Chelsea Football Players in Filipino National Team

[cappelan]

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/news200511161601.htm

Fil-foreign recruits boost RP booters
By Nelson Beltran
The Philippine Star 11/16/2005

Two Fil-British reserves of the Chelsea Football Club are now in Bacolod to beef up the Philippine football team as it mounts its most serious bid to medal in the 23rd SEA Games football event kicking off Nov. 22.

Brothers Phil and James Younghusband arrived in the country last week, joining fellow Fil-Briton Chad Gould, Fil-Am Phil Greatwich, Fil-Italian Felipo Bradio and Fil-German Andy Prochnow as the Fil-foreign reinforcements of the RP team in the forthcoming games.

But midfielder Chris Greatwich, a reliable Fil-Am recruit, would not be able to suit up for the Nationals since his team Hartwick has been on an impressive run in the US NCAA competition.

Chris Greatwich should have been the RP team’s seventh Fil-foreign player but the Hartwick team still has a scheduled game on Saturday. His team will advance to the next round if they win.

Nonetheless, RP team coach Aris Caslib said the Pinoy booters are in high spirits and maximizing their opportunity to familiarize with the playing fields despite the intermittent rains in Bacolod.

Caslib said their Fil-foreign recruits could well make a big impact for the team, citing the inclusion of Phil Younghusband, the leading scorer of the Chelsea reserve squad in the English league.

"They will surely contribute a lot to the team’s mental stability and tactical discipline with their international experience. Their superior attitude could help carry the domestic players to the next level which is winning a medal," said Caslib.

Incidentally, Phil Younghusband, a striker, scored three goals in his last six games at Chelsea.

The Philippines is bracketed with regional power Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia in the nine-team field divided into two groups. The RP booters are confident they can hurdle Malaysia and Cambodia to make it to the semifinals.

"We can beat Cambodia. As far as Malaysia is concerned, we lost to them, 2-1, in both the pre-SEAG tourney and in the Bolkiah Cup in Brunei. But we still didn’t have our Fil-foreign recruits then," said Philippine Football Federation president Johnny Romualdez.

With the team’s extensive preparation, its recruitment of Fil-foreign players and their home-court advantage, Romualdez is hopeful they can make it to the medal play.

[Admin]

Do you think they've got Brazil worried yet then? :)

[cappelan]

Originally posted by admin@Nov 16 2005, 07:44 PM
Do you think they've got Brazil worried yet then? :)

Quoted post


In 100years time maybe :D

[cappelan]

CHELSEA players do Philippines Football proud :D

http://www.tribune.net.ph/

RP booters blast Cambodians
By Olmin Leyba
Saturday, 11 26, 2005

BACOLOD CITY— It was just fitting Emelio Calidgong, an Ilonggo from this football-crazy region, capped a huge effort by the Philippines to end a harrowing 10-year slump in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games with a 4-2 triumph over Cambodia Friday.

Caligdong, from Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo, conspired with Filipino-British recruit James Younghusbands and Philip Greatwich and team captain Ali Borromeo in scoring the goals for the Filipinos before a jubilant sellout crowd at the Panaad pitch. Cambodia absored its second loss in as many games.

With the triumph, the country's first since a 1-0 escape act over lowly Brunei in the 1995 Chiangmai Games, the hosts kept their chances for the next round alive with a 1-0-1 win-draw-loss card and two points.

The Filipinos need no less than a win against Malaysia on Nov. 29 to join expected Group A topnotcher, defending champion Thailand in the cross over semis.
“The players really wanted to win,” coach Aris Caslib said, whose wards dropped a 0-1 loss to the Thais last Wednesday.

The Philippines broke out of a 2-2 standoff when Greatwich followed up Borromeo's botched cabezada off a free kick with a header of his own that sailed past Ouc Mik in the 83rd minute.

Caligdong, who checked in only in the second half in lieu of Fil-Italian Philip Braggio, kicked in a looper over the Cambodian goalie five minutes later to seal the win before a crowd of 15,000 that included Cambodian princess Norodom Buddhapong, Norodom Chakrasping, and Norodom Ranariddh.

The four goals could be the most production in recent memory for the Filipinos, who did not take part in the 2001 and 2003 editions because they had weak chances.

“I think it's a good score. They were good goals, deliberate goals,” Caslib said.
Younghusband, whose credential as a Chelsea reserve made him an apple of the eye here, started scoring for the Filipinos with his cannonball from 50 yards at the 11th minute.

The lead was short lived as a lapse in defense inside the penalty box allowed an unmarked Srey Veasna a header four minutes hence.

The hosts again seized the upperhand as Borromeo scored on a header off a corner kick in the 65th.

A similar scramble inside the box again allowed Cambodia to peg the score, this time on a short roller in the 75th.

The game had its tense moments in the second half when a jockeying for position between RP's Arenl Pasinabo and Veasna resulted to an altercation and shoving match involving more players, including Mic. The Cambodian keeper was issued a yellow card.

Meanwhile, the Philippine women's football team hopes to regroup against Indonesia at 6:30 tonight while defending champion Vietnam will also aim for its first victory when it goes up against Thailand at 4 p.m. Both matches will be held at the Marikina pitch.

Women's team manager Cathy Rivilla claimed nothing much should be done on the already improved plays of the Pinay booters despite their 1-0 defeat to Thailand the other night.

“We'll just continue what we did,” Rivilla said. “If you saw our game against Thailand, maganda 'yung naging depensa natin, and in the offense nakita mo naman we had so many scoring opportunities.

“We just have to sustain that, and refocus na lang, naging emotional kasi 'yung mga players because it's the first time that they played in front of a big crowd,” Rivilla added.

The Filipinas, however, expect to play before a capacity audience again with Rivilla reminded her wards not to feel the pressure although they are expected to emerge as victors here since the Indon gals are almost of contention following a 0-5 loss to Myanmar.