Shirtless Azkals!!!

I've always believed that football players have one of the hottest bodies in the field of sports...  And to prove my point, I present the Shirtless Series...

In honor of their win last Wednesday, I'm featuring the Azkals... (sorry, I can only find most of the 1^st 11 squad of last Wednesday's game)...


Ladies, are you ready?

......



Neil Etheridge, the goalkeeper





here's an unobstructed view

  
 

from any angle you look at, he is hot, hot, HOT



becuase he's just too hot, he deserves another look




Anton del Rosario





they should have all been shirtless... :(

 
 

partially covered by a towel :(



Anton del Rosario, is that you?

Roel Gener

Jason de Jong
damn bench.. >=|

Jason De Jong

I know he's not shirtless... but he's shortless, one letter difference won't matter :P

Jason De Jong
Horsin' around in the locker room.



James Younghusband
This picture is ___________________



Simon Greatwich
wow.

Phil Younghusband
lock me up with him and throw away the keys!

Phil Younghusband
This should be what all players ought be wearing (or not wearing) when they're in the locker room

two shirtless azkals... and a bed.
Neil Etheridge and Phil Younghusband

FIVE shirtless azkals in one pic!!!
James Younghusband, Ian Araneta, Simon Greatwich(?), Phil Younghusband and Aly Borromeo



If you think five was a lot...
Sorry, I can only identify Neil Etheridge, Rob Gier, Aly Borromeo, Chad Gould, Simon Greatwich and Anton del Rosario (don't know all my azkals yet)



You know how they take a picture of the squad right before the game starts?  They should have an after-the-game squad picture but they all have to be shirtless :)


Sorry, I couldn’t find shirtless pics of Ray Jonsson and Chieffy Caligdon, if you find any, please do share it.  Or if you have any other shirtless pics of other Azkals players.

Also, I don’t really know the cyber-rules in posting pictures from other sites, so to be safe (and if you want to see the original website), you can click the photo to get to the site where I “grabbed”/stole the pics from.

There are a lot more of shirtless pics of the Younghusband brothers in the internet but they’re easier to find compared to the rest of the azkals.  So if you want more shirtless pics of them, I leave the searching to you (happy hunting) :)

Azkals defeats Mongolia, 2-0

The Azkals' 1^st game for the AFC Challenge Cup Qualifier was amazing to watch with thousands of fans cheering for them. 

Here’s my “report” on the game (Before anything else, the number of shots on goal and the time mentioned below might not be very accurate, but I think it’s pretty close as this is based on my personal counting and tracking.  I guess we’re not at the World Cup or Champions League level yet with all the stats like Ball Possession Percentage, number of shots on goal against shots on target, etc available J.  I also hope I didn’t get the players mixed up.  I don’t have the names of the Mongolian players, so I’ll call them by number).

The starting line up for the Philippine squad is composed of Aly Borromeo (team captain, 11), Neil Etheridge (1), Anton Del Rosario (4), Rob Gier (2), Ray Jonnson (27), Emilio “Chieffy” Caligdon (co-captain, 13), James Younghusband (7), Jason de Jong (17), Phil Younghusband (10), Ian Araneta (23) and  Roel Gener (6).

Just as Coach Hans Michael Weiss planned, the Azkals came out attacking at the start of the game with skipper Aly Borromeo producing a shot on goal merely 4 minutes into the match.  From then on, the Azkals held on to this offensive strategy pushing back the Blue Wolves more and more into their side of the pitch.  Throughout the 1^st half, Azkals’ Del Rosario, P. Younghusband, Gener and Araneta had a total of seven shots on goal with a few on target.  But the Blue Wolves’ tight defense denied the Azkals’ goal attempts.  The Blue Wolves also had chances in scoring, although not as much as the Azkals, having only one shot on target that was blocked by Etheridge.  They twice broke through Azkals’ defense line but it was cleared by De Jong and the by Del Rosario, respectively.

The 1^st yellow card was awarded in the 14^th minute of the game with Mongolia’s Altantulga, for his challenge on P. Younghusband.  Altantulga would then receive another yellow card 6 minutes later for a free kick violation.  With two yellow cards, he was sent off the pitch.

In the last minutes of the 1^st half, Azkals’ Caligdong finally found the back of the net, scoring the first goal of the game during the 42^nd minute.  Right before the whistle was blown, Caligdon had one more shot on target but missed, hitting the post instead.

amazing ball control skils! chest trap, one touch on his left foot, setting it  up for a shot right between the goalie's legs

By 2^nd half, the Azkals intensified their offense generating 13 shots on goal (most of them on target) with Araneta contributing 6 of those shots.  But the Blue Wolves’ persisted in their defense and refusing to concede a goal.

