This year promises to be an exciting one for football fans of the Philippines, especially for those who have been there from the challenging beginnings of our Azkals: our team finally qualified for The AFC Asian Cup! For those who still don’t quite get the hype yet, here are five good reasons why everybody should jump on the Philippine football team wagon:
1. It’s our debut in the prestigious Asian tournament
The AFC Asian Cup is the most prestigious tournament for football in the region. Think of it as the World Cup, but with Asian nations. And our Azkals, the monicker for the Philippine National Football team, are making their first ever appearance here, which is a pretty big deal given that we’re one of the few nations here that aren’t footballing countries. And the road to get here wasn’t particularly easy. They had to go through three brutal qualifying rounds over the past four years, coming up against strong teams like North Korea and Uzbekistan. And now we’re here in the biggest footballing stage in Asia and we couldn’t be prouder. So if you can’t be in the United Arab Emirates for the tournament, the best way to support the boys would be to watch their matches.
2. We are now the second best team in Southeast Asia
There was a time when the Philippines was considered the “whipping boys” of Southeast Asian football. There was that infamous match in 2002 when Indonesia beat us 13-1, and if you know football, that’s a pretty high-scoring game.
But in 2010, during a match dubbed “The Miracle of Hanoi” when we beat powerhouse Vietnam in the group stages of the Suzuki Cup, the Azkals have been steadily improving. Right now, we’re ranked 114th in the world, 21st in Asia, and 2nd only to Vietnam in SEA. The infusion of Europe-based players as well as the continuous development of the local grassroots program have seen our team become one of the teams to beat during both friendly matches and regional tournaments like the biennial Suzuki Cup where we have been semi-finalists in 2012, 2014, and just recently, 2018.
3. We have nothing to lose but we #DreamtheImpossible
To say that the group the Azkals are in right now at The AFC Asian Cup is tough is an understatement. South Korea have been in the World Cup final stage for the past eight tournaments and very famously beat 2014 champions Germany during the 2018 edition.
China beat us in a friendly in 2017 with a score of 8-1. We’ve beaten Kyrgyzstan twice, but you still never know with this team. So there are no high expectations for the team because of who we’re grouped with, but that makes the Azkals all the more dangerous. They have nothing to lose but they also have the hunger and determination to prove themselves. The first game where they lost 1-0 against South Korea was still considered a win of sorts because the Taeguk Jeonsa had a tough time against us, getting just one goal when people expected more.
The next matches against China on January 11 and then Kyrgyzstan on the 16th will be crucial if we want to have a chance of qualifying for the Round of 16.
4. The fans are hardcore
While you can find basketball fans almost everywhere here in the country, football fans are a small but very dedicated group, kind of like a “cult following” as they refer to when it comes to movies and TV shows. They make it a point to watch away matches (those that aren’t played here) together in sports bars and even organize mini-viewing parties. Some even travel to cheer on the team during tournaments, whether it’s outside of Metro Manila or outside of the country. They’re a very vocal group that do not hesitate to make their opinions known but more importantly, to support and cheer on the boys no matter what. Even if you don’t know football, they patiently try to explain the game to you and try to get you to rally behind the national team as well. After all, in a basketball nation, we need all the support we can get for the sport that we love.
5. Football is actually fun to watch
If you’re used to basketball, the scores in football matches are pretty tame, with some even ending in a goalless draw at 0-0. And it might seem a bit slow compared to other sports, as you spend 90 or so minutes running from one end of the pitch to another. But that’s where the beauty of the game lies. It takes a lot of athleticism to run up and down a 70×10 meter field non-stop, with just a 15-minute break in between the two halves.
And they really work hard to get those goals and defend their goal against the opponent. Ask any newbie football fan and they’ll tell you that they didn’t think they’d fall in love with the sport but they eventually did. And with most of the world addicted to the sport, you know there’s something special about “the beautiful game”.