AFC Challenge Cup | Third Place Play-off | PHILIPPINES 4-3 PALESTINE | 03/19/2012

[bluecross123]

yung mga major major sources ko rin has been saying about that dfb sending a defensive specialist strategist.
aprob yan kung ganyan.
para yung mga tipong hardworker na tulad ni jonsson or barbaso eh matuto naman mamili kung kelan umakyat at kung kelan hindi.
pag naka experience kahit isang beses lang na na counter tayo ng kalaban, dapat di na aakyat muna ang mga yan!

[PorferioKabisig]

mako-correct na rin yung ugaling pulpol ni caligdong na mag drift sa kung saan-saan. maiintindihan niya ang role niya (sa tingin ko hindi niya pa rin alam kung ano talaga role niya offensively and defensively). that way, hindi na siya gagala-gala sa unahan dahil alam niya na nakasalalay ang LB sa kanya bilang cover.

kung hindi, yung defensive specialist na mismo ang mag suggest na itapon na lang sa tawi-tawi itong si caligdong.

[bluecross123]

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/tacloban/l...-mulled-212196
Establishment of national football academy mulled

[choi106]

^^^ that's great news. slowly but surely, philippine football will have a great and solid foundation because of this national academy.

sana aabot sa cebu ang chelsea academy or barca or real madrid man lang..or pede rin bayern munich ehehehe sarap mangarap pero parang magkakatotoo

[futbolero7]

^^^ that's great news. slowly but surely, philippine football will have a great and solid foundation because of this national academy.

sana aabot sa cebu ang chelsea academy or barca or real madrid man lang..or pede rin bayern munich ehehehe sarap mangarap pero parang magkakatotoo

haha tae yan naiingit talaga ko! swerte ng younger generations! dont let this pass you by Pinas!

man lang? hehe sama mo nadin MANUTD!

[JulieMarBoy]

Ano projected ranking ng Azkals pagkatapos ng Challenge Cup? May nabasa ako na muungusan daw natin yung mga Indo?

[choi106]

haha tae yan naiingit talaga ko! swerte ng younger generations! dont let this pass you by Pinas!

man lang? hehe sama mo nadin MANUTD!

ahaha..uu..basta yung mga top footie clubs meron academy dito then of course 1 unifying academy which is our national academy...heheeh..

swerte ng magiging anak ko nito..nyahehehe...at anak nyu rin po/pamangkin? hheeheh

[futbolero7]

Ano projected ranking ng Azkals pagkatapos ng Challenge Cup? May nabasa ako na muungusan daw natin yung mga Indo?

ang alam ko 147.. page 5 ng rankings! woot!

indo current place = 147 with 160 pts
malaysia = 150 with 148 pts
Philippines = 156 with 136 pts

* ranking prognosis

Because of our strong showing in the challenge cup 182 pts ang posible ranking points natin.. that means mauunahan natin ang Indo cause they only have 160 pts. so were slowly making our way sa SEA... eventhough our neighbors are known football crazy countries!

PILIPINAS FUTBOL FTW!

[CaffeineHedgehog]

Ano projected ranking ng Azkals pagkatapos ng Challenge Cup? May nabasa ako na muungusan daw natin yung mga Indo?

Ang projected points natin ay 182, good enough for 147th sa current rankings. Kung previous month's points lang ang titingnan, maitutulak natin pababa sa 148th ang Indonesia.

Pero syempre may mga ibang international results ding naganap sa ibang bansa at possible din na mas bumaba pa ang points ng Indonesia dahil inactive sila this month.

[bluecross123]

we can learn also from what our opponents say about our team.
okay tong mga tao sa blog na to they are friendly at napaka-sportsman.

http://footballpalestine.blogspot.co...palestine.html

Palestine Starting XI: Saleh (C); Abu Saleh, Harbi, Mahdi, Abujazr; Wadi (Jamal 35'), Kawre' (Barghouthi 76'), Khader Youssef, Samara (Nu'man 51'); Abuhabib, Attal.


Goals: Abuhabib (21, 67), Attal (78)
Bookings: Harbi (24), Abujazr (34), Abu Saleh (73), Ramzi Saleh (90+3)


Recap: The Third-Place Playoff. Otherwise known as the I'd rather be somewhere else Championship. In most tournaments these affairs tend to be high scoring, sloppy, thoroughly entertaining affairs that provide great entertainment for the neutral follower. Philippines vs. Palestine fit the bill almost perfectly. Al-Fursan who had been lauded for their organization and defensive stoutness during the Challenge Cup were caught napping repeatedly during the first half. Phil Younghusband opened the scoring inside the first four minutes. Some truly atrocious defending allowed Phil Younghusband to skip past three defenders en route to slipping the ball to Saleh's left for the opener.



