The Philippine Azkals is on their final preparations for the AFC Challenge Cup as the PFF held a press conference on Thursday, March 7, 2013 to formally announced their hosting of the tournament in Manila.
National Team Manager Dan Palami has expressed his delight at being able to host the AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers while German Coach Hans Michael Weiss reminded his players that the tournament is not a walk in the park and they should give their best shot to qualify.
Foreign-based players will be flying from Europe to join the Philippine Azkals, namely Neil Etheridge, Roland Muller, Rob Gier, Ray Jonsson, Jerry Lucena, Dennis Cagara, Paul Mulders, Angel Guirado and most of all the popular Stephan Schrock will be playing together with their new recruit Javier Patino from Spain.
Philippine Azkals team skipper Chieffy Caligdong welcomes the development of fielding their best players both the locals and their international counterparts to secure a seat in the upcoming AFC Challenge Cup.
The AFC Challenge Cup is a biennial competition for Asia’s emerging nations. The country has been participating in the tournament since its inception in 2006. The Azkals best finish in the tournament was during last year after they played from the playoff round and eventually qualified to the finals finishing third place overall.
The Philippines is now bracketed with Brunie, Cambodia and Turkmenistan, the top two teams along with the two best second placed teams in all groups will advance to the finals to be held in Maldives.
