Dooley says ‘no hard feelings’ after Azkals stint

AFTER serving the Philippine Men’s Football Team for almost four years, the former US captain Thomas Dooley finally ended his service as head coach of the Azkals.

The 57-year-old Dooley steered the Azkals to qualify in the 2019 UAE Asian Cup and elevated the Philippines to its best Fifa ranking at 111.

Dooley, who just returned from a short vacation, thanked everyone for the great years serving the country. “Getting to know you and your beautiful country, I cannot explain with words how much I love and respect your country. Thank you so much for your great words in text email and messenger,” he said.

“Thank you very much for your support and we all wish only the best for Philippine football and of course our amazing Azkals team. I hope one day, young people will wake up and see the great opportunity and the future that lies in front of them. When the football community realizes that the Philippines have the genes of the Hispanics (Spain, Brazil, Argentina, etc.) their football future could be an Asian powerhouse. Maybe one day with the right program it will happen. Anything is possible,” he said.

Dooley also stressed that he has no hard feelings on the decision of the Philippine Football Federation. “I respect it and I’m proud and humbled to get the chance to represent this beautiful country, the terrific people, and fantastic players,” he said. “Good luck in the upcoming games and especially in the Asian Cup and thank you for the wonderful memories, which I will always carry with me,” he ended.

English Terry Butcher replaced Dooley in the coaching chores.

During his prime, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 caps in a 10-year international career that featured three Fifa World Cups.

He will be joined by former Azkals midfielder Chris Greatwich as the assistant coach and Steve Marcells as the goalkeeping coach. (HGD)

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