The first goal should have served as a wakeup call, instead it was a harbinger of things to come. Palestine showed flashes of their quality in the final third with their one-two passes at times leaving the Azkals mesmerized. Fahed Attal crashed a shot against the crossbar before his partner, Abdelhamid Abuhabib, equalized with a sublime curving shot from just outside the box. Instead of building on that, Palestine duly conceded a penalty when Ahmed Harbi clumsily bumped into Chieffy Caligdong. Phil Younghusband did not hesitate in making it 2-1.

Mahmoud sensing a shootout sacrificed Houssam Wadi- one of several players having an off-day for Mohammed Jamal. Instead of pulling one back before the half Al-Fursan conceded again- this time it was the industrious Ángel Guirado who blazed down the left wing to make it 3-1. These were not the only chances the Azkals were limited to- Ramzi Saleh had a one-on-one save (against Guirado?) to keep the score at 1-0 and saved a scrambled ball off a corner to keep it 2-1.

Palestine would wake up in the second half- dominating possession in a desperate attempt to get back into the game. Abuhabib made it 3-2 but just when it seemed the comeback would be on the Philippines produced a goal that evidenced their maturation over the past 12 months. Juan Guirado's run from defence went unchecked and a lovely combination between two of his teammates allowed him to spring a half-hearted offsides trap. To Palestine's credit they made it a very interesting final 20 minutes. Attal's 78th minute goal cut the deficit to one- but it was just one too many mistakes for Palestine to overcome.

Negatives: Where to start? Jamal Mahmoud said this was the worst performance in over twelve years, and as far as effort is concerned, you have to agree with him. There was very little evidence of the fighting spirit we have come to know and love. Many of the players were familiar with this team having faced them in the qualifying round last year. Mahmoud had them prepared tactically and it wasn't like the Filipinos sprung a surprise- they played their normal game. I've also noticed a propensity by certain players (Khader Youssef, Ashraf Nu'man, Mohammed Samara) to shoot from distance. It was especially frustrating to see opportunities for a promising pass in the final third only for ridiculous shots to be fired high, wide, and not so handsome.

Positives: Fahed Attal scored again which should put the 70-month barren streak out of his memory. Abdelhamid Abuhabib showed his true class with a brace- I have always seen him as a teraquista but he did well as an out-and-out forward in his first Challenge Cup start.

Azkal Ascendancy: I know it seems that I haven't given the Azkals enough credit. The Philippines have been great during this tournament and got better with each game. They thoroughly deserve the bronze medal regardless of what sort of team or performance we put out there. The Azkals have come so far in the past year and I hope when our paths cross again both our teams will be better than they are today. A big thanks goes to all the Azkal fans who helped put us over 100 Twitter followers last year and helped us top 600 and 700 this year.

What's Next: Palestine will host Bahrain, Indonesia, Jordan, Mauritania, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, & Tunisia's Olympic tournament and two other teams yet to be named in the Palestine Championships in May. The games will serve to commemorate the 64th anniversary of the Nakba. The PFA will have an opportunity to enter Asian Cup qualifying. If they wish to do so they most likely will have to enter preliminaries slated for September 1st and 5th. Challenge Cup qualifying for the 2014 edition is slated for 2-17 March 2013.

[bluecross123]

http://footballpalestine.blogspot.co...t-xi.html#more

Challenge Cup Best XI

I had planned to include more Palestinians in this formation but a poor display against Philippines ruled out many players. I will probably write something about Palestine's performance a little later this week but for now I leave you with FP's Team of the Tournament.



Goalkeeper:
Imran Mohammed (Maldives)

Statistically speaking DPR Korea's Ri Myong-Guk was by far the best shot-stopper in this tournament. The fact of the matter is, he did not stop many shots as the defenders in front of him were incredibly good at snuffing out any danger in the final third. This left two obvious candidates- Ramzi Saleh and the Philippines' Neil Etheridge. Etheridge eliminated himself from contention after getting sent off in the dying moments of the semifinal against Turkmenistan. Ramzi Saleh's complicity in Palestine's lethargic first half against the Philippines meant he was out of the picture as well. I chose to go with Mohammed because he single-handedly kept Maldives in this tournament making big-time saves in every game. Nepal should have beaten Maldives but came up against an inspired Imran. In the final group game, he allowed Turkmenistan to win the group by making one-on-one saves on Ashraf Nu'man and Mohammed Samara in the second half. Had any of his teammates bothered to show up in Nepal, it might have ended differently for the Red Snappers.


