Limpag: An Azkal in the Premier League

I HAVEN’T really followed much of English football over the years, except for an odd game here or there, especially if it involves the Champions League. However, in the past few months or so, I’ve been paying much attention to the Championship, the second tier of English football.

I think most Pinoy fans, too, have been following the league and it’s all because of one player, Neil Etheridge, the Azkals’ No. 1 ever since he joined the team in 2008. Fans have been following Neil’s career since he was with Fulham and when he was released, Neil’s presence in any team meant an automatic gain in social media followers. I remember one of the teams he joined on loan, Bristol Rovers, expressing its surprise when it gained thousands of new followers. When whoever was handling the account realized all of them were from the Philippines, he or she managed to connect the dot to Etheridge’s presence.

Anyway, Neil has been fantastic at Cardiff City, and a few days ago, I searched frantically for any way to be able to watch his team’s season-ending game against Reading. Cardiff was at 89 points, while Fulham was 88, and both were fighting for the second automatic promotion to the Premier League.

It was 0-0 and the only way I could get updates were through the club’s twitter feed and I must have hit the refresh button more times than necessary. However, when I checked the result of the other Championship game, I relaxed a bit when I learned Fulham was trailing Birminghan, 2-0, at half-time.

Cardiff earned a draw to earn automatic promotion, while Fulham, Neil’s former club, lost 3-1, and will have to go through the four-team play-offs for the third and final promotion spot.

This means of course that Pinoy fans who regularly follow the big clubs--Man City, Liverpool, Man U, Arsenal and Chelsea--in the Premier League will have another team to follow in Cardiff City.

This could also bode well for Philippine football and Neil was even wearing the Philippine flag during Cardiff’s post-match celebration. It’s been just a few days and already, Philippine football has been mentioned prominently when two major outfits wrote about Neil’s journey post-Fulham.

Neil almost gave up and said he has sold his house and cars in England and was a week away from trying his luck in the Philippines. He got a call to join Charlton and the rest, as the cliché goes, is history.

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