankings.