Philippine Azkals gear up for Malaysia friendly March 1

Members and coaching staff of the Philippine men's national football team Azkals are gearing up for a friendly game with the Malaysian football team scheduled for March 1 at the Selayang Municipal Council Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The FIFA international friendly game in Malaysia is part of Azkals' preparation for the upcoming 2014 AFC Challenge Cup scheduled for May 19-30, 2014 in Maldives.

The Maldives games will be the last of a series of five tournaments in the AFC Challenge Cup as the the football body prepares for the bigger and expanded Asian Cup.

The Azkals and the Malaysian football team have figured in past games in their respective home courts. The Azkals won over Malaysia 1-0 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in 2012 while both teams ended with a scoreless game in the same year in Malaysian home court.

The Azkals has a superior world ranking record of 127 against the Malaysian ranking of 154 in the global FIFA rankings.

The Azkals are currently in a reorganization mode following the termination of coach Michael Weis, who steered the team to a third place finish in the AFC Challenge Cup in 2012

“The Philippine Football Federation discontinued the services of Michael Weiss as head coach of the Men’s National Team effective Jan. 15. The coaching staff will be reformed in time for the AFC Challenge Cup finals in May, 2014,” said the Philippine Football Federation in a statement.

Azkals team manager Dan Palami said he is now looking at six candidates who have vast experiences as football player and coach.

"It may take about 15 days after PFF’s decision before a new coach is named." said Palami early this month.

The Azkals have barely three months to prepare for the Maldives Challenge Cup under a new coach.

Sri Lankans out to beat Azkals

PH Azkals football team should expect a lot of boos and hostile football fans when they meet Sri Lanka on June 29. Azakls vs. Sri Lanka is their first leg match in the qualifying tournament for the 2014 FIFA World Cup while the second leg of the match will be held four days later at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Manila.

Rohana Ruwanthilake, skipper for the Sri Lanka football team, vowed to give the Philippine Azkals team a “torrid time” on their series of football match. The Sri Lanka football team is very eager to perform well in front of their home crowd. The Football Federation of Sri Lanka has revealed its 25-man line up for the qualifier. Ruwanthilake led the team to its past four international stints which include AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers in Nepal.

“Our main target is to perform well in the first leg which will be played on home soil,” said Ruwanthilake in a story posted yesterday on the Daily Mirror. “All of them (teammates) have gained experience playing in international matches and are determined to give a torrid time for the visiting Philippine side.” Ruwanthilake added that their squad is oozing with talents.

Although Ruwanthilake sounded confident that they can beat PH Azkals their Korean coach, Jang Jung, is a bit wary of the Azkals, who are already in their final preparation in Duren, Germany. The coach also added “They have grown very fast and are going to be a difficult opposition for us,” The have prepared well for this tournament and had undergone training in UAE (it should be Germany).” Although they trained a little late they are going to do their best to win the first leg of the match against the Azkals saying “We commenced training late due to a delayed selection process. However, we are in a positive frame of mind to counter the challenge before us.”

The Sri Lanka football team played in the international tournament two months ago in the AFC Challenge but failed to qualify. On the other hand, the Azkals failed to win their first friendly match against Germany.

To get the latest updates about PH Azkals, please visit and follow this link PH Azkals Team (Philippine National Football Team) Facebook Page.

Azkals win against the German Team

The PH Azkals team showed a great play against the German team which ended the friendly match 4-1 in favor for the Azkals team last Wednesday night in Duren, Germany.

Azkals striker Phil Younghusband scored twice while his brother, James and Chieffy Caligdong scored one each.

Team manager Dan Palami is surely satisfied with the kind of performance that the Azkals gave with that match. The PH Azkals team took a blow in potential when they lost in their PH Azkals Vs UFL match before some 10,000 fans. Palami added that they will “train 10 times harder in Germany” to avoid a repeat of their 4-3 loss to the United Football League (UFL).

“(The) team (is) slowly getting their act together... Good win against Duren selection tonight,” Palami said on his Twitter after the victory.

The team is getting into fighting form in time for its first-round qualifying match against Sri Lanka on June 29 in Colombo according to Azkals skipper Ally Borromeo. “(I’m) happy with the results today. Things are starting to fall into place,” Borromeo tweeted.

Azkals vs Sri Lanka second leg match will be held on July 3 at the newly renovated Rizal Memorial Football Stadium, where a crowd of 18,000 can fit and watch the match.

Azkals coordinator Patrick Ace Bright will going to hold a singing contest in the Azkals team. This is to make sure that the players know the Philippine anthem lyrics by heart. Since PH Azkals team, a mix of local and Fil-foreign players mostly from Europe, will be divided into three groups for the singing contest on Saturday and the winning group will bag 1,500 Euros or about 90,000 Pesos.

