I REMEMBER reading an interview published in German (thanks, Google translate) of then Azkals coach Michael Weiss several years ago. In the article he mentioned the team’s aim of breaching the 100 mark of the FIFA Men’s Ranking.
At that time, Project 100, as envisioned by team manager Dan Palami, seemed within reach and it was just a question of when the Azkals would achieve the century mark. From its lowest ranking of 191 in 2005 the Azkals had found themselves ranked 127th in 2013, the highest at that time, with Weiss at the helm.
A series of lackluster results, though, cost Weiss his job, and in came Thomas Dooley, who has since steered the Azkals, through a rollercoaster ride and internal rifts, to its highest ranking ever at 113 and, of course, a historic qualification for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. Whether Dooley gets to keep his job is another story, as Palami said the coach’s contract extension is still under evaluation.
It would be safe to say that whether it’s Dooley at the helm or not, the Asian Cup is a totally different level of football, and while there’s much to celebrate, mere presence and representing the country in Asia’s biggest competition as doormats is unacceptable.
The team that must compete in the United Arab Emirates beginning January 5 in 2019 must have the confidence to slay giants, or as Palami told me over coffee: to be the Iceland of the Asian Cup.
And this brings us back to Project 100. With the World Cup in full swing next month in Russia, FIFA’s friendlies schedules are in September and October yet. So whoever the Azkals face in these friendly matches must not just give them a warm up, they should really test the team to the hilt that it may finally have what it takes reach that elusive century mark.
Only this way can the Azkals gain a mindset that it can sit and compete with Asia’s best. And to compete with Asia’s best, the Azkals must dominate the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup that starts in November and culminates less than three weeks before the Asian Cup kicks off. (After today’s draw, well know who the Azkals are grouped with.) The schedules sound hellish, but there’s no other way for the Azkals to whip itself into a decent team against the football giants of Asia.
With the points from these friendly and competitive wins come higher rankings, and who knows the Azkals might actually breach the 100 barrier? The rankings may have other more practical functions, but its qualitative effects cannot be ignored.
Imagine heading to the Asian Cup not just as the Asean champions but as a member of the exclusive top 100 in the world. What a confidence boost that would be.
For now, the Philippines can relish the tought that it belongs to the top 20 teams in Asia at 17, and is second among Asean countries behind Vietnam at, yes, 103.