A done victory for Azkals, say 2 ex-PH team coaches

MANILA, Philippines — The Sri Lankan football team will certainly not be amused by two former Philippine football team coaches’ prediction of their highly-anticipated clash with the Azkals Wednesday at the start of their two-leg qualifying series for the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Juan Cutillas and Norman Fegidero Jr. said the South Asian nation, which has cricket as its No. 1 sport, is likely to lose in front of its home crowd at the 25,000-seater Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo.

“It’s already a done victory,” Cutillas, a former Spanish football player who mentored the last Philippine team that faced Sri Lanka in an international tournament 38 years ago, said in a recent interview.

“Sri Lanka is much behind us in football. We will win by two to three goals at home. We will also win in Colombo, but not very high.”

Cutillas coached a Philippine selection which beat Sri Lanka, 4-1, in the Medeka football tournament in Malaysia, which he said at that time, was one of the most prestigious competitions in Asia.

Four Spanish players and 14 Filipinos comprised the squad, which included former Philippine Football Federation president Mari Martinez.

“It will be a good game. But skill-wise, the Azkals are superior individually. I think the Azkals have a very strong chance of winning if they play as team,” Fegidero, a former national team player who coached the squad in 2008, said.

Fegidero, who has been appointed by the PFF as one of the assistant coaches for the soon-to-be formed under-23 team for the 26th Southeast Asian Games this November noted that the Azkals’ two-week camp in Germany where the they split their four test matches against strong German sides, has made the team more cohesive.

Even Sri Lanka’s Korean coach Jang Jung admitted they will have a hard time against the Azkals.

“They are certainly going to give us the stiffest challenge we could expect. They have prepared well in advance than us,” said the Lankan coach in an interview with Sunday Times.

The Azkals arrived in Colombo on Monday and Azkals team manager Dan Palami said the team is ready.

“Just by judging the team that Sri Lanka had in the AFC Challenge Cup and what we’ve achieved in training camp in Germany, I must say our chances to win are good,” Palami said.

“The camp and the matches were very challenging. We played strong opponents in the last two matches and gained valuable experience,” Azkals coach Michael Weiss said.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Football Federation announced that it will sell 400 grandstand tickets (P2,060) and 1,300 bleacher tickets (P206) for the July 3 return match at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

Francis Santiago, Manila Bulletin