Tuesday, February 06, 2007 Sharpe makes RP U21 team
AFTER shining in numerous local and national tournaments, Cebu International School’s young phenom, Michael Sharpe, gets a chance to strut his skills in the international scene after getting a call-up to join the RP Under-21 training pool later this month.
Sharpe, who at 14 was one of the youngest in the Cebu team which finished runner-up in the Adidas Under-19 two years ago, was spotted by Under-21 national coach Bob Salvacion during a series of trials last week.
The CIS striker will join 24 other hopefuls in the training pool, which will start on Feb. 14 in Manila. The list will be culled to the final 18, who will represent the country in the Hassanal Bolkiah Cup in Brunei on March 3-17.
Salvacion said he picked Sharpe over 34 others who joined the tryout because of Sharpe’s build, strength and speed.
“He has lots of potential for the national team, although he has a little problem with his technical skills,” said Salvacion.
Cebu Football Association president Jonathan Maximo said he already informed Michael’s father, Dave, and CIS superintendent Mark Bretherton regarding Salvacion’s choice.
Younghusband
If Sharpe makes it to the team, he will have the chance of playing alongside Chelsea reserve Phil Younghusband, who is still eligible to play for the Under-21, who is part of the squad.
On the other hand, Salvacion said he saw the potential of the other Cebuano players but the lack of adequate training and competition went against the local players.
“Cebu needs to have regular training for the different age groups, from 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 to 23. It’s like they (the other players in the trials) are hungry for high-level training,” Salvacion said.
Illness
Salvacion also eyed another local midfielder but decided not to as the player had just recuperated from illness.
“It will be less than a month until the training camp starts, and the player will have a hard time time recovering,” Salvacion said.
Aside from regular training, Salvacion said what Cebu lacks compared to Manila is regular competition.
“You need to have 30 to 40 competitive matches in a year,” said Salvacion. (ML)
