Graeme MacKinnon came all the way from Australia to witness football history getting rewritten in his adopted city on Thursday.
“If it was played anywhere else in the country, I would not have come. We’ve been waiting for this to happen here for a long time and now it has become a reality,” MacKinnon said a few minutes before kick-off of the international friendly between the Philippine Azkals and the Singapore Lions at the newly rehabilitated football field of the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC).
Mackinnon’s love for the sport is beyond question. He skipped his granddaughter’s birthday just to be in Cebu.
The Australian who called the city his home for many years is credited as one of those who sowed the seeds of football in Cebu.
His contributions to the sport earned him a spot in the Cebu Sports Hall of Fame.
On the eve of the friendly match, Mackinnon together with Ebong Joson, another football devotee, donned a curly wig, painted their faces with the Philippine tri-colors and went around Ayala Center to promote the match.
They have earned the monickers Ceburoo for MacKinnon and Blue-Haired Fanatic for Joson.
The two are very close and call each other “lolo” and “apo.”
On match day, they again gamely played their characters to help boost the spirits of fans who thronged the CCSC to watch the Azkals prove once again that their rise in the Fifa rankings was no fluke.
MacKinnon and Joson had previously played their wacky characters when the Azkals played in Nepal and at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City.
Asked if things would have been different had the Azkals lost, MacKinnon said it wouldn’t have changed anything.
“You can’t change history and we witnessed that Thursday night. It is what it is. It was a first for Cebu in international football. You can’t change that so whatever the result, it would have stood. But the resultant win was just icing on the cake that sent all the supporters home deliriously happy.
“We were all proud Cebuanos last night and showed the rest of the country there is now an option for Azkals games to be played,” MacKinnon said.
Twelve-year-old Arantxa Trebol said she was proud to have been chosen one of the flag bearers during the Fifa-sanctioned match’s opening ceremony.
Trebol, a member of the national U13 girls team, said it was the second time that she had seen an Azkals game but last night was special because she had a role to play. She looks up to Azkals team captain Emelio “Chieffy” Caligdong as her role model in the sport.
Around 200 die-hard supporters known as the “Kaholeros” were seated in the bleachers and busted their lungs, cheering non-stop until the final whistle.
Not to be outdone were the fans from Davao who donned specially printed shirts that spelt “Go Azkals!”. Others opted to have the letters painted on their bare chests.
Drawing the loudest cheers were the three Cebuanos on the team— Paolo Pascual, Patrick Reichelt and Ray Anthony Pepito Jonsson.
A big share of cheers also went to the man of the match, goalkeeper Ed Sacapaño, who deflected all attempts made by the Lions, and ,of course, the poster boys of Philippine football – Phil and James Younghusband who were fielded in the second half.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama who arrived as the match was starting got into the moment by also cheering and standing up every time an Azkal made a run for the goal.