DESPITE its elimination from the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup, Philippine national football team head coach Thomas Dooley considered 2016 still a good year for the Azkals.
Dooley said on Thursday that the team did an outstanding performance, despite its lack of preparation, adding that he wants to focus more on their training next year.
“We have tested the players when they came back from the league and the fitness level was a little bit better than the best team from Italy – the best U12 team,” he stressed.
The American coach said that “if we know the team was in that horrible condition, the only way to get it done is training.”
He further said that there’s no way that the Azkals will win the Suzuki Cup when he only have a couple of session to train the players.
“Next year, I would like the team to have a longer period of time for their training. Teams in the league need to know that the training is not enough to compete in the high level of football. Maybe it is good enough to play in the league here, but not internationally,” Dooley stressed.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Football Federation will have a new national league, which is set to kick off in March.
The Philippines Football League (PFL) will feature at least six teams and will serve as the qualifying for all international competitions where clubs or national teams are involved.
PFL will visit cities and provinces to further strengthen its fan base and professional football.
Interested clubs have until December 31 to submit their applications. (HGD)