How to create the Miracle in Hanoi 2.0?

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photo (c) Kieron Tan

With 90 minutes remaining in the semifinals of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018, Sven Goran-Eriksson and the rest of the Philippine Azkals are now looking to replicate the historic feat performed by Phil Younghusband and the rest of the then whipping boys of Southeast Asia against a mighty Vietnam side back in 2010. 

After the said victory, the Philippines progressed to the semi-finals of the tournament for the first time ever but failed to play their home leg in their actual stadium and had to play both legs in Gelora Bung Karno stadium as Panaad Stadium and Rizal Memorial Stadium was deemed unfit to host such event.

Fast forward to 2018, the Azkals just hosted the Golden Dragons at the fabled Panaad Parks and Stadium where a few historic moments were recorded. Just in their match against Vietnam, they made history through Patrick Reichelt who scored just before half-time to notch their first goal at home in the knockouts and also scathe the clean record of Vietnam in this tournament.

Despite such historic performance, the Philippines fell to a speedy and tenacious Vietnamese side as they scored twice away from home which puts them in the driving seat of this cup tie. The only hope now for the Azkals faithful will be another miracle in Hanoi. Here’s how they can materialize such dream.

1) Play to the whistle

What went wrong for the Philippines in their first leg encounter against the Golden Dragons were the 50-50 balls sent in by Vietnam past the defenders. In their first goal against us, Nguyen Anh Duc found himself open when Carli de Murga waited for Anh Duc’s teammate to make a move. Anh Duc was just fast enough to be onside to ran past Alvaro Silva and head the ball over Michael Falkesgaard who was caught out of line.

Same way goes in their second and decisive goal against the Azkals. Phan Van Duc was freed up front with a lovely lob from Nguyen Trong Hoang. Van Duc timed the pass perfectly to get past the offside trap before simply tapping the ball past the Azkals custodian.

For the most part of the match, the Azkals did not play by the whistle or just continue to play until a foul is called. What killed us the most is the deadly runs made by the Vietnamese against our defense. They knew from the moment Anh Duc scored the opener, we have problems in setting up our offside trap.

If only Carli De Murga stayed with his man and Adam Reed continued to chase for the streaky forward, who knows if we could’ve salvaged a draw heading into the second leg. A golden rule in the modern game is to keep playing by the whistle as we will never know when a foul will be called or an offside will be called correctly.

2) A more compact formation

In what could be their biggest match of a lifetime, Eriksson opted for a 3-5-2 formation for our side while Vietnam went with their usual 4-4-2. It might have given us a numerical advantage in attack but in defense, it really didn’t suffice. With De Murga, Silva and Martin Steuble being the defenders, we’ve faced a lot of issues.

For one, we must admit De Murga can’t match the pace of the sprinters from Vietnam while Silva’s size was not just enough. Steuble, on the other hand, was more instrumental in the offense than in the final third. If we want to achieve a tremendous miracle in Hanoi, we can opt for a 4-4-2 formation on the second leg with the same back line retained and an infusion of Iain Ramsay.

Steuble and Ramsay could play as wing backs for the Azkals to add more firepower in offense and still possess the pace to run back to defend. That way we could always have the advantage in attack as well as in defending those streaky strikers.

Another thing we’ve noticed is that Vietnam started out with a 4-4-2 formation before settling on a 3-5-2. This meant a nightmare for us as they gave themselves the numerical advantage in offense and squandered our attack in the midfield. It also allowed their strikers to roam around up front while their midfielders kept our defenders busy chasing for the ball.

3) Play with more passion and heart

When the final whistle was blown, the Azkals were seen in sheer disappointment but one player showed his frustration louder than the others. The only scorer for the Philippines that night, Reichelt made his reaction known in his post-match interview.

The 30-year old striker who currently plays for Ceres-Negros FC made his statement heard not only from the television sets but also amongst the team. Credit to the man as he really showed his heart in this match by pushing himself to score the equalizer at the brink of half-time.

Eight years ago, the same tenacity shown by Reichelt was in full display when the then whipping boys of Southeast Asia performed an upset of a lifetime that changed the course of Philippine Football. Playing in front of a packed stadium in Hanoi, the Philippines marched on like the proverbial underdogs against Vietnam. Who would’ve thought Phil Younghusband and Chris Greatwich scored against the Golden Dragons and silenced the entire My Dinh Stadium? To this day, it still gives us goosebumps.

The Filipino pride and the fighting spirit was in full display in this upset match as we never backed down despite a lot of challenges were thrown at them in this contest. We could all agree to Reichelt as to why they really needed to show their heart in their previous match.

You’re playing against the team you silenced back in 2010, repeated the same feat in 2012 before being humbled in 2014. You’re in the semifinals and you’ve just scored the first goal in your semi-finals history. Had they pushed for more in that match, they might’ve seen themselves closer to the final rather than being eliminated again in this stage of the competition.

To fulfill the promise of another Miracle in Hanoi, they should put everything on the line to win. Not only do they have to be prepared 100%, but they also give their 200% in this match. Playing away from is really difficult especially when it’s the pivotal match of your career. But with sheer confidence and tenacity, nothing should be impossible.

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