2012 UFL Cup is here!

My oh my how time flies.

After the Singapore Cup, then came the Azkals friendlies and now the Cup season is upon us!

Later we will have the semi finals of the Singapore Cup, The Philippine Peace Cup, Middle East Friendlies and Finally the AFF Suzuki Cup. So Lets Savor the 2012 UFL Cup as its dawns upon us!

It is indeed a great moment to be a Filipino football fan.

Stage 1 of the 2012 UFL cup will feature 8 matches which will serve as the qualifiers for the Stage 2, wherein the 8 winners of this straight eliminations will face the 6 qualified teams in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao

UFL Stage 1 pairings

Forza FC VS Internacionale FC

Team Socceroo VS International PHL

Manila All-Japan VS Gen Trias

Union INT. VS Sta. Lucia

Laos FC VS Cavite FC

Dolphins United VS Bluegards

Agila FC VS Brightstar

Mendiola FC VS FC Masbate

Final schematics of the 2012 UFL Cup:

Stage 1 will involve the 2nd Div clubs and the new clubs. 2nd Div clubs have twice-to-beat advantage. Ten clubs go on to Stage 2.

So Stage 1 is more of the "weeding-out-the-weak" stage. This will happen between Sept 15 - 30.

Stage 2 involves the 10 1st Div clubs plus the 10 winners from Stage 1. They will be bracketed into 4 groups of 5 & play single round robin.

In Stage 2, the top 2 from each group advance to the QF where they will play a crossover knockout. Winners advance to SF.

Stage 2 is like the format of the previous season. We just added Stage 1 to "weed out the weak" and hopefully avoid blowouts.

-Ritchie Gannaban

Paulino Alcantara Cup Venue Changed

The Philippine Football Federation has formally announced that the Paulino Alcantara Peace Cup will now be held at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Manila instead of Panaad Stadium in Bacolod.

The decision of the PFF came after the proposed renovation of the Rizal stadium was recently postponed.

The tournament will still be held from September 25 to 29 and will pit the Philippine national team against Chinese Taipei, Macau and Guam.

http://www.azkalsfootballteam.com/news.php?id=228

Team Overview: Stallion Gilligan's F.C. - A Tale of Two Football Clubs

Penson Stallion Gilligan's F.C.

The Almighty Ernie Nierras-led Stallion F.C., For all its accomplishments in its first season on the top flight, will forever be remembered as the proverbial dark horse (pun intended) and the team that might have won it all, if not for its Jeckle-and-Hyde masquerade in the 1st and 2nd rounds in the UFL League. 

On its maiden top flight campaign, the team was a sight to behold and I mean literally a sight to behold! Never was it in anyone's imagination, save for a few die-hard stallions fans, that the club was capable to get the results that it was able to get in the starting few rounds. Slick passing and midfield dominance was the weapon used by the stallions to perfection as it ran riot over Air Force FC and Loyola Meralco early in the season. The linkup of Lee Joo Young and Reuben Doctora delivered a combined 19 goals and was unstoppable with its trademark short passes and perfect 1-2 combination that resulted to Doctora to finally being noticed for the Azkals.

In the 1st half of the season, there was something resoundingly noticeable between the stallion players and their opponents. The Fitness level and familiarity between the players where a whole level higher than that of the rest of the league. They ran for the whole 90 minutes, play by the whistle most of the time, never get rattled against anyone (remember the 4-1 win against Loyola where Phil scored the opening goal on a defender back-pass error) and tirelessly hustle for the ball on every possession. It was indeed the best of times for the Stallions as they rack up points and was the league leader early in the season. Wilson Munoz was steady between the sticks, OJ Clarino, signed during the transfer window, is the little-engine-that-could,  Bervic Italia and the other Koreans hold the defense line like their lives depended on it. Only the very close defeat against the then struggling Global FC did made a dent to the Stallions and exposed some chinks in the armor. Nevertheless, the stallions was the surprise package of the 1st round. Coach Ernie Nierras motivated his lad by saying that "Ipakita ninyo sa kanilang lahat na ang UFL ay 10 teams at hindi lang Kaya, Global, Loyola at Airforce lang ang naglalaro" - a fleeting reference to the marketing commercial made by AKTV which featured the so-called superstars of the league (Guirado, Caligdong, PYH, JYH, Moy, etc). Apparently it worked.

Then came the 2nd round...