Defenders:
Pak Nam-Chol II, Ri Kwang-Chon, Jon Kwang-Ik (all DPR Korea)


Everything for DPR Korea started at the back and it was, in large part, a team effort with eight players often dropping back to defend, press, and win the ball back. The aforementioned trio were so good, so dominant that Ri Myong-Guk hardly broke a sweat en route to the final. Unfortunately, Challenge Cup statistics are not readily available but by my estimation total shots on the Chollima did not eve come close to eclipsing double digits.

Midfielders:
Pak Nam Chol I (DPR Korea) The deserved winner of the MVP award- the literal incarnation of a box-to-box midfielder. Pak scored in all three group games and was involved in every attacking move quickly shuttling balls for the forwards to finish off. Ruslan Mingazow (Turkmenistan) was similarly influential for the Green Men, albeit in a more advanced role. Paul Mulders (Philippines) was understated but excellent he terrorized fullbacks out on the wing and wreaked similar havoc when he cut inside. It's hard to imagine any other Filipino player sending in the cross for the goal against Turkmenistan or expertly picking out Juan Guriado for the winner against Palestine.

No one could get through Murad Ismail (Palestine) in midfield which took a lot of pressure off a makeshift back line. Pak Nam Chol had his poorest game offensively against Palestine and Ruslan Mingazow's supply-line was completely cut off. His offensive contribution is much underrated as his rasping shot played a direct role in Palestine's first goal of the tournament.

Forwards:
Phil Younghusband (PHI) was very efficient and opportunistic. When the Azkals needed a goal this was the man who would provide it. The knock on his excellent goals-per-game ratio was that it was inflated with nearly half coming from encounters against minnows Brunei, Bhutan, and Timor Leste. After bagging six goals and the Golden Boot against competent opposition those goals only account for a third of his tally.

Arslan Amanow (Turkmenistan) bailed out the Turkmen against the Maldives, setting up the winner and scoring the third and then repeated the feat against the Philippines. Bizarrely omitted from the starting eleven against DPR Korea- Amanow made his presence felt as a sub- rattling the crossbar with a free kick and winning a penalty.


Ángel Guirado (Philippines) went into Beast Mode with the Philippines down a goal against Tajikistan. He set up the equalizer- stealing the ball and steamrolling down the left flank before assisting Phil Younghusband. For his final act, he bravely headed home the winner ten minutes from time. His combination of power and pace is an absolute pleasure to watch; it's too bad he didn't make in La Liga, but when the door shut in Spain a giant window opened in The Philippines.

[EL_Granada]

^^^ that's great news. slowly but surely, philippine football will have a great and solid foundation because of this national academy.

sana aabot sa cebu ang chelsea academy or barca or real madrid man lang..or pede rin bayern munich ehehehe sarap mangarap pero parang magkakatotoo

may academy na ang Real Madrid sa davao, try nalang sa CQCU Academy. hehe

[JulieMarBoy]

ang alam ko 147.. page 5 ng rankings! woot!

indo current place = 147 with 160 pts
malaysia = 150 with 148 pts
Philippines = 156 with 136 pts

* ranking prognosis

Because of our strong showing in the challenge cup 182 pts ang posible ranking points natin.. that means mauunahan natin ang Indo cause they only have 160 pts. so were slowly making our way sa SEA... eventhough our neighbors are known football crazy countries!

PILIPINAS FUTBOL FTW!

Thanks. nice.

[sebastian_01]

Yahooo! Congratulations Azkals!!!! Super busy kaya super late na rin ang bati ko at hindi ko pa napanood yung game sana may replay sa weekend. ...I'm excited for their next match, I hope I'm not busy at that time.

[1Azkals1]

Congratulations Azkals! hahaha super busy din at ngayon lang libre

[vincex]

I hope this 3rd place finish is good enough as a slap in the face for people making "sexual harassment" charges over nothing. Some people should be happy that they are even "harassed".