THE THRILL OF WATCHING GAMES (AZKALS VS. TAJIKS)

By Philip M. Lustre  Jr.

NOTHING matches the thrill of watching live games.

This was reconfirmed last night when I went to the game between the Filipino national football team, popularly known as the Azkals, and Tajistan at the Rizal Football Stadium. The Azkals won 2-1 over the Tajiks in a classic game that had its own ups and downs and, of course, drama.

The Azkals’ victory has sealed it entry into the 2019 Asian Football Cup, where the winning national football teams would represent Asia in the 32-man Finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, or the Olympics of football.

The Azkal-Tajik game was a thriller from start to finish. Each team gave no quarters, as they sought to score under difficult situations. The Azkals, mostly players of Filipino heritage from various parts of the world, could be highly competitive, as they sought to prove to be the better team. The two teams met four times in the past; the Azkals won three and drew one.

Football is a very grueling sport; it is not for the weak and fainthearted. It requires stamina, as football players play it for 90 minutes broken into two 45-halves. It has no timeouts unlike basketball. The football field, which they call pitch, is six times bigger than a basketball court.

Since football is a game played with the ball down on the ground, unlike basketball, where the ball is up in the air, this game has many imponderables. Tall players are not assured they could dominate the game. Smaller guys run faster; they could zigzag the pitch and score goals.

By virtue of its dominance of the Group F of the elimination process, the Philippine national football team needed at least a draw to go into the Asian Football Cup, but it did not deter the Azkals to play the best football they could. In fact, subsequent press reports described it as a “historic win,” as it never reached the Asian Football Cup in the past.

At the sound of the buzzer, it was a slam-bang affair. The Azkals, led by their captain Phil Younghusband, initiated attacks that were foiled by the Tajiks. I was particularly amazed at the way right back Simone Rote brought the ball to midfielder Mike Ott and forwards Misagh Bahadoran and Younghusband. 

Left back Daisuke Sato equally pressed to distribute the ball of midfielder Kevin Ingreso. The Philippines did not score in the first half despite several scoring chances.

It was a scoreless draw for the first half, but I saw tackles and defensive brilliance done by the Azkals, making it an exciting game. At 63, I am a certified senior citizen, but I was no different from the nearly 5,000 fans, who came to cheer the national football team. 

I raised my two hands and fists, cheered the team, and shouted at the top of my voice. I noticed too that football is also a game of inches. The ball nearly came into the goal just by few inches

The Azkals’ brilliant moves thwarted attempts by the Tajiks. The cabezadas (headers), shoves, and pushes (they’re part of the game), and maneuvers showed a great fighting spirit that was aptly honed by experience of playing together and, of course, the prodding of a great coach – Thomas Dooley, an American who played in the U.S. national team in the 1994 FIFA-World Cup in the U.S.

The members of the Philippine national football team are aptly called Azkals, the shortened term for “asong kalye” (street dogs) because they came from various parts of the world. Although they have Filipino ancestry (either mothers or fathers are Filipinos), they have jelled well as a team notwithstanding the differences of temperament, experience, and personal circumstances.  

Rote is a full-blooded Filipino, who was plucked from a local orphanage by an Italian couple, who took him to Italy, raised him, and supported his studies and football playing. Phil Younghusband and elder brother James, who also played later in the game as substitute, have an English father and a Filipino mother, both deceased. Bahadoran has an Iranian father and Filipino mother. After playing football in Iran and some parts of the world, he has returned to the Philippines to study. He is now a dentist.

Sato is a son of a Japanese father and a Filipino mother. Although he was born in Davao City, he learned to play football in Japan. Mike Ott is the son of a German father and a Filipino mother. He and his brother Manuel learned to play football while in Germany. Ingreso has a Filipino father and a German mother. But most Azkal players have transferred here and play in local football teams and tournaments.

Although most Azkals have come from various parts of the world and that their common denominator is that either their father or mother is of Filipino descent, they have come to embrace this country. In fact, they feel insulted or hurt when they hear comments they are not full Filipinos. Hence, let us call them Filipinos because they play for the Philippine flag.

They have adopted the European brand of play. They play with much intensity, passion, ruggedness and physicality typical of the European teams. In the Azkal-Tajik game, I saw several instances when our local players gave the Tajiks some tactile fouls characterized by karate chops while colliding in mid-air. How they have mastered it is beyond me.

The Tajiks merely cringed in pain, while the three Australian referees (one chief umpire and two linesmen) were clueless about what could be described clean fouls. It takes quite some time to master those little acts of mercy. But the Filipinos know how to give some and receive them as well from the other side. This is the discipline of football. You give as much as you receive.

The second half was played intensely. Again, neither team gave quarters to its opponent. The same tackles and tactile fouls were visible. The Tajiks had some attacks, but the pair of central defenders Dennis Villanueva and Carli de Murga and goalie Neil Etheridge ably met those attacks with savvy. A mistake by Ingreso on the 65^th minutes led to a penalty kick by the Tajiks; they were ahead 1-0.

Incidentally, de Murga has a Spanish father by a Filipino mother. Villanueva has a pair of full blooded Filipino parents, but was born in Italy, raised there, and learned football by playing in youth clubs there. Ethridge is a son of a Scottish father by a Filipino woman.

But Ingreso later atoned for his fault when he scored on the 75^th through a cabezada (header) on a pass given by substitute Patrick Richelt. The game had its turnaround when the referee gave a penalty kick to Younghusband after a Tajik player committed a hand ball while in the box. Score was 2-1 in favor of the Filipinos.

The game did not end there. During the stoppage time (additional time given after 90 minutes to cover the injury time during the game), a Tajik player punched Ingreso. It was a revenge to some rough tactics the Filipino gave him.

Overall, the game was worthy of watching. It was fun. It was great. It was a timely diversion from the spate of extrajudicial killings we normally encounter these days. It is a welcome respite from the irresponsible statements issued by dimwitted guys like Harry Roque, Jose Calida, Vitaliano Aguirre, Bato, among others.

Most of the all, the game proved to be a relief from no less than the sick of man the South.