The Blue Wolves lost two players to injury, number 5 in the 75^th minute and number 8 in the 79^th minute, leaving them down to 9 men.

The 2^nd half was also not without incident for the Azkals as P. Younghusband was booked for a handball violation earning him a yellow card.  But P. Younghusband redeemed himself by converting the set up by Sabio into the 2^nd and final goal of the game. 

great set up by Sabio

Here are my thoughts on the match (whatever it’s worth as I’m no expert, hehe):

The Azkals fought hard and strong and the final score could have been more with their countless scoring chances but the Blue Wolves really guarded their goal.

If I were to hazard a guess, ball possession was probably 65% Azkals and 35% Blue Wolves.

I don’t know anything about goalkeeping, but there were moments where Etheridge was just too high up the pitch for my comfort (I guess he probably got lonely in his post as his teammates were in their opponent’s side of the pitch most of the time)

Araneta was on fire during the 2^nd half with so many shots on target, too bad none of it hit the net… maybe in the next game..

I think the sports commentantors are so used to covering basketball games that one of them called it "free throw" instead of "throw in" without realizing it :)

I envy P. Younghusband's "banana kicks", I've always wanted to learn how to make the ball swerve when you kick it.

It would have been cool goal if that bicycle kick went in (was it Sabio who attempted that shot?)

Loved the combination of white shorts and a little light rain ;-) Would have even loved it more if some of the players swapped jerseys after the game, hehehe..

I wish I could’ve watched the match at the Panaad Stadium, it would have been great to be amongst fans and celebrate after the victory

The next qualifier game for the AFC Challenge Cup will be on March 15, still against Mongolia.

Go azkals!!!

Just a few hours to go until the kick off of the AFC Challenge Cup vs Mongolia…

Here’s the 23-man line up for tonight’s qualifier game: Neil Etheridge, Aly Borromeo (team captain), Rob Gier, Ray Jonsson, Anton del Rosario, Roel Gener, Jason De Jong, James Younghusband, Chieffy Caligdong, Ian Araneta, Phil Younghusband, Simon Greatwich, Nestorio Margarse, Eduard Sacapano, Mark Ferrer, Reymark Palmes, Kim Relucio, Jerry Barbaso, Patrick Hinrichsen, Peter Jaugan, Jason Sabio, Yanti Barsales, Joebel Bermejo against Mongolia

Click here for the facebook page that shows the photos of the azkals team members (I think this was the line up for Suzuki Cup, it lacks Roel Gener, Simon Greatwich, Nestorio Margarse, Reymark Palmes, Patrick Hinrichsen, Jason Sabio, Joebel Bermejo but I’m not totally sure though coz not all mentioned the names).  Here's another FB page showing photos of the azkals, but it’s also not complete.

The 4-4-2 formation (to those not savvy with footballing terms, that’s four defenders, four midfielders and two forwards.  Most of the elite football squads use this formation) will be used, with the German coach, Hans Michael Weiss, plannning for a more offensive style of play.  This formation was also used in the Suzuki Cup last year with their then coach, Simon McMenemy

“Finally, we get to play some real attractive and attacking football,” says Azkals team captain Aly Borromeo.

I wonder if the azkals will play the same kind of style the Germany team used last World Cup. Germany was one of my favorite teams.  They may not have superstar players like Messi, C. Ronaldo or Torres but they had excellent team play.  Their passes were incredibly accurate, it was as if they instinctively knew where their team mates are in the pitch, affording them awesome quick counter-attacks.

Azkalaros and azkaleras, get ready to put your game faces on… go azkals!!!

Football Fever in the Philippines

Today, Manila Bulletin featured the Azkals.  Seeing how football has struggled to be recognized as a sport that Filipinos can be proud of, I’m beyond ecstatic that local media and pinoys in general are slowly catching the football fever and giving the world’s greatest spectator sport the much deserved support.  It may not be in the same level as basketball yet, but if all goes well, we’ll get there.  I still remember the days where if you want your dose of football news and updates, the only sources are the internet and cable TV.  But what you get are just the international football news, local coverage are rare, if not, almost non-existent.  When I was still a newbie fan, World Cup news would only get a 3-small-paragraph coverage (if you manage to find one) in the local newspapers.  Oh how the times are slowly changing.  The azkals are not only getting media attention but they’re also getting more funding from local and international institutions and—more female fans and groupies! 

Is my dream of someday seeing the azkals in the World Cup be in the not so distant future?  Will I live to see that day?  I certainly hope so. J

Okay, so to those who were not able to grab a copy of today’s Manila Bulletin, here the links to the feature:

Aly Borromeo
Christopher Camcam

James Younghusband

sorry, can't find the link for Phil Younghusband's feature L

and the look of the cover page:

click the link if you want to see the FB page I "stole" the Cover Page photo from J