Sports Aficionado: For the love of the Game

1. FC Bayern Munich vs Olympique de Marseille at the Allianz Arena

 Bayern Munich will enter their home turf Allianz Arena on April 3 (April 4 PH Time) with a 2-nil edge against french side Marseille. As expected, the German giants showed precision passing, on target shooting and tight defense, keeping a clean sheet against the attacks of the French side. Bayern only needs to maintain another clean sheet or a draw to advance to a semifinal clash against Real Madrid or APOEL Nicosia.

2. Real Madrid CF vs APOEL Nicosia at the Santiago Bernabeu

After a 3-nil thrashing inside the GPS Stadium in Nicosia, Cyrprus, Spanish League leaders Real Madrid are just one step away in setting up a classic clash probably against Bayern Munich who has their first foot on the first spot in the semifinals winning the first leg 2-nil. Real Madrid were at their best game showing a clean pair of heels in their counterattacking and passing. As the home advantage is on their side, Real Madrid are very likely to take the win and advance to the semifinals. 

3. Chelsea FC vs Benfica at Stamford Bridge

It took 79 minutes for the English side to put their foot on the gas to throttle their way towards a semifinal clash against either FC Barcelona or AC Milan. Chelsea, under the supervision of interim manager Roberto Di Matteo sealed a crucial away goal against Benfica that could lead them to a classic semifinal match against either of the two biggest names in world football. Di Matteo and his boys were pressured a lot during the first half as their were contained to a nil-nil draw at the break but the great thing about that is the wait was worthy enough when Fernando Torres assisted Ivory Coast star Didier Drogba to seal the victory away from Stamford Bridge. Chelsea are likely to take the win when they face Benfica at home.

4. FC Barcelona vs AC Milan at the Camp Nou

90 minutes was not enough to separate this two giants as the first leg of their quarterfinal clash ended in a nil-nil draw at the San Siro although both sides clearly showed their intentions to score. Early chance came for Robinho only to go flying over the crossbar. Barcelona almost a goal of their own when Lionel Messi’s shot was rejected by Christian Abbiati but Dani Alves came for the rebound but was inches away from netting the first goal. During this build up, Barca asks for a corner but was called off. Another chance came from a Alexis Sanchez as he strafes in front of goal. Abbiati caught his legs but the penalty shout from the Catalan giants was called off. As the game draws to a close, Christian Tello almost found the back of the net but was denied a goal. Fans and coaches are expecting a final-like atmosphere inside the Camp Nou when these clubs meet for the second leg of the quarterfinals.

With a 3-1 defeat against Spanish Third Division squad CF Internacional de Mardid, the Azkals Alyansa opens the season with quite a buzz in the air, giving them some “boos” and some “yahoos” around the Rizal Memorial Stadium last January 7, 2012 for the victims of Typhoon Sendong.

The match might have gone to the favor of the visiting squad of CF Internacional de Madrid, it was still a great game for both of the clubs and the victims of the Tropical Storm Sendong, the beneficiaries of the charity match. Here are my own points of view on their defeat yesterday in the field and the success they made.

1. Less cohesion=poor performance

  The Azkals Alyansa were composed of stalwarts from the UFL Cup and the main pool of players from the national squad. This move from the PFF might be the worst move they have done even though it was a friendly match. Football teams, especially national teams must take these friendlies seriously, and by seriously, I mean they have to be in their regular lineup. Yes, we can’t get Neil Etheridge, Roland Muller. Stephan Schrock, Jerry Lucena, and Dennis Cagara because of their commitments to their clubs abroad, but why not use your second stringers from the national pool? Getting new players for this game resulted to a lot of miscommunications in the field, allowing the Spaniards score against us. 

2. Why not “Tats” Mercado instead of Edward Sacapaño?

  When it comes on protecting the posts, we all know that Neil Etheridge is a real household name in Philippine Football. But if you want to show how good your local keepers are, why not use a keeper that came from the champion team, Philippine Air Force’s own “Tats” Mercado. He might be big for a keeper but he is so agile. Not to compare with Edward Sacapaño, but Tats’ height is more higher than Sacapaño’s. If you want to have a low goal-ratio against a cohesive team, you must have a keeper like sir Tats.

3. Sleeping Defense

  The game might be just a “friendly” game, but statistics count. If you want to impress the country and make them know that you are making a good leap towards greatness of football, start it by using the defensive block of the team. This game, I saw a lot of defense lapses, especially, with their fullbacks. As a CFIM striker advances, Azkals Alyansa defenders depend on the effectivity of their offside trap, a thing you shouldn’t do if you have a speedy striker. Yes, their intention was good, but the outcome is ugly. One more thing, if you think the offside trap doesn’t work, chase the player and steal the ball. The flag sometimes maybe your worse enemy.

Although there were too many mistakes made by the Azkals Alyansa that led them to concede three goals, they were still successful as they’ve delivered their support to our fellow countrymen who are in need of help in Cagayan de Oro. This charity match marked a remarkable beginning for Philippine Football in 2012. 

LA Galaxy and the Azkals shaking hands before Kickoff showing lots of camaraderie

It might not be a good run in the FIFA 2014 World Cup Qualifications, the Long Teng Cup, and the disappointing finish of the U-23 Azkals, but still, the Philippine Football Team (Azkals) finished 2011 with style playing against the world-renowned player David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy last December 3,2011 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Vito Cruz, Manila.

It was the very first time that an international football club played in the Philippine soil and to pile on the sweet historic event, THE GREAT David Beckham nailed the first goal for the American side via patented curling shot that goes over Ed Sacapaño and sent the whole Rizal Stadium on a frenzy. 