Azkals holds "We Believe" fund-raising event

Philippine football team Azkals take the time off from their hard training Friday to have fun with their loyal fans in an event. The event will also serve as their sendoff party for their World Cup qualifying match against Sri Lanka. Azkals Vs Sri Lanka will be held on June 29 at Sugathadasa Stadium, SRI.

Azkals team manager Dan Palami said that the event entitled “We Believe” is also a fund-raising campaign that aims not only to bring the Philippine Azkals to their fans but also generate support for their important outing.

“It’s a way of thanking the fans for their support and at the same time ask support from them for our game against Sri Lanka,” according to Palami and added “We want to show that the Azkals’ victory is also the nation’s triumph.” Palami also said that the event will feature concerts and football clinics and they are hoping to draw more corporate sponsors for the team to sustain its training and preparation for the qualifying tournament for the World Cup. Team Azkals will need around P15 million for their preparation, including their training in Germany.

Jmar Eduarte, event organizer, announced that Azkals fans can help the team by purchasing Azkals merchandising goods during the event that will start at 4 p.m. and held at Trinoma.

We will beat Azkals - Sri Lanka

The president of the Sri Lanka Football Federation is confidence that their team will be the one victorious in Azkals vs Sri Lanka in the Asian Football Confederation Challenge.

On June 29, 2011 the Azkals vs Sri Lank will be held at the Sugathadasa Stadium, which has a capacity of 25,000, while on July 3, 2011 the return match will held at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.

According to Sarath Weerasekeram, in his interview with the Inquirer, he’s “very positive” Sri Lanka will win on aggregate and that an intense “two-week training will suffice.”

They are also prepared not only to “play attacking football” against the Azkals but also “to adapt depending on the opposition strategy.”

He also added that the Sri Lanka football team would rely on “quick counterattacks and composite play up front” against the Azkals. He described team Azkals as a promising team in the Asean which qualified in the AFC Challenge final rounds.

Since October 2010 Jang Jung has been handling the squad and coach of Sri Lanka.

PH Azkals Vs UFL

Azkals faced the All-Star selection of the United Football League (UFL) in an exhibition match held at the University of Makati football field Sunday. The newly formed UFL All-Star team gave Philippine Azkals a cold reality check after the Sudanese striker Izo El-Habbib gave the UFL a 4-3 lead over the PH Azkals. El-Habbib, who plays for Global Smartmatic, hit a crashing shot from a very tight angle that broke the PH Azkals hearts. A crowd of 10,000 gathered at the University of Makati to watch the friendly match between Azkals and UFL.

Aside from El-Habbib, Eric Dagroh also scored twice and Mark Hartmann also added another goal for the UFL All-Stars. The friendly match game showed gaps on the Azkals defense which they need to work on if they want to reach success that they are aiming for.

“I’m a little disappointed,” Azkals coach Michael Weiss said and added “Its an indication that we have to improve. We lost a match that we shouldn’t have lost.”

The PH Azkals are preparing for their 2014 Fifa World Cup Qualifying first-round home-and-away against Sri Lanka. Azkals Vs Sri Lanka will be on June 29 and July 3 at Rizal Stadium.

PH Azkals Cebu stint ended

The Philippine Azkals is set to return to Manila today after ending their one-week team building in Cebu. Although the PH Azkals team already wrapped up their stint in Cebu they will immediately get on a more rigorous training when they return to Manila to prepare for their World Cup Qualier first leg match against Sri Lanka. Azkals vs Sri Lanka will be on June 29 in Manila.

Yesterday was the busiest day for the PH Azkals, training under the scorching heat of the sun at the Aboitiz Sports-field in Mandaue was their one of their first activity yesterday. After their training they headed to Marriott Hotel for lunch which was hosted by CFA or Cebu Football Association.

Then, Richard Montayre, CFA president, accompanied the Azkals to Cebu Provincial Capitol to meet and pay a courtesy call to Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.

Fans gathered to The Terraces at the Ayala Cebu Mall for a meet-and-greet with the team. The Azkals team was delighted to answer some questions from their fans and did some football drills.

According to Jose Gregorio “Jogie” Ronda, Azkal’s media coordinator, it was a hectic week for the team but the trip to Cebu helped in making the Azkals team stronger.

“It was a success despite other members missing the activity. The team has bonded more, they now know each other better,” Jogie said.

Philippine Azkals vs Sri Lanka

 Philippine Azcals vs Sri Lanka: The Philippine Azcals team will heighten the summer season with their game against the Sri Lanka which is schedule on July 3, 2011 at the Rizal Stadium.

Just as the heat of the summer season is rising up, so as the desire of every Filipino to watch the upcoming match of Philippine Azcals vs Sri Lanka. The game will truly sizzle you up with the stiff prices of the tickets.

Read the rest of the story here and get more information on Azkals vs Sri Lanka game ticker and pricing.