Requiem to PH Azkals

By Artchil B. Fernandez

This is the last piece on Philippine (Ph) Azkals and probably also the last write-up on men’s national football team in this space. The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) under new management decided to retire the Azkal name.

The decision is a big shock to Azkal fans and football aficionados in the country.  It came at a time when Philippine football is moribund after football renaissance ignited by the Azkals more than a decade ago is losing steam. It seems the new leadership of PFF is more obsessed in looking for scapegoats rather than face head-on the challenges hounding Philippine football. This is a terrible omen for football in the country.

December 5, 2010 is the date that forever changed Philippine football. It was day the “Miracle of Hanoi” happened. Before a horrified crowd of 70,000 hostile Vietnamese, the Philippine national men’s football team – the newly minted Azkals, ousted their national team from ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup, 2-0. Philippine football history was re-written by that victory.  Philippines for the first time entered the semi-final round of the biennial regional football tournament, the most prestigious in this part of the world.

Vietnam was the defending champion in that edition of the tournament. Its humiliation in hands of a written-off team sent shock-waves in the region. The participation of the Azkals in the 2010 edition is a fairy tale run, truly inspirational worthy of a movie.  The country hardly cared for the team’s participation in the competition except a few football loyalists but they returned the toast of the nation.

That victory announced to Southeast Asia Philippine football has arrived and the days of humiliation and defeat are over.  In the succeeding editions of AFF Suzuki Cup now known as ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup, Philippines is a powerhouse in the competition, a semifinalist in the 2012, 2014, and 2018 editions.

Philippine Azkals re-wrote Philippine football history not once, not twice, not thrice, not quadrice but quince.  The Azkals also made history in continental tournaments.  After etching the name of the country in regional competition, the Azkals also put the Philippines on the map of Asian football.

In the 2012 edition of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup, the Azkals re-wrote again football history in the country.  It entered the completion the underdog and after a loss to North Korea in the first match, the team was on its way out.  But the Azkals clawed its way back to victory with a stunning defeat of India and Tajikistan.  In this edition of Challenge Cup, the Azkals re-wrote history twice by first securing a place in the knock-out stage and entering the semi-finals for the first time.

The 2014 edition of the AFC Challenge Cup is another history-making achievement of the Azkals.  In this edition, Philippines got its revenge on Turkmenistan who ousted the country in the semi-finals of the 2012 edition.  For the first time, the Philippines made it to the finals only to lose to Palestine in the championship match.  Despite the loss, history is once again made for Philippine football.

The crowning glory of the Azkals was in 2019.  For the first time ever, Philippines qualified in Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup, the most prestigious tournament in the continent.  Beating Tajikistan, 2-1 the Azkals debuted in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup hosted by United Arab Emirates (UAE).

It was the Azkals who also ended the 99-year trophy drought of the Philippines by winning the championship of the Philippine Peace Cup in 2012, formerly known as the Long Teng Cup.  The country last won a football title in 1913, champion of the Far East Games.

Yet despite repeatedly re-writing the history of Philippine football and bringing it to new heights, PFF decide to discard the name like a cheap piece of rug.  The reason given is flimsy at the very least and outrageous at most.  “With this administration, we don’t distinguish anymore between half-Filipinos and [full-blooded] Filipinos,” declared Freddy Gonzalez new team manager.  “Therefore, the Azkals name has no relevancy anymore in the team. We’re all Filipinos. There’s no more half-half.”

The reasoning is despicable.  Azkal never had a discriminatory undertone.  The name Azkal was chosen to mirror the state of Philippine football.  Azkal in local parlance stands for stray dogs, dogs in the streets, without pedigree or stature.  But the Philippine Azkals breathed new meaning to the word, transforming its unsavory connotation, injecting it with dignity and respect. It also signified resilience, the never-say-die spirit of those from the margins.  Philippine football was in the periphery, a favorite whipping boy in the region before the Azkals came.  The lowly Azkal rescued it from oblivion.

Slandering the name Azkal to justify ditching it is vicious, cruel, a “banality of evil.” This indicates the shallowness and cheapness of the new PFF leadership with malicious and nasty mind, attitude and behavior.  Will changing the name of the men’s national team miraculously transform Philippine football?  Is a change of name the answer to the numerous problems hounding and haunting football in the Philippines?

Football in the Philippines is already on death throes.  Instead of saving it, the current leadership of PFF is choking it to death.  Attributing or blaming the problems of the sport to its moniker is deceitful, idiotic, and ludicrous.  The thoughtless decision to junk the name Azkal indicates the low or no regard to supporters and fans of Philippine football of the new PFF leadership.

Requiem to Ph Azkals is also that of Philippine football as well.  As long as the current PFF leadership holds sway, the resurrection of football in the Philippines is not forthcoming.