The Azkals, on the other hand, never failed the Filipino faithfuls by scoring their sole goal that the Indonesian selection never did. Phillip James Younghusband made the breakthrough via left footed shot that almost erased the ecstasy of the Beckham goal earlier in the game.

Although they lost to Galaxy 6-1, they impressed coach Bruce Arena, LA Galaxy’s coach specifically, Angel Guirado, Chieffy Caligdong and Phil Younghusband captured coach Arena’s eyes. “I thought No. 12 (Guirado), No. 10 (Younghusband) and No. 13 (Caligdong) played well. I forgot their names and I apologize,” said Coach Arena.

The visit of the LA Galaxy, not only marks the end of the year for the Azkals, but also marks the beginning of the renaissance of Philippine Football. With this promotional event, the Philippines are on their way towards their return to the Southeast Asian Footballing map and hopefully, after the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup, back to the Asian Footballing Map.

This year’s edition of the United Football Cup here in the Philippines sizzles up a bit as AKTV (TV5’s Sports Channel) covers some of the games of the tournament but what captures my attention the most is the sudden appearance of some artists playing in the tournament.

No doubt, football here in the Philippines is now growing. From the narrowest slums up to the bright and sparkling lights of showbiz, football is being talked about, played or being noticed. But it hit me, what if one day I will see an artist, or a group of artists play football, would it be funny or competitive? And so on with the opening games of the UFL Cup. It was going great but when I saw one team, namely the Socceroo FC, it was like, ahmmmmmm… huh? Players in the squad includes Jake Cuenca, Akihiro Sato, and Daniel Matsunaga. Yeah, they have the right to play BUT do they have the credentials?

I’m not being pessimistic about these players but I was used to seeing them act so well and not play so well. I mean that it’s ok that they don’t play as professionals but PLEASE!!! Show some respect to the game! Losing 15-1 against Loyola Meralco FC whose players are the widely known Younghusband brothers? It was like giving them the win already. How about if they tried at least to limit the scores below 10 or even below 5, that will not make them look like super amateurs in the sport. 

To close out this article, I would like to stress out the importance of being well-trained in this field of athletics. If you are a star, and you want to improve your public ratings, do a lot of community services like sharing something to the poor or some stuffs like that. If you want to be in the field of sports, PLEASE train hard and play with your heart, not just playing for fun or for public appearance. Instead of being well-renowned, you will look like a jackass who tries to cope up with what is the trending. I know I’ve offended a lot of fanatics here but all I want to stress out is “Being an athlete requires training, perseverance, hard work, and courage not STARDOM, FAME, SCREAMING LADIES and HANDSOME FACES”.

Spiking their way towards victory, the SLCV men’s volleyball team (MVT) gear up for their upcoming VALPRISAA/VALAPSA competition opening this Monday.

Guiding behind them were the alumni volleyball players which brought glory once to their beloved alma mater. Alongside these players were their coaches Mr. Rolando Talag and Mr. Alvin Betic. Sir Alvin Betic used to be a playing coach, who plays on the opposition to help the young bloods cope up with powerful spikes and smart drops. 

Mr. Rolando Talag, on the other hand is an aggressive yet a quiet coach. Giving instruction to his men on how to penetrate the defense, the former Team Captain of the FEU MVT, a championship captain during 1996-2000 and a championship coach approximately during 2008 of SLCV MVT and Women’s Volleyball Team.  Enough credentials as you can see, but not every good coach can produce good players. Sometimes, it lies on the players themselves on how they will treat the discipline being given to them by their coaches. With Sir Talag, he wants his team think over the impossibilities like hitting the ball even though you think that you can’t hit it. To him, there is no good nor a bad player as long as you train hard and apply what you have trained for in the playing field. 

With the VALPRISAA/VALAPSA nearing its opening games, the SLCV MVT focuses on the possibilities of facing the giants of the division. I might say giants because literally, some of the teams waiting them are far more bigger and taller than them. So Coach Talag decided to use his former players to help them boost their morale. Here are some snapshots of their training. 

Sports have been very close to my heart since I played for my alma mater during my grade school and high school years. And there’s nothing more heart-melting than to see your athletics team grow and the facilities continue to be refurbished. Yesterday, during my visit on my beloved alma mater, I saw some varsity players gearing up for these year’s edition of VALPRISAA/VALAPSA athletic meet. Weeks before my visit yesterday, I saw my former Taekwondo coach and made me sad. Before, we were fighting with a force of 15-20 taekwondo jins, now they have only 7-12 players. Here are some of the pictures of their training program.

Despite the decrease in the number of our taekwondo jins, the school were still hoping to see them produce a good medal tally with the favors turned to our side as the competition will be held on our home turf. 

The taekwondo competition and the volleyball competition of this season’s VALPRISAA/VALAPSA meet will be held on this newly refurbished and improved SLCV Gymnasium. 

Training with their whole heart, another team that were expected to bring new hopes to the Louisian community is the newly reinforced Basketball Team. With their players coming from last year’s talk of the intramurals. Guiding them on the sidelines is the veteran Lousian coach Mr. Rolando Gonzales, whose coaching skills will be tested again by the mighty oppositions namely CMIC, St. Mary’s Angels College Valenzuela and St. Scholastica (Formerly St. Jude). I took some pictures of them while they are training under the scorching heat of the sun. 

These athletes were expected to bring back the glory to St. Louis College Valenzuela but the most talked about team of them all is the Men’s volleyball team who has been training hard to get back to the top after stumbling down. On my next post, I will be emphasizing on the training, background and snapshots of the Men’s volleyball team preparation