THE YOUNG AZKALS DEVELOPMENT TEAM
CAGAYAN De Oro City —The success of the Azkals Development Team in the Philippine Football League (PFL) Qatar Airways mini tournament bubble should open the eyes of other clubs to invest in younger and talented players rather than rely on their veterans.
The young AD Team mostly made up of U23 national players were selected from various schools playing in the UAAP, the NCAA or products of different clubs or small schools who have football programs.
Some of them were recruited from abroad to test their skills in the brief tournament.The young Azkals although lost their first two matches by only one goal each, first against two strong teams, the powerhouse United City FC and then against Kaya FC.
They then came back strong winning their three remaining matches to put themselves on the third spot with wins over Mendiola United 2-0, Maharlika Manila FC 5-0, and then Stallions-Laguna FC 2-0.
They could have placed second had UCFC defeated Kaya-Iloilo FC but instead the Kaya lads played the match of their lives to slip past UCFC, 2-1, in their final tournament assignment to end up one point ahead of ADT.
Clearly ADT was the most entertaining squad to watch as the young Azkals played pressure defence and attacking football from start to finish. These tactics paid dividends to the ADT cause as it rattled their opponents to no end.
“We played a very exciting brand of football. We were the only team that presses the whole 90 minutes,’’ said ADT team manager Dan Palami.
With young and fresh legs of course ADT could afford to run the entire 90 minutes. They even rattled the more experienced and talent laden UCFC and Kaya FC.
Only some defensive lapses from the back allowed these two clubs to score winning goals to save their blushes.
If you noticed, the rest of the five clubs which competed in the bubble are made up of veteran players who have been playing professional or semi-professional football for many years now.
They are battle tested but they do not have fresh and strong legs anymore. The long quarantine and the COVID 19 restrictions might have been a good excuse for them for underperforming.
But the ADT had also the same predicament. They were also called up to form the squad very late already. Despite of the short period of preparations credit coach should be given to coach Scott Copper for inspiring the kids to play attacking football and making adjustments when they were needed.
We also credit coach Scott for putting back skipper Jarvey Gayoso up front in the third game after getting stuck as left full back against UCFC and Kay FC.
Gayoso then responded well and gifted Scott with four goals in three matches, one against Mendiola United, twice against Maharlika FC and once against Stallion.
His performance has increased his stocks and as I see it, he is ready to try his luck in other professional leagues in Asia where he could earn decent money like the bunch of senior Azkals who are plying their wares in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.
If he thrives in those leagues then he could target the richer leagues in Korea, China Japan or even Europe.
This is how ADT is designed which is to gather the best young players from all over the country or even from other countries and give them opportunities to play professional football while they are still young.
AD Team manager Dan Palami have this vision. “We will continue with this program. Players who feel that they are ready to play abroad will be released. Players who are also older will be released as we aim to have a team whose average age it only 20-year-old,’’ he said.
He added that he is glad that the ADT program has shown that it is a viable and credible approach to developing players. “In five games we conceded only two goals, and scored nine. We also playing a brand of football which is exciting,’’ he added.
Three players of ADT are from Cagayan de Oro. The are Troy Limbo, Carlo Dorin and Jethro Borlongan. The trio all played in the tournament with Dorin playing in all he five matches Limbo in four and Borlongan in one.
Dorin, playing wide up front, performed best among the trio even scoring a follow-up goal after coming in as a substitute against Stallion-Laguna.
Troy Limbo played his best in their third game against Mendiola United when he was sent in as a substitute in the second half. He teamed up with Jerome Marzan to control the midfield and deny Mendiola United any attempts to score a goal.
Borlongan for his part played for 20 minutes against Mendiola However, he is not worried. He said that he is one of the youngest in the group and one of the newest member of the team. “I will just have to work harder and maybe the next tournament coach can already use me,’’ he said.
Expect a few of these bunch to play for the senior Azkals team once the Fifa tournaments get underway early next year.
Not only Gayoso, Marzan, Limbo, and Dorin played well for ADT.
Yrick Gallantes, the speedster from Edinbrough Scotland terrorised the opponent’s defence all the time. He broke Stallion’s defence and was responsible for the penalty which Gayoso converted and the shot that Dorin scored against Stallions. He also scored a goal against Maharlika.
Dean Ebarle came in as a substitute against Mendiola United to replace Gayoso at left fullback. He then dished a long pass that allowed Gayoso to head the ball to the back of the net for their first goal of the tournament. After that match, he became a regular at the left flank.
Other members of the back four, Mathew Custodio, Vincent Diano, Simen Lyngbo, were also solid allowing only two goals to past them. Custodio was great in central defence and was also active in offence scoring a goal from a set piece against Mendiola.
Up front, the Uzoka brothers Chima and Kennedy sizzled. Their sizes and strength intimidated their opponents but it was Chima who had a better performance scoring two goals vs Maharlika FC.
All the ADT boys played in the tournament and had inspired performances from Mat Ocampo, Marvin Angeles, Christian Rontini, Janherc Fritzrigoli, Kainda Bailey, Quincy Kammeraad, Anton Yared and and Jan Vincent Quintana.
We hope other clubs copy the example of ADT by getting young top players and luring them out of UAAP or NCAA.
The clubs can then give them professional contracts. These young players if they are good enough for the pros should not waste their time in school leagues if they want to become professional footballers in the future.
The clubs could give the salaries and scholarships. In this way football and the national team will benefit tremendously. The players can then earn a living and help their families. (l.biantan@gmail.com) ALL PHOTOS ARE FROM THE ADT FB PAGE. THANK YOU