There are various theories that would explain the rapid rise and fall of Stallions, some say the unexpected month-long break on February-March stopped the momentum of the team. Then there's the rumored  unsustainable 5x a week training that killed the fitness level because of too much practice, or that teams already adjusted and learned how to play against them (tall teams used height, short teams used aggressiveness) and lastly, after the break, they suddenly forgotten how to play the short passess that worked so well and re-coursed to long balls which really doesn't suit the team that size. What Global FC exposed in the 1st round is that you have to choke the midfield and tighten up the defense and force the Stallions to long balls and ineffective counter-attacks 

And finally, for all of coach Ernie Nierras' brilliance, cursing and embarrassing your players every half-time doesn't do your players any good no matter how many times you use it. (kung magmura si coach parang mauubusan siya ng mga salitang mura kinabukasan).

In the 2nd half of the season, the Stallions where a completely different team. Opponents aggressively exploited their height advantage, clogged the midfield and double/triple teamed Doctora. suddenly the Stallions forgot how to play the short passing game that gave them success for so many games.

For all its worth, they still played remarkably better than their promoted counterparts (Nomads/Pasagrad though Pasargad is subject to debate) and still finished 4th in the standings. This however, still feels more of a missed chance among the Stallions faithful as they knew what they could have gotten if only the team was consistent and did not lose its edge in the 2nd round. 

Jason De Jong / Azkals

Hopefully with the full integration of Rufo Sanchez to add creativity in front and provide the knack to finish off scoring chances and the rumored transfer of hot-headed Jason De Jong will give the team a boost in its 2nd season at the top flight. (provided he wont be cut again due to misbehavior) I believe that there are some minor problems for the stallions but this is a team that has shown time and again how to persevere, a team that know how to get hit hard but still play in the highest level. This is a team that will, coming in the new season, will still be wearing the dark horse label proudly and who knows, being more consistent and focused, be deadly from the start till the 90 minutes are up, from the 1st game till the end. They might be the one to come out of the top once the smoke clears up.

Hopefully it will not be a tale of two teams this time around.

Team Overview: Global FC - All the world's a Stage

Its about time

All the World's a Stage...

We all saw this coming. It was long inevitable. It is this consistency and domination that opponents and pundits alike whispers in hush tones. That Global FC is by far, the most complete team in the UFL.

 It was already written the moment Global marched from Division 2 with a perfect record (13-1-0) to winning the inaugural cup against Air Force, then coming in by a hairline to win UFL Division 1 in the 2011 edition again against Air Force in the final round. It seems that the Global juggernaut is destined to not only be champions of the UFL, but build itself a dynasty of its own. Led by the savior of Philippine Football Mr. Dan Palami, Global shook off its early failings and romped up its performance to win the 2012 UFL Division 1 Crown.

And mind you, things can only get better for the Dan Palami side. Led by the able Japanese skipper Yu Hoshide, Global showed time and again how forceful and how dominating it can be if it focus its efforts on the pitch. The backline has been superb specially between the sticks, Jerome Etoundi made the most of Paolo Pascual's injury and would most certainly be a strong candidate for the no.1 jersey when Pascual comes back to active duty, and the defensive duo of Jerry Barbaso and Badrelin Elhabbib rarely makes mistakes. However by far, I believe, the most important player for Global is Izo Elhabbib. The kind of  impact and energy that he brings on the field is infectious and you can immediately see the level of organization going up whenever he is in the pitch. Carli De Murga is the utility man in the team as he can be placed anywhere in the pitch and still be consistent and effective, Hence the deserving Golden Shoe Award. 

Even if you are able to overcome all these players mentioned above, you will still have to find a way to neutralize Misagh Bahadoran and Patrick Reichelt on both flanks. Global is a complete team simply because they have an answer to any opponent in the league. May that opponent be strong in midfield (Stallions FC), attacking (Loyola Meralco Sparks FC), or defending (Kaya FC), or even very aggressive teams (Philippine Army FC), Global has a recipe for them all.

Azkals vs Vietnam

A few questionable players remain though for Global FC, and in my opinion that is Angel Guirado and David Basa. Angel because for all his size and technical ability, he was still not able to dominate and dictate his will on his marker and more oftentimes than not, he easily becomes frustrated for small non-calls which disrupts his rhythm. he becomes a whole new player without an Azkals shirt. I would want to see more aggressiveness and more hunger within him in the coming season. And I would want David Basa to lose some weight, though effective, he is easily outruned by speedier players (Caligdong, Pasilan, Doctora). All in all however, this is a team built to contend for the title for a long time to come. 

