Villaflor: English coach leaves Azkals flatfooted

By Noel S. Villaflor

UNCONFIRMED reports online say Englishman Des Bulpin, has quit as coach of the Philippine Men�s National Team.

Wikipedia, though, quickly listed as �vacant� the entry under the team�s head coach, while another entry says he now �manages India�s Under-19 team.�

Among conflicting reports why Bulpin resigned is that politics made it difficult for him to run the team.

Blogger Louie Encabo, who runs the site usapangfootball.webs.com, writes: �Des�
decision was made simpler when a lucrative India U-19 team coaching position was offered to him. Not only do they have better facilities but they have an organized Federation as well.�

India having an �organized Federation,� in Encabo�s words, suggests the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) is not. Bulpin should now know that firsthand.

Some observers might find Bulpin�s resignation shocking, but I�m actually even more surprised that he lasted this long as Philippine coach, a job he himself described to a sports scribe as �a massive challenge.�

But finding the challenge too massive even for his Englishman�s wits, he flees faster than one can say �bollocks.� To hell with that one-year contract he signed in November last year, and never mind if the men�s team is joining the Asean Football Cup qualifiers this October.

(As an Azkals fan, it�s hard to forgive Bulpin for leaving at the height of the team�s preparations. An honorable man would have finished the job. The PFF mafia, on the other hand, is beyond redemption.)

This development must be annoying to a columnist for a national broadsheet, who wrote glowingly about Bulpin last February, even recklessly quoting a source, �He (Bulpin) may not be the best coach out there but he�s much better than anyone locally.�

(PFF technical director Aries Caslib took exception to the discriminatory statement, and was quick to reply with a list of Filipino coaches who are fit for the job.)

I pity the two benefactors, one of whom sits as team manager, who bankrolled Bulpin�s expenses, while the PFF need not spend a single cent by �outsourcing� its responsibilities of handling the national team.

Even more pathetic, Bulpin�s departure would give the PFF a convenient excuse should the team fare poorly in October.

But I hope not.

(nsvillaflor@gmail.com)

Sun Star Cebu

Comment : I posted in my blog already on May 21 that Des Bulpin was on the way to India.