Wednesday, January 24, 2007 Caslib decides to take a break
AFTER steering the Philippines in the Asean Football Federation Championships, coach Ariston Caslib will take a much needed break to assess the team’s performance in the biennial meet.
“It has not been a fantastic participation for us but at the very least, we showed in our last game that we are capable of playing at a higher level,” Caslib told Aseanfootball.org.
The Philippines lost captain and trusty defender Ali Borromeo in their 0-4 loss to Malaysia and also suffered an 0-4 loss to Thailand.
The team managed to salvage its pride after holding Myanmar to a 0-0 draw, spoiling Myanmar’s entry to the semifinal round.
“Except for the last game against Myanmar, it has been a largely disappointing experience as I know that we could have played better,” Caslib said in the report.
The coach, who steered the country to its first international win in the 2004 Tiger Cup, was hoping to nail two wins in the tournament to qualify for the semifinal round.
Absence
“The absence of Phil Younghusband just before the start of the tournament threw out whatever preparation we’ve had and just to make things that much harder, we lost captain Ali (Borromeo) to injury in the very first game,” Caslib said.
Younghusband, who scored six goals in the AFF qualifiers in Bacolod last year, opted to concentrate on his career with Chelsea.
Meanwhile, the Philippines dropped seven rungs in the latest FIFA world rankings.
From 171st place, the Philippines dropped to 178th after earning only 43 points in January. (ML)