Rumor has it that negotiations are now on going between Global and who else? San Miguel Beer to be the shirt sponsor of Global FC (though isnt Danding Coguangco already sponsoring Diliman Antonov FC hence the Antonov logo?) Mr. Dan Palami has been holding out the shirt sponsorship before winning the title so that he can say "You'd partner with the no.1 team!' ain't that a great opening line in negotiations?

Global FC is a team that is in the summit of the league. In every scenario possible, they are the team that the odds seems are always in their favor. 


I believed that we are in the dawn of Global's golden generation so to speak. 

And all the men and women, merely players...

Team Overview: Philippine Air Force FC - The Phoenix Paradox

Winning has been the normal tradition among the military teams, much more for the Philippine Air Force FC, who has won 2 straight league crowns and a Cup triumph (missing the inaugural cup by just a margin) in over 2 years. Logic of coarse will dictate that running high on these results would mean a competitive league season for the reining League Champions going in the 2012 UFL league. However, things immediately got out of hand from the opening round and only by a strong performance in the 2nd half of the league did the Airmen came up with a respectable 5th finish out of the 10 teams.

The question remains, were does the Airmen go on from here?

Discussions and analysis has been made on how low the Airman has fallen, countless anecdotes about internal and external forces has already been contributed but how does a proud phoenix rise again?

Why has the team been so erratic during the entire 2012 UFL league? and why do they become a different team when they face Loyola in particular?

I believed that nothing is wanting from the team that won the league twice, but rather, the vast improvement of the competition and the money that now flows in the game in which the Airmen cannot compete with, is the main reason for this sudden change of scenery. I refuse to believed that old age or fitness has been the reason solely because the Airmen always outpace and outran their opponents. Tats Mercado has always been solid between the sticks, Chieffy always causes problems in the left wing, Ian possess a wonderfull deadshot kick second only to Hartman, and the ageless Yanti provides the heart and leadership for the team. The Airmen are consistent, contrary to popular belief, but always just finds a way to grab defeat early in the game and try for the next 70+mins to catch up. Though how they are always successful against Loyola is anyone's guess (will be taken up in next post)

Now with Yanti retiring after years of quality service, and rumors that Chieffy has gone to GAU and Ian to Loyola. PAF might follow the path illuminated by Navy which became the first team in the history of the UFL to be relegated.

If the Airmen do not have the financial capabilities to sign in new players. At least they can recruit players from the provinces who can play (they are already doing this i think). Military teams provide enlisted personnel, tenure and allowances. Also, after the player retires from active duty, he receives a lump sum plus benefits from the government for him and his family. This is why many players in military teams are on their mid-late 30's. Given their predicament, and absent of a white knight in the foreseeable future, this is the most optimal action the Airman can do.

The paradox, in retrospect, is that military teams, the PAF in particular, will always be respected but will  be regarded as an easy W. As teams in the Division 1 continue to build up their squad and out-muscle the military teams financially. The military teams will have no choice but to always wear their hearts on their sleeves and grind their opponents down with sheer aggressiveness. To this, the Airmen will always be guilty of showing determination, of forever trying to revive to greatness. But sadly, without the upgrades, will always be found wanting.

The Airmen motto, 'Air Force til I die' will always be appropriate.

photo from https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=378430108836948&set=a.378430102170282.95218.288826434463983&type=1&theater

The Red Card Resurgence

One September afternoon, 3 years ago, a group of dedicated people launched an ambitious project to finally put the Philippines back in the football map by creating a commercial football league. This group, collectively known as the Football Alliance, unwittingly started the most important pillar for the beautiful game that we are enjoying right now.

This structure, together with the resurgence of the Philippine Azkals, cemented the foundations of this fledgling commercial league affectionately called the United Football League or UFL for short. The local league is important because the National Team cannot survive long-term without the local league and vis-a-vis, the UFL cannot survive without the success of the Philippine Azkals. Raison-d'etre therefore dictates the sustainability of both.

To this existential condition, I would like to sincerely express my humblest gratitude and thanks for creating an avenue for us to enjoy the beautiful game. See you guys at the bleachers soon.

logo from http://www.uflphilippines.com.ph/

heading photo by Alan C. Vinluan https://www.facebook.com/acvinluan

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2401186994688&set=o.221650277849342&type=3&theater