Azkals Sans Younghusbands: Fresher, Better?

MANILA, Philippines - Not many gave them a fighting chance, but the Philippine national football team proved their mettle as they crushed Chinese Taipei on Saturday, taking home the Philippine Football Peace Cup -- their first international title in 99 years.

It's no mean feat considering that the team, dubbed Azkals by fans, played minus most of their star players including the celebrated Younghusband brothers.

Azkal's Coach Michael Weiss heaped praises on the team during the post-game press conference hailing them for their "spirit" and their "hunger."

Weiss also differentiated the current team lineup from its past incarnation, noting how they have "evolved" into a "fresher," "better" team compared to the Azkals contingent of three years ago.

He went on to urge fans "not to pine" for that old team as most of them "will not play anymore.”

He then took a seeming dig at the Younghusband brothers, whom he was reported to have mentioned in past interviews as supposedly having made themselves scarce during training sessions and matches to the detriment of the team.

"This team is now without prima donnas... people who think they already have achieved something in football,” he said.

But in a separate interview with GMA News, current Azkals captain Emelio “Chieffy” Caligdong said that the Philippine Football Federation's (PFF) "conflict" with the brothers could still be resolved.

“Maa-ayos at maa-ayos din iyan,” Caligdong said.

Meanwhile, PFF technical director Aris Caslib, clarified that the brothers remain in the pool of players from which the PFF draws for competitions.

“Nandiyan pa silang dalawa," Caslib said.

The statement differed from the hazy stance of the PFF's Marketing and Communications Department last week, which painted the brothers as being in limbo relating to their involvement in the team's future.

"We cannot answer whether this is a permanent or temporary separation with the national team," Ebong Joson, head of the PFF communications was quoted as saying in news reports.

The exclusion of the brothers from the team lineup that played at the Peace Cup was, according to Joson, about “certain economic and non-economic" privileges that the brothers were asking for.

"We just cannot match it," he was quoted to have said in a report.

The Younghusband brothers have downplayed the charge in a separate press conference reiterating that their non-inclusion in the lineup for the Peace Cup was due to them being "late" in making known their availability to the team. The duo stated that they remain devoted to the National Team and would even play for the team for "free" if need be.

The brothers hope to be allowed to return to the national team.

"We're hoping in the next games we can get the call-up again. If we get the call-up, we'll be there," said Phil in a separate report on GMA News.

"We'd be there in a heartbeat," James added.