Wednesday 27 July 2011

Palami says there�s life after World Cup qualifiers

AZKALS� team manager Dan Palami told reporters on Tuesday that there�s life for the Philippine Azkals whether they made it through the second round of the World Cup qualifiers or not.


The Azkals need to pull off a near impossible 4-0 win against Kuwait�s Al Azraqs if the team is to enter the third round of the World Cup qualifying games. The two teams will clash for the second time tomorrow 7 p.m. at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

�We should not worry since the team is in developing process,� Palami told reporters during the weekly Philippine Sports Writing Association forum. �It�s a great experience that we played against Kuwait.�

Palami said that in case the Azkals failed to enter the third round of the World Cup qualifiers, their fans could still watch them compete in other international tournaments like the Long Teng Cup in Taiwan this September, the Four Nations Cup, which is to be held in Manila this year and the Challenge Cup slated March next year.

In addition, there�s also the 26th Southeast Asian Games on November 11 to 25 in Indonesia where some of the Azkals would play as members of the national football contingent.

�In terms of football development, we already achieve a lot this year particularly reaching the second round of the World Cup qualifiers,� said Palami.

Azkals� German coach Hans Michael Weiss for his part emphasized that the team needs more international exposures to improve their level of skill.

�Kuwait�s players� well-mapped-out positions and strategies made it difficult for us to defend. It would take another couple of years for us to reach such a level. Next year, we will challenge India and North Korea and preparations will be needed to be made earlier,� Weiss said

When asked to comment on what he would do should a miracle happen and the Azkals pulled off a 4-0 win against Kuwait, Palami said, �I�ll be the happiest team manager in the world.�

Manila Times

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