With the second half of the current season of the Philippines Football League set to resume next week, the Azkals Development Team will hold a four-day tryout to fill a significant number of spots in the squad.
At least 15 players will either go back to play for their respective schools in the collegiate ranks or set to move out of the country to play for foreign clubs. These developments will directly impact the ADT which, as early as now, will prepare for the forthcoming Southeast Asian Games this May.
“There are many players leaving and will not be available for the squad and that leaves a big hole in the team,” recently retired Azkals’ great Stephan Schrock said.
Schrock says the tryouts will start from January 19 until the 23rd for those who are interested in joining the squad. ADT will play its first game on the 25th. Schrock will now help run the team full time on the sidelines.
“The plan is now to fully focus on coaching. Let’s see how it turns out if the new players need more guidance on the pitch,” Schrock said.
Schrock says he is quite happy with the inquiries from interested players hoping to play for the ADT and eventually for the men’s national football team.
Incidentally, Schrock revealed that the Azkals Development Academy will start in the first week of February with players coming to form the initial core of the 11 years old and under, 12 under and the 19 under age brackets. Schrock says the 19 under players will be given a shot to join the ADT if they perform well in the academy.
“Basically the 19-under will be directed towards the ADT and hopefully later this year, we will be able to open more age brackets in the academy. It is quite a lot already but we have to build it simultaneously with having enough licensed coaches on board. We can’t also sacrifice time for ADT because the squad is the priority,” he explained.
Schrock assures that the ADT will always be his priority and as early as now, he wants to prepare the squad for the SEA Games four months from now.
“We are very happy with the signings with people that we want to see and work with us. We couldn’t be happier,” Schrock added.
Speaking of working it out, ADT goalkeeper Julian Schwarzer has been formally introduced as the latest signing of Kuching City FC. The recently promoted side will now see action in the Malaysia Super League with the young Filipino boosting its stock.
Schwarzer made a good account of himself in the Azkals’ campaign in the AFF Mitsubishi Cup when he started for the team in the home game against Brunei. With Schwarzer manning the posts, the team won 5-1 against the visitors. It was the lone win in four games for the Azkals.
Another ADT mainstay, Jacob Maniti, is also on the move. According to team manager Josef Malinay, the midfielder is moving to Europe in search of a team.
“While we will surely miss the presence of Julian and Jacob in the team, we are happy that they are pursuing their dreams, that they are doing the necessary steps for them to get better, get more exposure and more experience competing in other leagues. We wish them well and hopefully, they will come back and play for the country again,” Malinay said.
Malinay added they expect some foreign based players to join the ADT in the second half. He said at least two or three players are set to suit up for the team.
Similarly, Sandro Reyes, another standout in the last tournament, is also going back to Europe to try his best to find a club to further his growth. Reyes, however, made it sure that playing for flag and country will always be his priority whenever he is called up.
On a personal note, The Designated Kit Man is in talks with the peeps running positivefutbol.ph in featuring possible players, both home grown and based outside the country, that hopefully will find their way to play for the Philippine Azkals. This long-term project will help the Azkals management in identifying as early as now, players that have the potential and the desire to suit up for the country. More on this next week.
As early as now, the team has identified several players, some as young as 15-years-old, who are seeing action for their respective national youth teams in the countries that they are based at. The team is also currently compiling a list of players based in the Philippines that also have similar potentials and skills that may come in handy when they join the national youth teams.
For comments or questions, you can reach The Designated Kit Man at erel_cabatbat@yahoo.com or follow his account at Twitter: @erelcabatbat