WHEN asked what is more challenging between playing for the sun and the three stripes or leading the national senior football teams, especially the men’s national squad, Team Manager Freddy Gonzalez said that it’s the latter that takes the cake and more.
Gonzalez, in a rare but much-welcomed kumustahan with The Designated Kit Man, explained that playing in front of packed stadiums in hostile pitches didn’t bother him while he was with the national football team. He simply didn’t care that 60,000 local fans were screaming their hearts out against him and the rest of the Pinoy side. He still played as if he owned the stadium.
Managing the team, however, is a different story.
“When I first came in, I knew it was going to be, you know, a lot of work. You have to build a team from scratch especially depending on who your coach is. I had a very clear idea of how I wanted the team to play. I was really sick and tired of just playing ‘park the bus.’ I knew our players could do better than that,” he said.
There is also one big difference whenever the national men’s football team is about to compete in international tournaments or even in friendlies. He gets the butterflies, not once but twice, in his stomach as if he is in an automatic loop of worries.
“I actually get quite nervous two moments before every FIFA window – the weekend before because I might get a call that a player got injured or couldn’t make it and then two or a night before the actual game. I can’t sleep. I’m always thinking about it,” he said.
Gonzalez, however, makes sure that if these worries come, his players don’t see them. He doesn’t want the negative energy to impact his players. He is very fortunate, too, that his wife is very supportive of his passion. He says he can’t complain. “It’s a kind of dream job, you know hanging out with the best players of the country, right?” he said.
But more often than not, the best players of the country are not often available especially during games when they are needed the most.
The forthcoming AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 is no different. Slated to unfold during the non-FIFA windows, Gonzalez said notable members of the national team such as Gerrit Holtman, Santi Rublico, and Dylan Demunyck, among others, are not guaranteed to be present during the entire tournament because of club duties.
“We are talking to their clubs if they will allow them to come. We are hoping that they will allow them to miss their last games before the winter break so that they can still play in the Vietnam and Indonesia games,” Gonzalez explained.
Gonzalez said that players in Europe have games on December 14, 15, 21 and 22. If they are allowed to skip their last games, Holtmann and company can fly out to join the national team after December 15 and be present against Vietnam on the 18th and on the 21st against Indonesia.
“All the games are important, but we need our best team for those two games because they are the strongest opponents in the group,” he added.
Gonzalez believes the country’s chances in the region’s biggest soccer event are really good. He said that they already have an idea how the opposition will play.
“We know how Vietnam is going to approach it. They are not changing much. They are still a very strong team. You can’t take them lightly. Indonesia is going to be interesting because from what I’ve seen in the press, it looks like they’re gonna field an Under 22 or Under 23 squad,” Gonzalez, who is also the Director of Senior National Football Teams of the Philippine Football Federation, said.
Which begs us the next logical question, is the national team expecting additional players as the Mitsubishi Electric Cup gets underway? Gonzalez says they are trying despite the many limitations and concerns they have to overcome one of which is the country’s immigration laws.
“I was hoping to get the Markanich brothers (Nick and Anthony) here and guys like Erlandson (Jacob) and others to come so that we can process their documents here in person because their papers are a little bit unique. A lot of people don’t know the Philippine immigration laws and it has changed many times over different constitutions” Gonzalez said.
Despite the challenges and nuances of the law, Gonzalez assures that the country will not take the example being set by one of our neighbors wherein it has been naturalizing players left, front and center in rapid succession of late.
“Let’s be real. Everybody knows it. Nobody’s just saying anything,” he quipped.
On a side note, there has been so much negative reaction due to the last-minute inclusion of Jared Peña in the national team that will play against Hong Kong. Peña replaced the injured Joshua Grommen, a development which has many fans calling for more qualified and better replacements other than Peña. Can’t blame the fans for expressing their concerns after all, the last time the kid played in the national team, it was a forgettable stint against Chinese Taipei which we lost in the dying moments of the game at home.
According to a source inside the PFF, this is the reason why Peña was chosen: “The coaches felt he’s someone with enough quality, promise and character to be included.” The source also maintained that Peña was chosen “just for the friendly window” and there are “no assurances for the Mitsubishi Electric Cup”.
I can only offer this unsolicited advice to Peña, who enjoys a tremendous following in social media especially among Indonesian fans, make the best of second chances and prove your critics wrong.
Stay safe. Stay happy peeps!
For comments or questions, you can reach The Designated Kit Man at erel_cabatbat@yahoo.com or follow his account at Twitter: @erelcabatbat
