Philippine national men�s football coach Hans Michael Weiss wants Filipinos to tone down their high expectations to the team a few months before the 2012 ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup.
�To now think that the Philippines are the kings of Southeast Asia, that�s very funny,� Weiss said, adding that the recent performances of neighboring countries like Malaysia, which almost scored an upset against English Premier League squad Arsenal before yielding a 2-1 loss last Tuesday, make the tournament tougher for them.
Long the whipping boys in the region, the Azkals made a Cinderella run in the tournament two years ago, reaching the semifinals before bowing out to eventual runner-up Indonesia.
Weiss said that the 2010 squad took advantage of the many lucky opportunities that came its way en route to the historic feat. The Azkals had to salvage a scoreless draw Cambodia in their last match in the qualifiers just to make it to the main competition.
They forced a 1-nil draw against Singapore in the group stages of the tournament, thanks to a last minute goal by Chris Greatwich. They also endured some scary moments before pulling off a 2-0 upset over then defending titlists Vietnam to advance to the semifinals.
�2010 was a once in a lifetime story,� Weiss said. �They were very lucky in the last minute.�
However, the German coach also believes that the team has become stronger with new players as well as the system it currently employs. Under Weiss, the Azkals added foreign-based players such as Filipino-German Stephan Schrock and Filipino-Spanish Angel Guirado, among others. They also moved away from a being defensive-oriented team to an offensive-minded squad which attacks the field more to get chances at the goal.
�We are in a much higher level now,� Weiss said. �Azkals are not the same in 2010 anymore.�
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