Is a SEAG medal a realistic target?

A shrug, a twitch and a grimace.

That�s how coach Michael Weiss answered when I asked him whether a �SEA Games medal was a realistic target� while we were downing a few beers the other night.

We got to talking about how media hype may have led some fans, the clueless showbiz media and even a few of the sports media, to expect the world of the Azkals. How some tend to have unrealistic expectations.

�This (success) just doesn�t happen in six months,� he said.

Then I asked him how the Under 23 team was doing.

 �It will be a totally new team with Manuel Ott, Jason de Jong, Roland Mueller, a fully professional keeper�There are also many, many homegrown talents who want�� he said.

�So, is a SEAG medal a realistic target?�

His face twitched a bit, he grabbed his glass of beer and shrugged.

I asked if all the media hype and the success of the senior team will put pressure on the Under 23 squad to deliver what fans expect of them.

Earlier, he complained that the media, instead of educating the fans, also tend to add to the hype.

�Here, let me show you something,� he said while grabbing my notebook.

When I realized he was writing a series of (please click===>) lineups, I told him that I may not be competent enough to understand it.

�No, you will understand this,� he said. �Now look.�

�I don�t think I�m seeing what you want me to see coach.�

Then he rattled off the names and then I began to see the picture.

 �What do you think?�

�I think I like this one,� I said, pointing to his Team 3.

�This,� he said, while pointing to the first one, �Is the team that played in Kuwait. This one, in Rizal and this is my dream team.�

His dream team really is a dream team and I know some fans will be surprised to see a few missing names.  The composition of the back four, I think, will also raise a lot of discussions.

�If you noticed, only five of them played in Kuwait. That is what I was waiting for the media to point out.�

I asked if the team is pressured.

 �There�s no pressure on the players, they will just play.�

�But what happens if they can�t win a medal?� Or perhaps I may have asked it as, �but what happens if you can�t win a medal?�

�What will happen? You will fire the coach? You will all say �FIRE THE COACH?��

It was my turn to stammer, �No coach, that�s not what I�m getting at.�

The team started training last Monday, and will have a series of training camps in Bacolod and one outside the country�Japan or the middle east.

But a two-month preparation compared to say, host Indonesia, which identified its training pool as early as last January?

Is two months enough?

I didn�t catch an answer but I think I detected a grimace on coach Weiss� face.

But I could clearly see he looked surprised when I told him that the 1991 team�the one that made it all the way to the semis�was the most successful SEAG men�s football team.

A success that this year�s SEAG team�the first one since 05 and the second since 1999--are being tapped to surpass.

�So, is a medal a realistic target?� I asked again.

�Well, they are talking of a bronze medal.�

�So it is a realistic target?�

�OK, let me tell you right now. If we win the gold, we will party every night for 30 days here in Cebu,� he said, and he wasn't even smiling.

�A bronze, maybe 28 days.�



So, is a SEA Games medal a realistic target?