Azkals-Lions game seen to lift football’s popularity in Cebu
Football is expected to soar to unprecedented popularity here in Cebu when the highly-popular Philippine Azkals wage war against the Singapore Lions tonight at the Cebu City Sports Center.
The match scheduled at 7 p.m. is the first-ever international friendly game hosted by Cebu City dubbed as “Faceoff”.
Although just a friendly, the match is very important for both teams as it is part of their preparations for the AFF (Asean Football Federation) Suzuki Cup 2012 which is 10 days away.
This will be the last friendly match for the Philippines while Singapore still has one against Pakistan on Nov. 19.
Singapore Lions team captain Mohammad Shahril Bin Ishak said during yesterday’s press conference at the Cebu Parklane Int’l Hotel that they are under pressure to win tonight especially after losing to the Azkals, 2-0, in their first friendly match last September in Singapore.
“This is part of our preparation for the Suzuki Cup and it is very interesting because we lost at home so it is time for us to show what we’ve got,” Ishak said.
Singapore Lions head coach Avramovic Radojko said that they are very happy to be part of this game.
“This is not just a friendly, we are looking for the best competition and we will be happy if people will go out of the stadium happy after the game,” Radojko said.
Philippine Azkals head coach Hans Michael Weiss said that the boys are very excited about the match and are happy to have a strong opponent such as Singapore, a three-time Suzuki Cup champion.
LINEUP
According to Weiss, he will be fielding a totally different lineup from their last friendly match. “We have a big pool and we will not be playing with the European guys. We have a new and young team,” Weiss said.
He also said that members of the team who played in the recent United Football League semifinals like Phil and James Younghusband will not be playing tonight as he plans to give chance to newbies like Denis Wolf and Demitrius Irving Omphroy.
Injured members Misagh Bahadoran and Carli de Murga are also not playing.
Tonight’s match will also test the young guys now playing for the team, Philippine Azkals team captain Chieffy Caligdong said.
Weiss agreed saying that this is the match wherein he will be analyzing how far the younger guys can go mentally and physically. The intensity of their performance will also be gauged.
Coach Radojko, for his part, said the Singapore lineup will be 60 percent the same. Although the team right now is hounded by injuries, they do not see this as a problem as they are bringing in new players.
GAMEPLAN
Radojko said that Singapore’s gameplan is simple but complicated. He said he will be fielding in everyone so they can also find a better solution for the team. As to their formation, he said that every game is different so there’s a possibility of plan B.
As for Weiss, he said that their formation can be flexible and they may make position changes depending on the situation as he believes the Philippines enjoy a slight edge Singapore, the match being a home game.
Although it will be the first time that both teams will be playing at the CCSC, Weiss is counting on the support of the Cebuanos to help them pull through. And with tickets almost sold out, they have a very good feeling about the match.
