For some in the football community, having Sven-Goran Eriksson as head coach feels as though the Philippine Azkals have already won the Suzuki Cup.
And therein lies the danger: the way talk about the Eriksson Era is circulating, fans, especially those who are not completely into the sport, expect no less than the Swede leading the Azkals to Suzuki Cup glory.
I understand that Azkals management is setting the bar high, so high in fact that Azkals manager Dan Palami has been quoted as saying that “winning the Suzuki Cup is paramount.” At this level, this kind of mentality is essential: one does not play for scraps in a tournament where our team stands head and shoulders with the region’s traditional heavyweights.
The problem is how the public perceives and interprets such a message. To them “winning is paramount” translates to “we will win.” Hype gets people so positively high the only thing that matters to them is the best case scenario.
I understand that at this stage, drumbeating a winning team is tantamount to an appeal for support, since the Filipino public supposedly only supports “winning teams.” But this approach needs to be tempered with. Win or lose, support for the team must be unconditional, and the messaging that Azkals management creates must revolve around that idea.
Building a winning team takes years, and it’s been more than a decade since the incarnation of the Philippine football team as we know now, the Azkals, first came to being. People need to understand this, even it means drilling this message ad nauseum into their heads, especially that the team’s efforts are beginning to pay off.
Perhaps masters, the likes of Sven-Goran Eriksson, might be the missing catalyst that the Azkals need to finally win its first ever Suzuki Cup championship, if not further exceed expectations in the Asian Cup 2019 this January.
“Every battle is won long before it’s ever fought.” For Azkals management, the surprise signing of Eriksson for the job was a masterstroke. Surely, this caught everyone by surprise. Opposing Suzuki Cup coaches and players intimidated by the mere presence of Eriksson at the Azkals helm stand no chance.
On the other hand, there are those who’d love to scalp Eriksson as this would be a great achievement. Imagine, outwitting a coach of Eriksson’s caliber should easily be a highlight in any coaches’ resume. Thanks to Eriksson, the Azkals have also become a prized target.